Multitasker Tools – A Pocket Toolbox for the AR-15

The Multitasker Series 3X and the Multitasker Twist are gaining popularity among shooters of all levels of experience and expertise for very good reason…their weapon specific design and build quality appear to be head and shoulders above anything else on the market. 

As builders, we talk a lot about purchasing the “right” parts for our ARs, but the tools we use for the job are also important. 

In the time I’ve spent working with the Multitasker Series 3X and Twist, I have been very impressed. To learn more about Multitasker, we recently spoke with the founder and owner of the company…

Q: Can you talk about where the idea for the Multitasker began?

Multitasker: I’ve been in the firearms industry for close to 35 years. My family imported all of the Polytech AKs from China back in the mid to late 80s.  I was the Marketing Director for Polytech.  So, that’s what I cut my teeth on…but eventually I got out of the firearms business once the AKs got banned, and then I started doing more import sourcing stuff, helping big chains buy product overseas. 

An Introduction to a Weapon Centric Multitool

But back in 2007, Caspian Arms, who makes 1911 parts, came up with an idea for a 1911-centric multitool, and they wanted my help to get it manufactured.  So, I helped them with that, and I ended up suggesting some improvements for their Gen 2 version.  It was about this time that I noticed how popular the AR platform was becoming on the civilian side of the market.  I noticed that the Army didn’t have anything that was focused on working on the M4…so that’s where the idea came from.

I was lucky that I was friends with Neil Batelli at Gun Gallery, and he and Mike Mers who worked at AAC at the time, really gave me a lot of design input. With their assistance, I was able bypass using focus groups and narrow down the functionality of the tool to the basic platform that you see now.

Multitasker vs. Multitool

The big difference between the Multitasker and all of the other multitools that are sort of “gun tools” is that it is specially designed to work on guns. It’s not really a multitool for just “everyday” use.  It has some crossover in functionality, with the knife blade for instance, but the whole design intent was for it to be a “pocket toolbox” for the AR platform.

One thing you hear a lot about with the Multitasker Series 3X is the build quality. I’ve owned quite a few general purpose multitools over the years…this one though, is quite unique.

Multitasker: When the Gen 1 Multitasker came out in 2009, it had cast pliers like all other multitools, and most of the other fold out parts were stamped.  Quite honestly, it was a high quality tool and it was the best I could make at the time, but about a year or so into the process, I recognized that my main competition was Leatherman and Gerber, and I felt like the only way that the Multitasker brand could survive in that environment was to be strategic in terms of how focused we were in terms of the design, but also we had to figure out a way to be a better made tool. 

“Highest Quality Multitool on the Market”

So, it was around that time that I began to invest on making the parts out of wire EDM and CNC instead of the traditional mass-produced way of stamping out parts.  It’s been about a nine-year process to get that supply chain worked out, but I feel like the Series 3X, which is the flagship version of our current Multitasker is by far the highest quality multitool out there on the market…quite simply because of the way it’s built.  There’s only four parts in the entire tool that are not CNC or wire EDM machined.

Q: I’ve had a handful of range days cut short by not having the proper tools around, can you speak on why having something like this can be a huge help?

Multitasker: At the time that we did the development of the original Multitasker, I remember Neil Batelli pointed out to me a typical range bag.  We saw that guys would have wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers and all these tools just thrown in a bag. 

The idea was just to condense all that into one single form factor that would be easy to store and you’d have all the tools you needed…all in one place.  That’s the core concept and the reason behind the name as well.  It’s just to try to consolidate all of the tools someone with an AR might possibly need.  Now, that tool loadout has morphed over time, but the concept has remained the same.  

For example, the hex wrench with the 3/8″ box for the LaRue mounts and the 1/2” hex cutout for scope rings…on our tool, that wrench is integral into the tool itself.  Whereas on another tool like the Leatherman Mut, it’s a separate wrench that fits into the pouch.  So, it was basically an afterthought.  So, you won’t find a saw blade or a can opener on our tool.  There’s only so much real estate in the tool chassis itself…everything is centered around functionality that helps you work on the gun.

Q: Can you talk about the inclusion of the bit that come with the Multitasker?

Multitasker: It goes back to the state of multitool design back in 2009.  It also goes back to how they were made.  They were all made from stamped parts.  All of the screwdrivers were just flat blades of different widths, different sizes.  Occasionally, you might find a Phillips head that was stamped out as well. 

