Best Multi-Tools for Camping

The Leatherman Wave Plus is the benchmark by which every other camping multi-tool is measured. Eighteen tools accessed via outer and inner handles include needle-nose pliers, regular pliers, a wire cutter with replaceable blades, a hard-wire cutter, two knife blades, a saw, a file, a ruler, and four screwdriver options. Critically, both knife blades and the saw can be opened with one hand while the tool is closed — a feature that matters when your other hand is occupied.

Build quality is exceptional. The stainless steel construction feels solid and precise, the locking mechanism on each tool is positive and reassuring, and after heavy use the hinges don't develop slop. The wire cutter with replaceable blades is a standout feature — it's the sharpest, cleanest wire cutter we've used on any multi-tool, and you can replace the cutting element rather than sharpening or discarding the whole tool when it dulls.

At 8.5 ounces the Wave Plus is a full-size multi-tool — this isn't a gram-counting backpacking choice. But for car camping, canoe trips, group outings, and anyone who wants a tool they can rely on for years, the Wave Plus earns its weight every time. Leatherman's 25-year warranty backs up their confidence in the build. This is the one to buy if you buy one multi-tool and want it to last a decade.

The Gerber Suspension-NXT delivers a capable 15-tool kit at a price point that's hard to argue with. The butterfly-open design deploys both jaws of the pliers simultaneously, making it faster to open one-handed than many competing designs. The tool lineup covers the essentials well: needle-nose and regular pliers, wire cutter, two knife blades, a saw, a file, a crosshead screwdriver, and a flathead screwdriver among others.

For the price, the build quality is genuinely good. The Gerber Suspension-NXT feels denser and more solid than its cost suggests. The blade holds an edge for light camp tasks, and the pliers have good mechanical advantage for gear repairs. The pocket clip is a practical addition for everyday carry. Where it falls behind Leatherman is in steel quality — the blades dull faster under sustained use, and the wire cutter lacks the cleanness of Leatherman's replaceable-blade design.

If you're equipping a group kit, buying a backup tool, or testing whether a multi-tool earns a place in your pack before investing in a premium option, the Suspension-NXT is the right starting point. It covers all the basic scenarios a camper encounters without a significant financial commitment. At $30, it's a practical, no-regret purchase.

The Leatherman Skeletool is the answer to the question: what's the minimum viable multi-tool for serious backpacking? Seven tools — needle-nose pliers, wire cutter, a replaceable-blade knife, a bit driver with double-end bit (Philips/flathead), a carabiner/bottle opener — in a 5-ounce open-frame design with titanium-accented handles. It's nearly half the weight of the Wave Plus while keeping the most-used tools.

The open-frame skeleton construction is what makes the weight savings possible, and it also makes the tool visually distinctive. The partially serrated blade on the CX variant (the standard Skeletool) uses 420HC steel and holds an edge well for camp tasks. The integrated carabiner clip means you can attach it to a pack loop or gear loop without needing a separate sheath or pocket. The bit driver accepts standard 1/4-inch bits, so you can customize the driver selection for your gear.

The trade-offs are real: no scissors, no saw, no file, no can opener. If you cook from cans or need a saw for camp processing, the Skeletool leaves you short. For a modern backpacker running freeze-dried meals and pre-cut food, those absences rarely matter. This is the multi-tool for someone who has thought carefully about what they actually use in the field — and eliminated everything else.

The Victorinox Swiss Champ is the Swiss Army knife taken to its logical extreme — 33 implements covering tools that no other knife on this list carries: a magnifying glass, a fish scaler, a hook disgorger, a compass, an altimeter, a toothpick, and tweezers alongside the expected blades, screwdrivers, can opener, and scissors. For overlanders, fishing trips, or anyone who wants to genuinely cover every scenario, this is the most comprehensively equipped option tested.

Victorinox steel has an excellent reputation for quality that holds up over decades of use. The scissor mechanism on Swiss Army knives is noticeably better than scissors found on plier-based multi-tools — they cut cleanly and precisely. The main blade, can opener, and bottle opener are all class-leading. The absence of pliers is the meaningful gap compared to Leatherman and Gerber tools — for gear repair tasks requiring grip and leverage, this knife falls short.

At 6.2 ounces the Swiss Champ is lighter than both the Wave Plus and the Suspension-NXT despite having nearly double the tool count, because Swiss Army knives use thinner layer construction rather than the bulkier plier-jaw housing. The slip-joint design (no blade lock) is the only real safety consideration — the tools fold under pressure rather than locking open. For anyone whose camp kit doesn't revolve around gear repair and who values breadth of tools over plier quality, the Swiss Champ is a distinctive and compelling choice.

SOG's PowerAccess Deluxe stands out for one engineering distinction: its compound leverage plier mechanism generates roughly 152% more mechanical advantage than standard plier designs. In practice this means crushing or gripping tasks that strain standard multi-tool pliers — crimping wire, gripping stuck fasteners, bending metal — feel noticeably easier with the SOG. It's a meaningful functional difference for anyone who uses the pliers hard.

The 21-tool lineup is comprehensive: compound pliers, wire cutter, hard wire cutter, three screwdrivers, can opener, bottle opener, awl, file, and three blade options including a partially serrated main blade. The tools deploy cleanly and lock positively. Build finish and fit are competitive with tools at twice the price point — SOG over-delivers on quality for what they charge.

The main practical limitation is availability: the PowerAccess Deluxe is occasionally out of stock through major retailers, which is why it carries a null ASIN in this guide. When you can find it at $55, it's the best value in the mid-tier multi-tool category. The compound pliers give it a genuine performance advantage over comparably priced competition, and the 21-tool count covers everything a camper needs without unnecessary redundancy.