Gerber has a multitool with a smartphone tripod system built in
I’m a huge multitool geek. My DIY drawer accessories were mostly made using 3-5 different multitools, and I’ve also modified tools and posted my mods online for a few years. When you mod something like that, you appreciate the engineering that goes into it, so you might understand why one of the article ideas that’s been on my todo list for a while is “Leatherman should make mobile device accessories”. Imagine my surprise when I finally stuck my head outside my little Leatherman and Victorinox bubble, checked Gerber’s website, and found that it had already done that.
The Gerber Steady Tool isn’t exactly like the idea I’ve had for a while now, but it’s close, and it was first after all – I just didn’t know it existed. It’s essentially a full sized multitool with the standard pliers you get in that kind of multitool, as well as various smaller tools. What makes it special though is that you can fold out two side pieces to act as two of the legs in a tripod, with the tool itself serving as the third leg. A tripod screw can then be folded out and used to attach a camera. That’s not all, though; the tool also comes with a small standalone accessory that is a suction cup in one end and a tripod nut in the other. You can then use this to attach a smartphone to the tripod, and voila, you have a tripod mounted smartphone.
My initial idea for a multitool-like smartphone accessory was a small tripod adapter that would basically have a tripod nut on the bottom and fold out to grab around a phone. While this is bigger, it’s also a complete tripod solution, and more importantly: it’s not just another idea in my head, it exists. The Steady Tool is too large to fit my personal preference in portable tools so you won’t see me with one, however it wasn’t the only 2012 model Gerber I discovered today and another model of Gerber’s is already on its way to me, though it doesn’t have any fancy smartphone related features. Not yet, anyways….
[Gerber]