I noticed how many mounts for AR accessories had hex nuts, and also Torx were starting to be used as well. The only way to address that plethora of different mounting options for accessories was to have a modular screwdriver system. 

We decided to base our screwdriver solution around a 1/4” Hex drive.  If you look on the bit holder, it has a magnet on the inside of it, and it is compatible with any standard 1/4” Hex bit…so you don’t even have to limit yourself to the ones that are included with the Multitasker.  

People have so much money invested in their ARs, we didn’t want to outfit it with some cheap screwdriver that doesn’t fit correctly or ends up fraying one of the nuts on a mount or something. So, we spent a lot of time just dialing in the way the tool is made so that when you use one of the implements, it’s going to do it’s job without damaging your gun.

Q: Can you go over the pliers for folks? Again, they’re perhaps the best I’ve seen on a tool of this type.

Multitasker: Sure…If you look at the pilers on the Multitasker, you’ll see that there is literally no gap with the teeth.  That kind of precision you can only achieve via CNC machine.  We are the only multitool on the market that has pliers that are made this way.  Everything else is investment cast…so it’s a totally different feel and look.  It may be overboard, but it’s inline with our design philosophy and our desire to offer the best quality product out there.

The first thing that stuck me about my Multitasker Series 3X is just the overall build quality…everything just feels like a premium tool, including the grips.

Multitasker: Yes, you’ll also notice our tools have G10 scales on them.  Most multitools out there just have folded sheet metal handles.  There’s a practical advantage to having G10…just like with a tactical knife.  That extra grip security you get is especially important if you are working on a gun and you have lube on your hand or something.  Or if you leave the tool out on the range all day, the G10 actually helps the tool from getting super hot when you touch it.

Finally, the knife on the Multitasker is quite impressive, whereas most knife blades on multitools are an afterthought…

Multitasker: With most multitools out there, the knives they have are usually made with very cheap steel…usually like 420hc.  The shape of the blade is also usually very narrow.  We’ve incorporated a 3” tactical folder into our tool…just because I’m kind of a knife geek. 

If you look at the blade itself, it has jimping on the top of the spine and it has a nicely swedged tip.  It’s also ground pretty narrow, so the blade will hold a fantastic edge. 

It’s made of D2 tool steel and has a matte PVD coating on it.  Unlike a lot of other multitools that have an all-in-one safety catch, where one safety catch grabs all of the tools that fold out, we have a dedicated liner lock to hold the knife when it’s deployed.  You’ll see that the lock up is super strong and there’s no blade play on it whatsoever. 

It also rotates very smoothly coming out of the tool and that’s due to the pivot washers being bronze.  It’s that extra level of detail that I insist on.  It does drive up the price of the tool, but we feel like the build quality speaks for itself.

Q: Can we discuss the Multitasker Twist and the concept behind it?

Multitasker: The Multitasker Twist came from a desire to have a smaller, lighter tool that didn’t have all of the functionality of the big tool.  There’s literally not another tool that’s pen shaped and as lightweight that can do as much. Being that it’s cylindrical in shape, that made it possible to add the Aimpoint T1/T2 adjustor on the back of the cap. 

I wanted something that was CNC machined, and when you handle it, you’ll notice how precisely the caps fit together, and it has o-rings to seal the caps.The front cap holds one of the three tools…a carbon scraper, a pin punch and a dental pick.  Those tools, you just pick one and you mount it into a little recessed male thread that’s on the front cap. 

The threads are also the same as the threads on the Otis cleaning kits…the same with the series 3x.  If you unscrew the pin punch, that male thread is also the same as what the Otis kits use.  We try to integrate our tools with what’s out there currently, so that you get crossover.

Q: Are there plans for new products in the near future?

Multitasker: The next thing we have coming out is called the M:4.  It’s something we designed to be used with the B5 stocks.  The B5 SOPMOD and Bravo have a quick removable butt-pad.  We took advantage of that form-factor and designed a tool that nests inside of the butt-pad.  What B5 is going to do is they are going to make a new butt-pad that has a recess to store our one-piece tool. 

We did a soft announcement on it at SHOT Show 2019 and it should be out in the fall.  The tool itself has four functions.  It has the castle nut wrench, a flat blade screwdriver, a 1/2” hex for scope rings, and then it has a bolt override tool.  We figured those were items that could really be of use for the military, especially.  It should also be a fairly low-priced item.  We’re budgeting an MSRP of around $29.95, including the butt-pad.  It will also be wire EDM, CNC machined.

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