My Review of Columbia River Guppie Multi-Tool

Originally submitted at REI

This little CRKT Guppie is fat on features. Tackle jobs needing an adjustable wrench, driver bits, LED light, knife and more!

Columbia River Guppie Multi-Tool

Sub-Par for CRKT

By Kryzm from Worcester, Massachusetts on 12/5/2009

 

2out of 5

Gift: No

Pros: Functional

Cons: Difficult To Clean, Useless Tools

Best Uses: Home

Describe Yourself: Avid Adventurer

I bought this product a year ago, and when I took it out of the packaging, I immediately knew that it was not something I would carry. While the Guppy does have many tools, none of them are quite nearly as useful as a stand alone version of that tool. For instance, the wrench is very loose, the bottle opener breaks bottles, the carabiner opens less than three quarters of an inch, and the bit holder/LED falls off easily. I took a small piece of plastic cord to attach the bit holder to the carabiner, to keep from losing it. At some point a few months ago, I decided to take the multitool apart to clean the grime and rust(!) out of the inside, but then found that it is nearly impossible to get the spring back into the blade. My blade is now held shut with a piece of 16 gauge wire. The blade, while sharp out of the box, dulled quickly with normal use. The flimsy belt clip bent outward very easily, and it affixed with three small torx screws, making it too much of a hassle to fix.

My conclusion, this is a bulky, oddly shaped version of a $3 leatherman rip off I bought at a dollar store. I give it a 2/5 though, because it has gotten me out of more jams than I care to admit, and I love the CRKT knife I bought prior to this purchase.

(legalese)

Constant Failure

Hey there mister blog.
So recently I have been really feeling the negative consequences of my usual lifestyle. Some problems are these: I'm a loner, and don't fit with any of my friend groups all the time. I need to get out and exercise, but I always find excuses. I am so good at avoiding things that make me uncomfortable, I avoided all of my assignments this semester, and might fail out of school. I am starting to thing that the force of will that I always thought I had is just my imagination. I know I could stop typing right now and sit down and do my CS homework for tomorrow morning, but I know that if I stay up and write this post, I will not turn in the homework tomorrow, or likely not even go to class. This motivational issue gets worse in the mornings. I set my alarm for 10AM for a 10:25 class, then convince myself that I don't have to go to class, before my common sense and good judgment can wake up. I genuinely want to work hard, and I genuinely want to be at this school, and study what I can. My whole life, I have avoided school work, and I always got away with it, sometimes with good grades. Right now, I am on academic probation, and failing two classes. I am hopefully going to write a pre-appeal letter to the college board, but I can't even seem to get around to doing that. All of this anxiety is ruining my semester, and while it eats away at my sanity, it makes me even more unlikely to do my work. It's a cycle that keeps getting harder to throw. I can't think of anything in my life right now that I'm very happy about. That's sad, isn't it? I'm usually a really optimistic person, if a little realistic. It's gotten to the point where I just want to take a year off or something. I know that it won't be helpful though, since I'll probably just work at the same place I always do, make a tiny bit of money, and learn nothing. If the job market weren't so fucked up, I might think about doing it. I really wish I had an idea for a small business. I am seriously considering switching my major to business management, on the recommendation of a friend.

So, to stop whining, I want to make known my thoughts on why people lose motivation. I personally think that when I am too realistic, I understand that the only reasons to do anything in life are either social, personal or necessary to life. When I have never felt a strong repercussion for not doing something, I have no reason to do it. If I have never noticed a time where it helped me a lot in life, I won't do it. I wish people didn't care so much for social norms. Fuck grades. I knew everything that I learned in astronomy, but I'm still failing it. Why? Because what difference does it make? If I go to apply for a job, and they care more about my college degree than what I know, fuck them too. Why does everything have to be the way it is? Why can't people learn to accept things that don't fit the norm?

I know, I'm rambling, but you know, stream of consciousness and all that.

I could rant forever on everything about people, but that would mean waking up even later tomorrow, and missing my Javascript lab: the only part of CS121 where I actually learn anything. And on that topic, how the fuck can a professor expect me to write programs on paper in a midterm?! When I use a computer, I can use trial and error. On paper, I can't. Same thing? No. Fuck you.