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The Zilla-Tool was designed by Lance Barber and Tom Stokes as part of CRKT’s I.D. Works line of tools. Think of a knife, screwdriver and pliers neatly rolled into one and you get the CRKT Zilla Tool. Moving away from the conventional, bulky multi-tools, the creators have crafted an out of the box, sleek design with high functionality.
Weighing in at 7.4 oz. and 6.5 inches in length when closed, it a great tool for Every Day Carry (EDC) with the included nylon sheath. Although the Zilla-Tool comes with a removable stainless steel pocket clip, it’s length and weight make it more suitable for belt-carry. For the same features in a pocket-carry size consider the Zilla-Tool Jr model.
Columbia River Knife & Tool 9060/9060K Zilla Multitool [Discontinued by Manufacturer]
- Price: ~$30
- Weight: 4/5
- Size: 4/5
- Durability: 3/5
- Utility: 4/5
- Overall Rating: 4/5
Our Hands-On Review
The pliers are spring loaded and have both circular toothed and fine flat gripping surfaces. The wire cutter near the base of the pliers have a custom crafted notch for wire stripping. The screwdriver is at the opposite end of the pliers and allows the whole body of the tool tobe used for leverage to deal with even the most stubborn of screws. The Zilla-Tool handle has recessed areas that come with flat and Phillips tips and will accept standard size replacements – a nice feature if the bit wears out or if you work with screw drives that aren’t commonly available on multi-tools, such as Torx or hex heads. Unfortunately, CRKT didn’t think to include additional bit storage in the nylon sheath to make the Zilla even more versatile.
The knife blade has one-handed operation with the CRKT “flipper” that also acts as a blade guard when the blade is open. The Zilla-Tool flipper is ambidextrous, something that left-handed users will appreciate when many multitools on the market cater to right-handed users. Handles on the Zilla-Tool handle is made Zytel, a composite material that offers long lasting durability and outstanding grip even when wet. The Zilla-Tool bottle opener is the least functional tool on the ZillaTool – it requires use of the pliers handle and the knife blade flipper in an awkward alignment that doesn’t provide great leverage to remove the bottle cap.
- Blade length: 3 in
- Closed length: 6.5 in
- Weight: 7.4 oz
- Pocket clip: yes
- One-handed: yes
Official Tool List as provided by CRKT
- spring loaded needle nose pliers with fine flat and circular toothed gripping surfaces
- 3 inch locking liner knife blade, hollow ground with modified spear point and triple-point serrations, 2CR13 steel with 51-53 HRC
- flat blade driver
- phillips driver
- 1 position pocket clip and nylon sheath
- bottle opener