Best Mini Plier-Based Multi-Tools Compared: Leatherman Squirt PS4, Style PS, Gerber Dime and True Utility Number 7

Introduction

Mini plier-based multi-tools live or die on a simple trade-off: how much genuine capability can you fold into something that disappears into a pocket or onto a keyring? This comparison brings together four of the most visible options in the category: the Leatherman Squirt PS4, the Leatherman Style PS, the Gerber Dime and the True Utility Number 7.

The Squirt PS4 is the established benchmark and also the most expensive of the group at 42 pounds including tax. The Style PS costs 37 pounds, the Gerber Dime 24 pounds, and the True Utility Number 7 just 13 pounds. All four were tested on build quality, tool set, cutting performance and how they actually handle small everyday jobs.

Leatherman Squirt PS4: The One to Beat

The Squirt PS4 feels like a genuinely premium product. The matte black anodized aluminium body sits well in the hand, and nearly every tool is accessible from the outside so you can reach it without opening the pliers. The pliers themselves fold back with a really satisfying mechanism, are spring-loaded, and feel substantial for something this small. The jaws meet precisely at the tip with no obvious gap, and the wire cutters sit between them. If pliers on a tool this size are like tweezers on steroids, these are the ones that earn the phrase.

The rest of the tool set covers a sharp drop-point knife, a file with a fine and a coarse side (though not a diamond file), a large flat-head screwdriver on the end, spring-loaded scissors, a small flat-head with cap lifter, and a very small flat-head that doubles as a Phillips driver. Nothing is large, but everything is engineered well.

It is compact, light at 56 grams, and the quality is obvious the moment you pick it up. The only real question is whether the alternatives close the gap enough to justify saving money.

Leatherman Style PS: The Flight-Friendly Pick

The Style PS borrows its skeltool-inspired design language and it shows: this is a beautifully engineered, slim tool at just 45 grams, the lightest of the group. Crucially, its plier head is the same as the one on the Squirt PS4, so the most important tool is every bit as good.

The trade-off is the tool set. There is no knife, which sounds like a weakness until you realize it is exactly what makes this tool suitable to carry in hand luggage on a flight under TSA rules. If flying with a multi-tool matters to you, nothing else in this comparison offers that.

You still get small but precise scissors, an unusually long and genuinely coarse file, a small flat-head that doubles as a Phillips, a cap lifter built into the carabiner, and a pair of thin tweezers tucked away. The tweezers are marginal in real use, but the file and the pliers alone make this a genuinely useful travel tool.

Gerber Dime: The Budget Rival

The Gerber Dime is the closest direct competition to the Squirt PS4. It feels chunkier and more solid than the Leatherman, with more detailing on the body, and it looks like good value for the 24-pound asking price. The pliers spring out nicely and come to a point, though there is more of a gap between the jaws than on the Leatherman.

The tool set mirrors the Squirt closely: a sharp curved-edge blade, a small flat-head/Phillips with a short file surface, a flat-head screwdriver, spring-loaded scissors, and one genuinely unique feature, a dedicated package opener in place of the Squirt’s file. The cap lifter here is also the most substantial of the group, with real width to it.

The compromises show up in the details: tools take more effort to get out, the engineering does not feel quite as refined, and the scissors cut through paracord only under pressure. But as a lower-cost alternative that keeps nearly the same functionality, it is a credible option.

True Utility Number 7: Affordable but Compromised

The True Utility Number 7 arrives in lovely packaging with a flat keyring included, and it would make a fine gift on looks alone. At 13 pounds it is by far the cheapest of the four. In the hand, however, it feels heavy and bulky, with more weight than the tool set justifies.

The pliers are stiffer to deploy and lack the precision of the others: the jaws do not come to a proper point and do not meet flush. The blade is about 50 percent larger than the competition’s but cuts nowhere near as well, needing several passes through paracord. The saw is a questionable inclusion on a tool this short, and the flat-head screwdriver sits on the end of the saw blade, which is a genuinely awkward and risky arrangement on a non-locking tool. There are no scissors at all.

How They Compare in Use

Side by side, the size and weight differences are clear. The True Utility is the bulkiest and heaviest at 98 grams, the Gerber Dime sits in the middle at 66 grams, the Squirt PS4 is the most compact at 56 grams, and the Style PS is the slimmest and lightest at 45 grams. The Leatherman tools clearly win on portability.

On blade performance, the Squirt cuts paper and paracord cleanly and takes first place, followed by the Dime, with the True Utility a distant third. The scissors on the Leatherman pair are identical in size and design, and both Leatherman scissors cut paper smoothly, while the Gerber’s tend to stick partway through. None of them come close to proper pocket-knife scissors, so set expectations accordingly.

On screwdrivers, the Style PS handles small screws nicely thanks to its flat-head/Phillips combination. For flat-head work, the True Utility reaches best but brings that saw-edge safety concern, the Squirt does a passable job, and the Dime struggles because of its bulk and short reach. On wire cutting, the Leatherman is clearly best; the Gerber oddly pushes the wire out of the jaws, and the True Utility barely cuts at all. For bottle caps, the Gerber Dime’s wide lifter is the easiest to use, followed by the Style PS, with the Squirt and True Utility requiring more careful positioning.

Buying Advice

The True Utility Number 7 is easy to rule out despite the price. The blade underperforms, the wire cutters barely work, the plier head is imprecise, the screwdriver placement is risky, and it is the heaviest and bulkiest of the group. The packaging is nicer than the product.

The Leatherman Style PS makes sense in one specific situation: if you want a multi-tool you can legally carry in hand luggage on a flight under TSA rules, its lack of a knife becomes the whole point. Otherwise, the missing tools hold it back.

That leaves the Squirt PS4 versus the Gerber Dime. They are very similar functionally, with the Leatherman offering a file where the Gerber offers a package opener. The file simply adds more everyday usefulness, since a package can always be opened with the blade. The Dime wins on price, but in every other respect, compactness, weight, and engineering quality, the Leatherman Squirt PS4 is the winner.

Conclusion

For most people, the Leatherman Squirt PS4 is the mini plier-based multi-tool to buy: the most compact, the best engineered, and the best performer in every cutting test. If budget matters more, the Gerber Dime is a perfectly serviceable alternative at a notably lower price. The Style PS earns its place only for travellers who need a TSA-friendly, knife-free option, and the True Utility Number 7 is best left on the shelf no matter how good the gift box looks.