Pictured above was my first Gerber multi-tool I purchased at the PX on Camp Lejeune, NC shortly after checking into my unit (2/8 WPNS Co.) in June of 1993. Back then we didn’t have the internet to order stuff or even research options. You could order through a catalog at the time, but I didn’t want to wait nor did I have a lot of money as a PFC in the Marine Corps. My options were Gerber, Spyderco or Benchmade. Gerber seemed the most economical route at the time and they had a solid reputation.
I carried my Gerber multi-tool for four years straight in every weather climate imaginable. From the forests of North Carolina to the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas in Northern California, to the jungles of Okinawa and Middle East deserts. It was a dependable workhorse. I used it for cutting through a myriad of materials over that timespan, fieldcraft tasks, disassembling my M16-A2 service rifle (before there were specialized multi-tools for this) and even some field repairs on a Humvee (HMMWV). It truly was a multi-use tool and probably even endured some tasks Gerber never thought it would be used for.
Where has your Gerber been?
