Milwaukee Multi-Tool 48-22-2145: A 4-in-1 Multipick With a Distinctly Odd Charm

Introduction

Some tools earn their spot through engineering. Others earn it through sheer curiosity. The Milwaukee Multi-Tool 48-22-2145, which Milwaukee calls the Multipick, sits firmly in the second category. It is a 4-in-1 hand tool in a pen-style housing, except it is bigger and chunkier than almost anything else in that form factor. At roughly twelve dollars, it is a low-risk experiment, and it is exactly the kind of odd design that makes the tool aisle interesting again.

A Pen Tool That Refuses to Be Pen-Sized

The pen-tool form factor has a devoted following, and there are plenty of established examples to compare against from brands like Stanley, MegaPro, Klein, Husky, and Klein’s competitors across the hardware aisle. Most of these tools share the same appeal: slim, pocketable, always within reach.

The Milwaukee Multipick breaks that convention immediately. The housing is plastic, and the whole thing is closer in girth to a fat marker than a pen. Next to a typical slim pen driver, the difference is dramatic. If you love the classic pen-tool silhouette, this one will feel strange in the hand. If you want more to grip, that extra bulk could work in your favor.

What You Get: Four Tools in One Body

The driver end carries a zero-size Phillips bit and a number 1 slotted bit, recessed into the plastic housing with a ball detent to hold them in place. That end has no cap, so both bits are always exposed and ready.

The opposite end is where the Multipick earns its name. Underneath the cap sits the pick side, and Milwaukee threaded the attachments into the handle rather than friction-fitting them. That threading is deliberate: the pick includes a hook, and if you pull on a hook that is not threaded in, you simply yank the head out of the handle. The threading keeps the attachments anchored under load.

Alongside the pick you get a spudger, the flat pressing tool familiar to anyone who has worked on phone screens or pried in tight corners, plus a very small pick hook with a fine, slicing profile. The pick attachments are clearly the side Milwaukee found most interesting, and the hook-and-pull design suggests real pulling work in mind.

The Interesting End: Pick, Hook, and Spudger

The pick side is what makes this tool worth a second look. The small hook has a fine enough profile that it could plausibly cut or slice into something, though its primary use is more likely manipulation: fishing, guiding, and pulling. Compared to a favorite precision pick from a tool-truck brand, the Milwaukee’s pick head is noticeably larger, which changes how fine you can be with it.

There is a trade-off here. Having one pick size rather than an assortment limits versatility, and the exact niche Milwaukee designed this for remains somewhat mysterious. It seems tailored to a specific trade or task, possibly in the IT or telecom world, but the intended use is not spelled out anywhere obvious.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The clunkiest part of the design is the cap. It is enormous compared to caps on slimmer pen tools, it takes considerable effort to pop off, and when it does come free it flies forward with some force. There is a genuine chance of getting jabbed by the pick underneath if your fingers are in the wrong place during removal. Switching between ends and managing the cap makes the tool feel cumbersome in a way slimmer pen tools do not.

There is also an open question about durability. Public feedback on Milwaukee’s site at the time of writing consists of exactly two reviews: one praising the design, and one reporting that the pick snapped off in use. That is far from a representative sample, but it is worth noting.

The counterweight is Milwaukee’s lifetime warranty on the tool, which meaningfully lowers the risk of trying it. If it fails, you have recourse.

Who This Tool Is Actually For

The individual pieces all have plausible uses. The spudger suits screen work and pressing tasks in corners. The Phillips and slotted bits handle quick light-duty fastening. The pick and hook are positioned for working with wire harnesses, manipulating wire into traps, and similar fine pulling tasks.

If your work regularly involves wire routing, harness management, or fine pick-style manipulation, this could be a genuinely useful single-tool solution. If you mostly want a slim pocket driver, the standard pen-tool format remains the better buy.

Buying Advice: Worth the Twelve Bucks?

At around twelve dollars from Home Depot, the Multipick costs about the same as a nice lunch, and the lifetime warranty covers the downside. Buy it if the pick-hook side speaks to your kind of work, or if you simply enjoy unusual tool designs and want to figure out what Milwaukee was thinking. Skip it if you need multiple pick sizes, if slim pocket tools are your preference, or if you dislike two-handed cap management.

Conclusion

The Milwaukee 48-22-2145 Multipick is not a polished, obvious-solution tool. It is a quirky, slightly clunky 4-in-1 with a genuinely interesting pick and hook end, a protective cap that fights back, and a lifetime warranty that makes the experiment cheap. For anyone who enjoys unique tool designs and fine manipulation work, it is an easy curiosity to justify.