Rocktol Gen R Multitool Review

Bottom Line

The Gen R is the easiest multitool on our list of the best multitools to recommend because it has a lot of useful tools, boasts decent quality, and is reasonably priced. For that combination, it’s the one tool we’d recommend if someone “just wants a multitool” for general use.

We loved the large external tools during testing on a rural property over the winter, especially the full-sized hex bit that can accept a wide variety of implements. All tools lock confidently, and they include a pocket clip that many more premium tools omit. We did notice that the knife wasn’t as good as we hoped, despite the high-quality VG10 steel, it left us a bit lacking, but that could have been from a sub-par factory grind. 

As an everyday carry (EDC) tool, it hits a lot of marks, though it might be a bit heavy for some. But as a “throw in my car in case I need it” tool, this is excellent.

How We Tested

We tested the Gen R on a rural property during the winter, doing everything from fixing chicken coops to cutting decaying tarps and fixing old equipment. We then used the Gen R as a more common everyday carry (EDC) tool to see how it handled household and other everyday tasks.

Tool Selection

The Gen R boasts an impressive number of features crammed into its frame, but crucially, this tool shines with the usefulness of each implement. From the manufacturer’s listing, the tools are:

• Needle Nose Pliers
• Regular Pliers
• Wire Cutters
• Hard-wire Cutters
• Crimping Pliers
• Ruler
• Belt Clip
• Serrated Knife
• Cutting Hook
• Saw
• Knife
• Scissors
• Screwdriver Socket
• Can Opener / Bottle Opener
• #7 Screwdriver
• #1.5 Flathead/Phillips Screwdriver
• Awl
• Wood/Metal File

It also comes with 3 double-sided hex bits for the screwdriver socket, and can accept normal hex bits. This is an impressive assortment of tools, but in researching this product category, there were some trends in design that we picked up on.

First off, this looks a lot like a certain Leatherman Wave, and that’s not by accident. When the patents on certain design features for Leatherman products expired years ago, many manufacturers jumped in with similar products, resulting in a now mature market of tools that bear a striking resemblance, but also attempt to improve on the designs.

The biggest addition is the full-size hex-bit driver, which accepts a multitude of tools, rather than the slim proprietary bits on the Wave. The second big choice is which four tools to place on the outside, since these are the larger, more capable tools. 

The Gen R features the Knife, Saw, Serrated Blade, and Scissors on the outside, which will appeal to many people but may be polarizing, since many folks prefer a full-sized file instead of full-sized scissors. Another smart design choice is the blade steel, which uses VG10 steel with a hardness of 60, which is higher than most blades in this category. 

The other smaller tools are good here, and crucially don’t duplicate the can opener and bottle opener. Many tools will have both to inflate their tool counts, which is unnecessary.

Tool Performance

The Gen R did very well with this metric. Nearly every tool produces high levels of performance across the board. The serrated blade was especially helpful for cutting old tarps off of hay bales, ripping through them with ease. The scissors had no problem trimming paracord or cutting small plant stalks, and the saw’s aggressive bite chewed through sticks with ease. 

The knife was more neutral in its assessment. Throughout the testing period, although it performed decently, it didn’t quite match the performance of some of our more premium multitools. Perhaps with a new grind profile, this blade would perform at an excellent level, but given its other excellent performance, we were left hoping for more here.

Another slight negative is the cutting hook on the serrated blade – it simply wasn’t sharp enough to glide through the cord, and we ended up just using the serrated blade most often. Again, something that could be fixed with a new grind. And although it’s not common to find this class of multitools, the lack of spring pliers will always make us wish for the feature.

Concerning the inner tools, they all worked well; the diamond file was especially nice, but the flip side was that the wood file was not nearly aggressive enough and mostly useless for us.

Comfort & Ease of Use

The Rocktol Gen R is average here. We appreciate the outer scales offering a smooth and, in our opinion, attractive look to the whole tool, and they give the body a reassuring grip when in use. But there are a few too many sharp corners that dig into your skin for us to rate this tool as comfortable as some others in this category. Using the screwdriver to bear down on a screw got the job done, but left deeper marks in our skin than others.

Additionally, the one-handed action on the knife is smooth, but it took a bit of use to break in, and it never got as buttery smooth as some other tools. The same can’t be said of the serrated knife, which gets stuck on the ball detent in the frame lock, making one-handed opening impractical. It’s a confusing performance here since the mechanism is the same as on the knife, but it performs worse here. The locks on the interior tools work easily enough, but they require digging with a fingernail to access.

The sheath is unfortunately not great here. We love the included hex bits for the screwdriver socket, but since they’re on the inside of the sheath, the pocket catches on the tool almost every time, leading to a frustrating experience overall. We ended up removing the hex bits from the sheath, and it worked much better, but it’s still a disappointing design choice here.

Weight & Size

This is a heavier tool than some, but still about average in its category, coming in at 9.7oz (274g). This is decently weighty in the pocket, but the inclusion of the clip gives it the option to live elsewhere, or in the sheath. 

It’s slightly larger than some competitors, but not unwieldy at 4.02×1.26×0.94in (102x32x24mm) closed up, but the pocket clip bumps that thickness up a bit if you choose to leave it attached.

Should You Buy the Rocktol Gen R Multitool?

If you’re someone who says, “I just want a multitool,” without many stipulations, this is the one to get. The Gen R will get the job done at a good price and with good quality. It’s probably the easiest to recommend on the list, mostly because the quality-to-price ratio is just excellent here. 

There are certainly other multitools that perform better for certain applications, but those have other tradeoffs, or are priced higher than the Gen R. It really is a multitool any Goldilocks would approve of. Nothing about this is bad, nearly all of it is great, and for most people, it’ll be hard to beat.

The people who shouldn’t buy the Gen R are those who use their multitools daily as an EDC. For those people, the higher price, lower weight, and slightly better usability and quality of some more premium options will make those better investments in the long term. But that group is not large, and they probably already know whether they’re in that category.

What Other Multitools Should You Consider?

The Rocktol is an easy multitool to recommend at its price and performance, but there are more heavy-hitting options in our best multitools gear guide that might appeal to you as well.

Leatherman Wave+ Review: The Wave is much more expensive, but worth the investment for EDC people. The tool action is smoother, the knife is a bit better, and the reduction in weight is significant if you’re carrying this in your pocket every day. The Wave+ has some major limitations, such as a lack of a pocket clip, proprietary bits, and small scissors (if you prefer a full-sized one like the Gen R), but it’s one of those products that’s a bestseller for a reason.

Roxon Flex Review: If the Gen R is the tool easiest to recommend, the Flex is the easiest to get excited about. If you’re the type of person who always thinks multitools don’t have the right tools for your specific needs and you end up with tools you never use, the Flex is like a breath of fresh air. It’s fully modular, swap tools in as you want, and get super specific with your loadout. The tool steel isn’t quite as high quality as we’d like, but other than that, it’s a comfortable, flexible, and reasonably priced tool that you can really make your own.

Leatherman Skeletool CX Review: If you just want the lightest good multitool, the Skeletool was made for you. It doesn’t do much, knife, pliers, screwdriver, bottle opener, that’s it. But for a lot of people that’s enough, and the included carabiner makes it even more convenient to carry around.