I have my life vest rigged with a leatherman and a long nose set of pliers. I never take it off. Especially when I am up front.

My only issue is remembering to hook the lanyard to my vest when I sit down. On a windy day, I am much more likely to forget as I will be moving quicker after having pull the TM out.

My kill switch is a toggle, I'm guessing the newer ones aren't?

Same here

Correct.  The newer ones are like a button.  A clip holds the button out, so when it's jerked out, it goes down and activates.