Not every multi-tool, even those from our favorite brands, are winners. These are models we've tried and don't like as much (or at all). Save your money and skip 'em.

Leatherman Signal for $130: I'm of the opinion that you don't need a multi-tool for hiking. You practically never need a pair of pliers, a saw, an awl, or a hammer on the trail. Even a knife goes through the vast majority of trips just spreading peanut butter and cutting sausages. In addition to the usual tools you won't use much outdoors (wire stripper, anyone?), the Signal has a built-in emergency whistle, “hammer,” and ferro rod for sparking fires. But without a striker, you'd need something else to hit the ferro rod with—like another knife, which undercuts the Signal's usefulness. The hammer, too, is really just a blunt edge for you to pound—I don't know, something—with the folded tool. I've never found anything that pushes tent stakes into the ground as well as a strong boot. It's not a bad-quality tool. It's just a solution in search of a problem.

Gerber Stake Out for $55: The Stake Out suffers from the same problem as the Signal: It's packed with tools you don't really need in the backcountry. The Gerber stands out by including—among the usual blade and ruler—a tent stake puller and a ferro rod striker, but not a ferro rod. Since you have to buy the ferro rod (which usually comes with a lightweight striker), you could just carry a regular knife instead of the Stake Out and use its spine to strike the ferro rod. I did sort of like the stake puller. Occasionally, a stake will become stubbornly stuck in the ground. You can always work it free without a tool, but if you're car camping and not weight conscious, I could see the stake puller being a nice little time-saver. The Stake Out is much cheaper than the Signal and weighs only 3.3 ounces, so that's something.

Leatherman Skeletool for $74: There's not much difference between the Skeletool and the Skeletool CX, which I like quite a bit and recommend above. They weigh the same and are twins in size. The tool selection and layout is also identical, except for the knife. The Skeletool comes with a combo knife, meaning the back half is serrated and the front half has a straight edge. I prefer the CX's straight edge. It's more useful, and if you need a serrated blade, it's awkward to have teeth only on half the blade.

Leatherman Free T2 for $50: The Free T2 is strange and confusing. Rather than being designed as a pair of pliers, like most of Leatherman's lineup, the Free T2 is a pocketknife like a Swiss Army Knife. For its size, you don't get many tools. Its standout feature is the full-size flat-head and Phillips screwdriver bits that run in-line to the handle, alongside a medium-size knife blade, but they just didn't impress. There's also a ton of cheap plastic on it.

Gerber Center-Drive for $96: This multi-tool has the most convoluted opening system I've seen yet. It's made of a bunch of tiny moving parts, some metal and some plastic. I prefer few-to-zero tiny moving parts when it comes to hand tools because it reduces the chances of tools jamming up. My big hot-dog fingers found it hard to use overall, not to mention it's expensive. It does come with a gorgeous leather pouch though.

Leatherman Bond for $60: The Bond is solid, but I didn't like how difficult it was to swing the knife to the open position. Leatherman has so many better choices, I just don't see the purpose of this model. It's a full-featured, 14-device multi-tool in a light, compact package, but the Wingman has 14 tools too and is the same size and less than an ounce heavier.

Gerber Suspension NXT for $30: It just doesn't have much going for it. It's cheap for a normal-sized multi-tool. But the main opening mechanism feels rough, and you need really strong fingernails to pry out some of the smaller tools. Gerber is a fan of incorporating cheap black plastic into its tools—the less plastic in my multi-tools, the better.

Gerber Dime for $29: The diminutive goes up against the Victorinox Mini Champ and Leatherman Micra, but among them, it comes in third place. The Dime's spring-loaded pliers contain 12 tools in a svelte 2.2-ounce package, but like Gerber's larger tools, opening and closing everything feels rough and gritty, not smooth and effortless. I almost felt like I'd break a thumbnail.