In which Doc attempts to escape a burning building

Well not exactly, much as I love you guys I'm not about to lock myself in a room and set the house on fire just to crash test a bit of kit, but I am going to do a review of the Lidl multitool axe-hammer thing as requested last week by Tabs, by seeing how quickly it will get me through one of these:



That's your standard or garden variety household door, used throughout the land in offices, apartments and houses everywhere. The back of it was damaged by a previous tenant, so may as well get some value out of it before it's dumped! If there was a fire and someone was locked in, its fairly equivalent to something they might need to get clear of.

So, here's the multitool itself:



I always buy two of everything when I can, suppliers love me, but it keeps redundant backups and spare parts always to hand, not to mention being able to outfit a second person if I need to.

These aren't branded, presumably made for the shop to order, but they are of Dutch construction, not Chinese, unlike a lot of cheap tools these days.

The first thing I noticed was the weight, its not a heavy item, maybe a third of a kilo, but its top heavy, so you get a nice heft when you swing it. The mass of the hammerhead behind the axe lets it punch above its weight, and vice-versa.

This causes a slight issue with the pouch mind you, since the belt loop is low down and the centre of gravity on the tool is high up, pulling the pouch away from the body somewhat, and generally I prefer utility items to stay snug to me, the less flap the better. There's a little pocket behind the belt loop which might explain that, as it opens when the pouch is affixed to the belt.



That's the open tool, the internal tools are:

• Flat nosed pliers
• Hammer
• Pliers
• Knife
• Wood saw
• Cross screwdriver
• Chisel
• Open ended spanner (6-10mm)
• Unversal saw, handy for meat and bone
• Slotted screwdriver
• File
• Bottle opener
• Wire stripper
• Side cutter pliers
• Axe

The build of the tool isn't exactly to aeuronautical standards, you can see here there's a slight chip in one hammerhead, and the axe grind was uneven on both. Easy to remedy with a few strokes of the sharpener mind you, these aren't really functional problems.



The clip to hold it closed will slip off if you look at it the wrong way, I think because there's some flashing inside the notch where it fits, again easy to remedy with a file and not really a functional issue.



You can see the top down view here, pretty well put together although I wouldn't stand on it laterally myself! This is not stainless steel, so you will need to keep it oiled to ensure a lifetime of use.



Knifewrench! Safe AND practical.



I'm wearing gloves for protection here, and also eye protection - anyone thinking of crash testing equipment like this should of course take the neccessary precautions.

And so down to business! I gave myself 90 seconds, didn't count the strokes but I was fairly hockeying into it, and the result as you can see was quite satisfactory:



I would say given four or five minutes I could have had the whole thing down easily enough. I'm sure you can imagine the effect on a car door or other obstacle.



This is how the axe looked afterwards:



The other tools were of the same quality, sharp out of the box and reliable enough for domestic work or light outdoor work. I wouldn't say it's that comfortable to use the axe for long periods, since the reverse side of the handle is all ridges due to the other tools, you'd need to cushion that somehow.

So in summary, for €6.99 its a hell of a tool. Does it pass the "bet your life on it" test? Probably not. But in addition to other tools this could certainly make an invaluable contribution to any BOB or camping kit. The range of applications in camping especially is limitless.

Would I recommend a purchase? Definetely yes, at that price point.

And a special treat for those Cold Steel fans in the audience, ever looked speculatively at a door and wondered what your shillelagh would do to it? Well wonder no more!



I took a few swings with the Cold Steel Irish Blackthorn just for the craic, not too shabby!