I simply remember my favorite things...

This is a Leatherman, the original "multi tool".  Created by a  guy from Oregon.  The company is still headquartered there.  It started with an original model but now (of course) there are many.  Pictured above is the Leatherman Wave model, which is my favorite.  They are sturdy, attractive, practical and versatile (like I aspire to be).  I would have added "lightweight" but then my personal metaphor would have failed.  There are legions of disappointing immitations.  Don't be fooled.  Over the years, I have literally purchased hundreds of leathermen for personal use and gifts--both corporate and personal.

Words cannot describe how often my leatherman is called into service.  We don't travel without it.  It slices fruit and spreads peanut butter.  It cuts rope, and paper, leather, fabric, and unfortunately skin.  Its saw is a real saw and cuts through heavy branches and thick plastic watertanks to create baptismal fonts.  It is the most effective phillips head and standard screwdriver that one can find in Mozambique. I have used it to replace door lock sets (which in Mozambique entails far more work than it does in the states) including chiseling new holes for deadbolts.  It has helped to repair and replace fuel lines and waterhoses.   It has cleaned and scaled a huge fish for the meal of a visiting general authority (to which I wasn't invited--but I did get called upon to do something with the fish). In Alaska, Leatherman have been used to clean and skin many a moose, bear, and caribou.  Sometime before I leave, I should probably skin a gazelle, just to have the experience here.

If you have a loved-one going to a spot without a WallMart close by, I suggest that you buy him or her a Leatherman Wave.  It is very durable but not impossible to break--it does however possess a long warranty (25 years or lifetime I think).  I have had a couple of them repaired or replaced for free.  It is not often that I express such praise for a product, nor wax so effusive, but I consider the leatherman, coupled with a roll of duct tape, to be the twin marvels of the modern industrial age and essential companions for any individual or missionary.