The Gerber LineDriver is a fishing line tool the size of a thick pen, and we’ve taken it on a few fishing trips off the rocks, mainly around Sydney and also on trips up north. It’s a handy little tool to have with you: it clips to your pants, so the snips on top are ready to cut line straight away, and it has a few more handy tools for rigging up. It weighed 60 g on our scale. I paid $65 for it.
What’s in the box
A black aluminium tool with sage-green handles and an orange slider and tether ring, about 12.7 cm long. Gerber lists six functions: a spinning hook vise, a tether ring, an eyelet clearing spike, a hook threader, scissor snips and a split shot crimper. It also has a sliding lock and a pocket clip. It comes in Flat Sage with orange, as ours, or all black.
What we like
- Light at 60 g, clips on your pants
- Snips cut line while clipped on
- Hook vise, threader and crimper
- Very good quality build
- Tether ring to stop you losing it
What we don’t
- A bit pricey for a line tool
- Only for fishing jobs
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Gerber |
| Material | Anodised 6061 aluminium body3Cr13MoV stainless blades |
| Colour options | Flat SageBlack |
| Weight | 60 g |
| Length | 12.7 cm |
| Functions | SnipsHook viseHook threaderEyelet spikeSplit shot crimperTether ring |
| Features | Sliding lockPocket clip |
The tools at a glance
The LineDriver has six fishing tools across its two ends, plus the clip and the lock. The snips sit at the clip end, with the hook threader and the split shot crimper on the tips of their jaws, and the hook vise and eyelet spike are at the other end.
- 1Spinning hook vise and eyelet spikeHolds a hook while you tie a knot, and the spike clears paint out of hook eyes.
- 2Tether ringTies the tool to a lanyard, so it doesn’t end up in the water.
- 3Sliding lockLocks the snips shut, or slightly open to cut line while clipped on.
- 4Pocket clipClips it to your pants, a pocket or a bag.
- 5Scissor snipsCut mono and braid; one blade is serrated.
- 6Hook threaderGuides fine line into small hook eyes.
- 7Split shot crimperPinches split shot sinkers onto the line.
The snips
The snips are what we use most. Clipped to my pants on the rocks, they sit on top, so I can cut line straight away without unclipping anything. Slide the orange lock so the snips stay slightly open, and you just pull the line through the open blades. One blade is serrated, so slippery braid and mono don’t slide out of the jaws before they’re cut. Slide the lock the other way and the snips stay shut for carrying.
Hook vise, threader and crimperHook vise & crimper
Besides the snips it has more handy tools for rigging up. At the far end, press the sage lever and the jaws open into a small vise that holds a hook while you tie a knot, and the vise spins so you can wind a clinch knot without the hook catching your fingers. The tip of the vise has a small spike for clearing paint or glue out of a jig head’s eye. Back at the snips end, the tip of the sage handle is a hook threader for guiding fine line into small eyes, and the tip of the other jaw is a split shot crimper.
Build and carrying
It’s definitely made of very good quality: the body is anodised aluminium, the blades are stainless steel, and nothing feels loose or cheap. The pocket clip holds it firmly on your pants, a pocket or a bag, and the orange tether ring near the vise end lets you tie it to a lanyard so it doesn’t end up in the water off the rocks. At 60 g on our scale, you hardly notice it clipped on. It’s the fishing pick in our multitools guide.
Conclusion: Gerber LineDriverConclusion
The Gerber LineDriver is a handy little tool to have with you when you fish. We’ve used it on a few trips off the rocks, around Sydney and up north, clipped to our pants so the snips on top cut line straight away, and its hook vise, threader, eyelet spike and split shot crimper cover the rest of rigging up. It’s very well made, with an aluminium body and stainless blades. It is a bit pricey for a line tool, and it only does fishing jobs, but if you fish on your trips it’s one to keep clipped on.
A handy, well-made line tool to keep clipped on when you fish.
Clipped to our pants on the rocks, the snips on top cut line straight away, and it has a hook vise, a threader and a split shot crimper too. It’s a bit pricey, though, and it only does fishing jobs.
- Anglers
- Paddlers
- 4WD tourers
If you fish on your trips, yes. I paid $65, a bit pricey for a line tool, but it’s very well made and the snips cut line while it’s clipped on. For the odd fishing trip, nippers will do.
