I bought the Gerber shard as an attempt at a gift. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help but open it and try it out.
Gerber Shard: A broken piece of a better tool?
At first look, the shard appears to be a good solid piece of metal with a nice matte black coating. Unfortunately, that is where the shiny toy syndrome wore off. I took the shard out to give it some real-world experience and while it did have a few good key points, this is more of a novelty key chain than a true tool.
The good
The one-piece solid steel body makes the pry bar very sturdy and strong.
The bottle opener is about the best part of this tool and performs as expected
The matte black coating looks good on a key chain and doesn’t stand out too much
According to Gerber, The shard is fully TSA compliant, but I have not traveled with it yet and as such cannot attest to the truthfulness of that statement
Coming in with an MSRP of 7.00 direct from Gerber (I got mine for a little over $5.00 via amazon) makes this a cheap and easy gift or stocking stuffer for anyone who doesn’t already have ten other items on their key chain.
The bad
The flat-head screwdrivers are much too thick to fit into most normal flat-head screws. You would have to file them down much thinner in order for them to work on standard flat-head screws but seeing as these also function as the tips of the pry bar, doing so would make them much easier to break.
The Phillips head screwdriver is so thin that it will only work effectively on small Phillips head screws. The small size of the head also makes it rather sharp and if put in a pocket the wrong way, it can cause a painful stab.
The lanyard hole…. REALLY? The fact that Gerber puts this in as a product feature is just bad form.
The “titanium nitride” coating on this tool looks good but started to wear off to within an hour or so of using it.
The wire strippers work better as a small nail puller as there is no edge to cut the sheath on a wire.
The bottom Line
The Gerber Shard looks like it is a broken or leftover piece of a bigger and better tool. With that being said, it makes a great novelty gift and a pretty decent bottle opener.
While the pry bar may open a can of paint with ease the short stature of the tool gives it very little leverage. I have found that if you have a tactical pen or a small bolt, you can insert it into the lanyard hole and get a good deal more leverage out of it.
At its price, I would recommend it as a stocking stuffer or maybe a Father’s Day present. It has a quality build but needs a little more effort to be put into the multi-tool aspect. I am still looking for a good key chain multi-tool.
Do you have any suggestions?
Check out these related articles from our site:
- Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Review
- Gerber Suspension Gets the Job Done
- Gerber Gator Jr Has Teeth
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for informational purposes only. Please read our full disclaimer.If you’re looking for useful survival gear that you can’t make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on February 17, 2020, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
