When Metmo reached out about reviewing their Pocket Driver, it took me a while to accept their offer to test drive their product. On the surface, the Metmo Pocket Driver is an EDC tool, but without the foibles and downsides of many EDC widgets that try to do too many things at once. You know the types – the “It’s a prybar/screwdriver/whatever keychain widget” – they’re everywhere and they’re often in no way optimal tools.
Looking at the portability focused stuff like the Gerber Shard vs this Metmo Pocket Driver, it’s apples and oranges, so objectively I have to review it the way I would review a screwdriver – which I have never done before.
That said, I am not a builder, and when talking about long term tools, I am not sure if builders and professional craftsman would be the target demographic for the Metmo pocket driver.
Fundamentally, before I talk about the real world viability of this tool, I will preface the review by saying this is a flex for people who want an over engineered slab of metal that 100% functions as intended for a price.
Not the sort of thing you would find in your average plumbers toolbox, so bare that in mind.
The Metmo Pocket Driver is ratchet screwdriver with portability in mind and is machined without any tangible cost savings. Spring loaded bearing for retention of the handle, all CNC’e’d and pretty with no die cast nonsense.
This is reflected in the general feel and sense of sturdiness when actually using it. Whether the 17Nm of torque from this little thing translates in real world gains will be covered later.
Size matters folks, and when it comes to a tool with the prefix “Pocket” its teensyness(tm) is just as important as its performance output. Which ultimately always leads to a compromise.
It has to be small enough to carry, but big enough to do “the job.”
Interestingly, it does outperform the power tool because its size is immensely controllable. It is 100 odd grams of CNC machined prettiness, but its dimensions and shape means setting up the angle when adding pressure is always dead on accurate.
This is an important selling point and something that I haven’t seen anyone else talk about.
If you are in a less than ideal environment and you need to accurately screw or unscrew a screw (that’s a lot of screws!) this is far more manageable than a big power tool.
It also generates more torque with the flip out handle than a regular screwdriver so ultimately, guys, this is the real benefit.
Like an arrow folks.
The lack of ramp up motorized power means the driver will bite into the screw head with no slipping, and the amount of torque means it can go inside super aged wood with no issues.
The above slab of wood was one of my roof beams from the 70’s that I recently replaced.
It’s absurdly hard (cannot stress this enough, I don’t know where they got this wood), and pushed the limits of what I felt the tool could handle.
At the end of the day, I suspect this was me being conservative because I noticed zero warping from the handle.
The power tool choked before the Metmo driver.
Honestly, this surprised me, and that changed my original preconceptions – “It’s a cool toy, maybe some use in a bug out bag,” etc. – to, “This has a legitimate real world use case and I really like it.”
The driver itself is made in the UK and built like it was made by British engineers who spent too much time in their sheds. And it shows – because it was.
The bits however, are mediocre at best. They say S2 steel, but they don’t handle like S2 steel.
I would wager that these are Chinese made OEM generics and I am not a fan.
That said, the bit on the top right got mauled by the power tool, whilst the one on the left just got some surface damage (just a flesh wound bro!) – but if I used this in a professional setting, I don’t see those bits lasting very long.
Ditch them, get some proper ones.
OWIM or other reputable MFG and the end result will be much much better.
Your Metmo Pocket Driver will also look so much cooler, so performance aside – definitely do this.
The only other criticism I have is the lever for the ratchet system (which is pretty perfect).
The lever sticks out too much and I accidently slipped it into reverse more times than I wanted.
I get it on the full size Metmo driver (which looks awesome and can handle 4 times the oomph), but on the pocket driver, I don’t think it’s needed. Just add some knurling and it’s enough.
Frankly, I removed it and didn’t notice any practical differences beyond never accidently knocking off its setting.
You guys know that I hate regurgitating pointless specs and stats. If you don’t know what a screwdriver is and what a ratchet is then you don’t belong on this site. Please seek help.
But for convenience so you don’t have to look it up: standard screwdriver bits (1/4), standard 3 position ratchet position (forward, neutral and back), and made of your usual “aerospace grade aluminum,” 304 and 420 stainless steel.
All decent options, all pretty standard for a tool at that price point.
I get that most people have never gone to a metal supermarket, but as someone who has a smidgen of experience in CNC machining – the cost isn’t the material, it’s the tooling and labour.
Titanium is cheap folks, so is “aerospace grade aluminum.” Labour is most certainly not.
And when it comes to tooling and the general fit and finish – this is as good as it gets.
This is why it costs $100-150.
The threads are lathed perfectly, the lid has a friction fit bearing – which ain’t standard. Everything fits in a way that invites questions from lesser men who have never held a tool.
Yes, it’s a ratcheting screwdriver, but it’s a cool ratcheting screwdriver.
Very pretty guys, very pretty.
All that time drinking builders tea & ignoring your significant others is worth the time spent playing with tools like this.
Sure, you could spend time with your family, but look at how well finished a pocket screwdriver can be?
Worth it.
So now we get to the main question you’re here for me to answer:
Is it worth buying?
Well… Yes and no.
As I mentioned at the start of the review, this is both a tool and a flex to lesser mortals.
It’s a very cool thing to own and if you were to use it in public you could easily spend a few minutes explaining why it’s better to a complete stranger while they get star eyed at how nifty and cool this small tool looks. And at the end of the day, that’s what this tool really is for.
The fact that it works super well and manages to fit in your pocket and such is effectively irrelevant for the target demographic: people buy shiny things because they are shiny. This is why companies like Spyderco are still in business. It’s not about having the right tool for the job, it’s about having the coolest tool for the theoretical job that you may do, should circumstances align and the job in question isn’t too messy.
Personally, I think it’s the best screwdriver you can have in your car, no batteries needed. As a back up, emergency-screwdriver, lightweight and easy to have on hand urban survival tool, it fits the bill.
And when your friend whose idea of DIY is changing a lightbulb needs you and doesn’t have their own toolbox (you know the type – yes, we all have friends and even family members like this), you will be ready to humiliate him with the ultimate flex-cessory (from now on, this is how I will refer to these kinds of products).
If that sounds appealing to you – check out the Metmo Pocket Driver here.
And if you want to reach true flex-nirvana, they just launched a Kickstarter for a super well machined handle called the multi drive that can do all sorts of things. It actually looks pretty cool; you can check it out here.
<Standard drivel: I wasn’t paid for this review, I take zero responsibility for literally anything. If I got something wrong, chime in the comments and maybe I will get around to discussing it. Always interested to hear you weigh in with your 2¢.>
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