This led to a philosophical fork in the reviews: the "everyday carry" (EDC) minimalist versus the "bug-out bag" maximalist. The tests argued that a multitool is not a replacement for a toolbox but an insurance policy against inconvenience. The 2021 reviews praised tools that embraced this limitation. For example, the Leatherman Skeletool—which offers only pliers, a knife, a bit driver, and a carabiner—was frequently crowned the "urban winner" because it didn’t pretend to be a full workshop. It was honest about its role as a keychain-sized problem solver for opening packages, tightening loose glasses, and clipping to a belt loop.

A key metric emerged: the "flickability" or one-handed deployment. In 2021, with many people multitasking between Zoom calls and minor home repairs, the ability to access a blade or pliers with a single hand became a premium feature. This marked a departure from the traditional, two-handed Victorian approach of the Swiss Army Knife, symbolizing a shift toward impatient, efficiency-obsessed utility.

In multitool tests, performance can vary based on the criteria used. For instance: