Leatherman Micra Review

Overview

50g of goodness: Scissors, Knife, Tweezers, Nail file\ cleaner, Flat Phillips screwdriver,Extra small screwdriver, Medium Screwdriver, Bottle Opener, 8 inch/20 cm Ruler, Lanyard attachment (that can fold away)

The key focus of this tool is personal hygiene. The knife and screwdrivers are useful for lots of little things around camp but they are secondary.

The Micra is a design classic. When any single tool is selected all the other tools fold away and the result is a handle that is comfortable to hold. The scissors are strong and sprung-loaded, they are ideal for cutting nails.

Outdoor Testing

The biggest surprise that I ever had was when I had to strip a digital watch to reset it and I used the smallest screwdriver on the micra to do it - I didn't know that I could do that!!

I can now safely say that every tool has been used on some trip or other - even all the screwdrivers and the ruler!! The bottle opener has seem some heavy use and it works but not fantastically.

I tend to carry the micra in a pouch in a pack somewhere or hooked onto the inside of a pack keyring holder - out of the way and safe.

The reason I bought this tool and the reason it is used most frequently is for keeping my toenails and fingernails short and in good condition. This is very important when spending a lot of time outdoors because dirt under the fingernails causes no end of problems.

Long-term Conclusions

I have to say that it is one of my favourite gadgets. For what it does the 50g weight justifies it's inclusion into an ultralight pack on longer trips. For a trip of a day or two there is really no point in carrying it.

When I first bought it I thought it would be an expensive folly compared with a cheap pair of nail scissors but in fact it has proved its worth time and again.