Back in 2020, Windeler showed a slick magnetic multitool system, a modular family of single implements designed to stack and carry together as customized tools adapted for any task or adventure. At the time, the lineup largely comprised simple implements like drivers and wax combs, but now the company has developed some more complex tools that can work alone or with others. Available add-ons like the pliers and scissors let the Windeler multitool more readily compete with multitool offerings from name brands like Leatherman and Victorinox.
Along with getting production underway and shipping units out to its original Kickstarter backers, Windeler has spent the past two years collecting feedback. It shortlisted the most requested new tools and features and developed them out for a second Kickstarter campaign, running now. Several of the second-generation implements work and carry seamlessly as standalone tools but also make ideal base pieces for a new or existing magnetic stack.
The new Minim knife might be the best example of Windeler's standalone-or-stack design. The original Windeler family had a folding blade, but it was an open-topped design that didn't carry particularly well outside of the stack. The Minim is a more traditional slip-joint folding knife, in which the blade folds safely away in the handle. Measuring just 4.1 in (10.2 cm) tall and 6.2 mm thick, the ultra-slim Minim carries lightly and comfortably on its own but can also be carried along with other Windeler implements using its built-in Polynetik magnetic connector. Either way, when you need it, it detaches and works like any folding knife. It comes in both titanium- and steel-handle options and has a 2.9-in (74-mm) LC200N steel blade.
Another tool that stands on its own or stacks with the team, the 8-mm-slim pliers feature a folding design that collapses the pliers into their own legs. Unlike in fixed multitools with integrated pliers, the Windeler pliers detach from the greater multitool stack so they can be used at the same time as other tools. Windeler shows an example of holding a stuck nut steady while loosening the bolt with a hex key, something you wouldn't be able to do if both your pliers and hex wrench were fixed components in the same tool.
The final new implement Windeler has readied is a pair of scissors. Since the pointy end of the scissors remains out and doesn't fold away safely, as in the Minim knife and pliers, users probably won't want to carry this particular tool alone. But like the others, it's designed to stack into a Windeler multitool, where the pointed scissor ends can nest away more safely.
Windeler also introduces the Stow into the mix. The magnetic-close Cordura tool wrap works to hold and carry single tools or multitool stacks. The small version holds one to four tools, and the large holds four to eight.
Windeler is running its Kickstarter now, offering both single tools and multitool packages. Early bird pledge levels run £16 (approx. US$22) for the small Stow, £17 ($23) for the large Stow, £29 ($39) for the scissors, £39 ($53) for the pliers, £73 ($99) for the steel Minim, and £95 ($129) for the titanium Minim. The Minim, pliers and scissors can be packaged together into a stack for pledge levels starting at £139 ($188).
The campaign is already a runaway success, having raised over $130,000 on a $10K goal, and if everything else moves along without a hitch, Windeler will begin shipping the new tools in November 2022. The campaign runs until March 4.
Source: Windeler
