Multitools 101: what a palm-sized multitool actually replaces

Open the kitchen drawer in most homes and you will find the same collection: a screwdriver with the wrong tip, a tape measure that will not retract, a bag of loose bits from a flat-pack delivery and a flashlight with dead batteries. That drawer is what a palm-sized multitool is designed to replace.

The six jobs that come up every week

Across the fixes people actually do indoors, the same tools keep appearing:

• Driving screws. Cabinet hinges, door handles, outlet covers, toy battery covers, furniture bolts.
• The right bit. Phillips and flathead cover most of a home, but flat-pack furniture leans on hex (Allen) keys, and electronics and appliances increasingly use Torx.
• A hammering surface. Picture hooks, the back panel of a bookcase, a stubborn drawer runner.
• A tape measure. Will the sofa fit? Where does the second bracket go?
• A level. The difference between a shelf that looks right and one that nags at you for a year.
• A light. Because the screw always rolls under the appliance.

How a multitool covers them

A Kelvin folds those six jobs into one body you can hold in one hand. On the Kelvin 36, the screwdriver arm snaps open and locks at 90 degrees, 26 double-sided bits ride in the body, a magnet catches loose screws, a cast zinc surface handles light hammering, and a 6 ft tape, a liquid level and an LED flashlight are built in. The Kelvin 23 keeps the same idea with 16 bits, and the Kelvin 17 trims it down to 13 bits and a 3 ft tape for apartments and offices.

Where it stops

A multitool is not a drill, a full-size claw hammer or a socket set. Kelvin tools are built for light to medium duty: assembling furniture, hanging things, tightening what has worked loose. If you are framing a wall or pulling an engine, you need the garage. For everything that happens between the front door and the back fence, the multitool is usually the only tool you reach for.

Choosing a size

The honest question is how often you fix things. If the answer is "whenever something breaks", the 36 pays for itself in trips not made to the garage. If it is "a few times a year", the 17 or 23 covers it. Our comparison page puts the three side by side.