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The Gerber Center Drive Plus has the best bit driver of any tool in our collection, plus a set of complementary features that work well and cover all your bases. We can't think of any functions to add to the Center Drive Plus. We can think of some materials, construction, and design refinements that would really up the game if we need to be really critical, though. We also wish the Center Drive Plus were a little smaller and lighter. With all its accessories and storage pouch, the Center Drive Plus weighs nearly a pound. This isn't what you'll carry day-to-day or on self-propelled adventures, but if you want a multi-tool with a best-in-class bit driver, here you go.
REASONS TO BUY
Excellent bit driver
Big blade
Scissors
Fast-action pliers
REASONS TO AVOID
Rattly construction
Bulky and heavy
Serrated blade section
A Lower-Tech Option
We have also tested and reviewed the original Gerber Center-Drive. It costs a small sum less. You don't get the scissors, the leather sheath, or the full collection of accessory bits. You get the same pliers and driver, similar other functions, and a smaller blade. We find that the Plus model is worth the additional cost, but would be remiss to not point out the availability of its close cousin.
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Gerber Center Drive Plus is all that we liked about the original Center Drive, plus more. The Plus model comes with bits and a sheath, adds scissors, and keeps the excellent bit driver and unique pliers deployment. The addition of scissors is the real deal-maker. We've long held that our ideal multi-tool has to include a large, straight edge blade, pliers, scissors, 1/4 inch bit driver, and stow compactly with a pocket clip. No tool yet does all this. But the Center Drive Plus takes a step in that direction with the addition of the scissors. We're moving in the right direction, but not yet “there.”
Performance Comparison
If you can't do it with the Center Drive Plus or a hammer, you probably need YouTube instruction or a professional. Our lead test editor takes time from skiing and writing to do some home improvement.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Functions
Gerber claims 28 functions on the Center Drive Plus. They're not wrong, and that number is striking. A multi-tool that gets its feature count up out of the teens is remarkable. Pushing 30 is hard to believe. Turns out, a count of 28 requires some explanation and qualification. Again, the count holds up, but exactly half of them are in the form of accessory driver bits. You could keep adding to that count with the inclusion of more and more accessory driver bits. You could lose them all and be left with a tool with a much lower count.
It is the bit driver that sets this tool apart. As the name indicates, the bit driver is centered on the handle. That seems perhaps unimportant, but it really makes the tool more usable and ergonomic. The main blade is very large (it includes a serrated section, but we wish it was all straight). The scissors are tight and handy. We dig. The pliers are pretty standard, with blunt tips, a rounded/ribbed jaw section and replaceable/reconfigurable wire cutter surfaces.
We sort of understand why hybrid serrated/straight blades are so common. That doesn't mean we like them or even forgive their inclusion. For us, a straight edged blade is superior to a hybrid. Better yet is one full blade of each.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Aside from the features already mentioned, there isn't much. That's ok. The pliers, blade, scissors, and driver cover a lot of tasks. To complement these Gerber equips the Center Drive Plus with one place to hold an extra bit, an awl, a bottle opener, a pry bar/nail puller, and a metal saw/file. It's a pretty darn good feature set, overall. We can't think of anything major to add or subtract.
Here you can mostly see the centered nature of the bit driver on the Center Drive Plus. As compared to the bit driver of other multi-tools this one is much easier to use.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Construction Quality
When new testers are comparing multi-tools, the slide-out Gerbers always raise some red flags. The rattly construction inherent in a slide-out pliers mechanism, especially as compared to top-of-the-line folding pliers tools, feels and sounds flimsy and vulnerable. Our long-term testing (several years) of Gerber slide-out pliers indicates that the parts always hold up just fine. If anything, more wear only improves the ease of pliers deployment.
We like that all the tools lock in their deployed position. We like the hardened steel that the bit driver is made of. We like that the wirecutter surfaces can be rotated (three cutting edges are included and can be cycled through) and eventually replaced. The scissors are great. Some other companies have a screw-adjusted scissors hinge. On those, the owner can tighten the pivot as needed. The Gerber scissors are riveted, so no user service is possible. No user service, for decades, should be necessary. It would be easy and beneficial to make the plier tips pointer.
