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Field test: thirty days with the pry bar

What a pocket pry bar actually does in a month of being carried — and what it doesn't.
EDC essentials on a wooden table
EDC essentials on a wooden table

Thirty days carrying the Keychain Pry Bar. Pocket only — no belt, no neck-rig. Just clipped to the keys, riding with the change and the lint.

What it did

Opened seventeen packages. Pried open one stuck window. Scraped paint off a license plate (don't ask). Acted as a flathead screwdriver four times. Saved me from buying a $3 bottle opener at a gas station, which probably netted me $3 in lifetime value.

It also lived in my pocket on a plane. The TSA didn't flag it. I don't recommend testing this — but the geometry is square and bench-tool-like enough that it doesn't read as a weapon.

What it didn't do

It didn't bend. It didn't scratch any of the surfaces I worried about. It didn't catch on the lining of my pocket, which sounds trivial until you remember the last keychain tool you carried that did.

The titanium picked up a soft patina over the month — a dull, dark line where the keys ride against it. I prefer it patina'd. It looks like it's been somewhere.

The verdict

Thirty days is short. Three years is what the brand is really betting on. But thirty days is enough to know: this thing wants to be carried. It does the small jobs without ceremony, and then it disappears back into the pocket where it lives.

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