Bang for the buck tool?

Monofletch

Monofletch

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Jan 14, 2010
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Everyone raves about the RAT model 1 being a great inexpensive folder. Being well built and decent steel it is a great buy.

What is the RAT 1 of multi tools?? :D
 
At $28.17 shipped, the Leatherman Wingman comes to mind. My example had poor scissors, but people generally like it for what it is.
 
I have a Leatherman Kick that I paid less than $25 for. AMAZING value there. Some days I consider selling off my Wave and just relying on the Blast as it has all the tools I ever use. The Blast and Fuse go for a little bit more, but also fit nicely into the bang-for-the-buck category.

OR you can go with what I consider to be the ultimate "poor man's multi-tool." Get yourself any good Swiss Army knife and pair it with any good pair of pliers. Done! :)
 
A Rebar, under $44. I also picked up my most recent Wave for $47.90 NIB, but that was an outlier.
 
mnblade said:
I have a Leatherman Kick that I paid less than $25 for. AMAZING value there. Some days I consider selling off my Wave and just relying on the Blast as it has all the tools I ever use. The Blast and Fuse go for a little bit more, but also fit nicely into the bang-for-the-buck category.

OR you can go with what I consider to be the ultimate "poor man's multi-tool." Get yourself any good Swiss Army knife and pair it with any good pair of pliers. Done! :)
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As I see things, a SAK is just sub-par as a multi-tool because the blades and implements don't lock, nor do they have the necessary mass.
Don't get me wrong, I love SAKs for what they are, occasionally they do punch above their weight, but a SAK is not really a job site tool. That was my reaction when first introduced to a Leatherman PST. I liked the idea well enough to buy one for myself and appreciated having good pliers in a compact form, but the tool set offered little or no advantage compared to my Swisschamp. After a few weeks with the PST I returned to my SAK because it offered more utility. Then I discovered the Super Tool, which was big enough, had all the right implements and all of them locked. Perfect. Love at first sight and the honeymoon lasted 9 years, during which it was my almost daily companion, along with a Micra for the scissors and other supplementary tools. These days I draw on a Super Tool 300, Charge TTi, Rebar and, of course, Micra.
That said, I spent decades BL (Before Leatherman) with only one or another SAK in my pocket and somehow managed to stumble my way into the light. This proves you can overcome any handicap. :D
 
I was issued a Gerber 600 in the ARMY. It was great except that it pinched your hand when the pliers slipped. I think I will give a Wave or Wingman a try.
 
Used to have a S&W Tonto folder (around 25$). It was nice little pocket knife. I ended up loosing it in a horse pasture though :(
 
Monofletch said:
I was issued a Gerber 600 in the ARMY. It was great except that it pinched your hand when the pliers slipped. I think I will give a Wave or Wingman a try.
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The Gerber pinch was worse, but the Wave also can pinch your palm if it slips. I don't have experience with the Wingman, but any multi-tool with outside opening blades can raise a blood blister in pliers mode if you are not careful.
 
SAK Officer's model. Love Leatherman but had to save for the one I have now. The SAK gets equal carry time, I pick depending on the activities of the day.
 
Leatherman Wingman $25-ish. The only game in town in that price range. I like my Wingman better than my old Wave. The Wingmans scissors aren't the best but really no worse than the scissors on more expensive Leatherman models. The only Multi-tool with really great scissors is the full sized Victorinox Swisstool.
 
If I had to buy someone a multi-tool tomorrow with no idea how they would use it or what for, it would be the leatherman rebar. solid tool, good loadout, and nice basic design.
Its a few bucks more than the wingman, but I think its far more useful. The more I use mine, the more I love it.
 
I've had good service from my Buck x-Tract )both models (the Utility and the Essential) depending on what tools you need.
Love that both work all tools open and close with one hand. The larger model (Utility) is too bulky for pocket carry (comes
with a belt pouch), the Essential has a pocket clip. Take a look at them.
Rich
 
znapschatz said:
The Gerber pinch was worse, but the Wave also can pinch your palm if it slips. I don't have experience with the Wingman, but any multi-tool with outside opening blades can raise a blood blister in pliers mode if you are not careful.
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That happened to me the first time I used my Wave's wire cutters. I was splitting a Bic flint to use it for my Zippo and pinched myself pretty good. Careful is the key. I haven't done it since.

I think the Juice s2 is a great bang for your buck. Simple and handy for around $40ish
 
tholiver said:
Leatherman Wingman $25-ish. The only game in town in that price range. I like my Wingman better than my old Wave. The Wingmans scissors aren't the best but really no worse than the scissors on more expensive Leatherman models. The only Multi-tool with really great scissors is the full sized Victorinox Swisstool.
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Aren't those the same as the scissors on 91 mm SAKs?
 
Although I carry a Surge everyday at work , I think the Wave is one of the best alround middle of the road tools you can buy .
I also rate the Skeetool very highly .
I have no idea what prices of these are in the USA , but here in Australia they are very competitively priced and are my "everyday go to" knives .

Ken
 
I agree that the Leatherman ick is good value. I have also read a suggestion to replace the lanyard ring with a file or perhaps a serrated blade - that would make it even better.:cool:
 
While the Wingman does have some bang for the buck its definitely not the RAT 1 of multitools. To many problems with the Wingman to consider it to be that. I would say the Rebar is the best tool to price ratio your going to get. Im talking standard pricing here. Im sure you can get a Wave for $40 if you look hard enough. Even so I choose to carry a Rebar over ever other tool I have. Just my opinion though.
 
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