The handle of the Center Drive Plus is just a tiny bit bigger than ideal. Only those with the most discerning tastes and the smallest hands will notice or care.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Ergonomics
It has all these features. How is it to use them all? Let's start with the bit driver. As alluded to above, the centered driver really does improve its functionality, especially compared to other multi-tools with screwdriver functionality. It is both extended and centered. As compared to a purpose-built, hand bit driver, the Center Drive compromises far less than any other multi-tool. It's the best bit driver on a pliers-style multi-tool that we know of. Much of what many will do with a multi-tool is drive screws. Do it with the Center Drive easier and more effectively than with the competition.
The main blade is readily deployed with just the thumb on your right hand. It is large and locks open. The serrated section in the proximal 1/3 of its length is unnecessary and, to us, undesirable. A fully straight blade would be more versatile and easier to maintain.
The slide-out pliers are a hallmark of Gerber multi-tools. They do make folding pliers tools, too, like other companies. But they are the only ones we know of making slide-outs. When equally practiced, slide-out pliers are faster to deploy, especially with one hand. This is good. In use, the pliers are pretty comparable to fold-out styles. There are two drawbacks to slide-out pliers, though. First, they require larger “tolerance” in the moving parts. Slide-out pliers are more rattly than fold-out pliers. There is no way around this. Next, and also inevitable, is that a slide-out plier deployment mechanism is bulkier than a fold-out plier mechanism.
The scissors are great. You'll use them a lot, whether in “normal life” or in specific projects around house and garage.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Portability
The Center Drive Plus is a heavy, bulky tool set. You don't choose this product for maximum portability. Other well scoring options are half (to less than half) the weight and bulk of the Center Drive Plus, especially when you factor in the included sheath and accessory bits of this Gerber.
You don't get maximum portability with a maximum feature set. There are inherent trade-offs in multi-tool design. Gerber leans toward the large, comprehensive end of the spectrum with the Center Drive Plus. There are some little portability matters that we might suggest. A pocket clip could be integrated with minimal cost. Few would want to carry this in their pocket, no matter what. However, those that will carry it in their pocket will benefit greatly from a low-profile pocket clip.
Next, let us talk about bit storage. Gerber ships the CD Plus with a nice leather sheath that holds the folded tool and a bit holder that retains 12 included accessory bits. On the tool itself, in use and in storage, one can keep 2 accessory bits (one in the driver and one in a dedicated holder on the tool. It seems to us that, with minimal compromise, the tool could be configured to hold another bit or two. Having one piece (the tool itself) that includes your 3-4 most used driver bits would greatly increase the portable convenience here.
Gerber's Center Drive leather belt sheath. It holds the tools and a set of (included) 12 bits.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Should You Buy the Gerber Center-Drive Plus?
This is a specialized multi-tool, specifically designed to capture a special market of user who wants or needs a driver-based tool above all else. You're probably not here by accident. In that way, the Center-Drive Plus can't be beat; Gerber sold the farm to make a product focused on that feature, and it does show compromises in other areas to have done so. It has its place, and the utility that one of Gerber's top-end options delivers is respectable.
Another view of the sheath and nested components of the Center Drive Plus. The sheath is especially nice and well-made.
Credit: Jediah Porter
What Other Multi-tool Should You Consider?
This is a hefty price tag for a tool that has its share of shortcomings, if we're being honest. Unless anything less than best-in-class driver function is a deal-breaker on your multi-tool, you could be better served elsewhere (even in Gerber's own product lineup). In particular, we like the Armbar Drive, which has a similar overall score for about 1/3rd the price of its cousin. The Dime is an ultra-portable keychain style option we like too. Exploring other manufacturers, there are great options in the same price range as the Center Drive Plus from Leatherman - like the Surge or Signal - that are better rated, or cheaper but also well reviewed options from SOG like the PowerAccess Deluxe.
