Got my Leatherman Core today

[shootist16]

Here are my initial impressions:

The good:

1. Beefy. Seems to be well constructed.
2. The length of the tools is nice. They should be able to fit places the Swisstool wont.
3. The pliers are an improvement and much better than the swisstools.
4. The lock is easy to implement.


The bad
1. The nylon sheath sux! It is freaking way too big. I was hoping for a more form fitting sheath.
2. They say the tools dont clump. They don't exactly clump, but most of the tools do come up a little when pulling one out. Not near as good as the swisstool system.
3. The tools open from the inside. You have to open the handles to get to the tools. This also means the knife blades dont st flush with the bottom of the handle. The Swisstool is still tops on this.

The Core beats the swisstool in tool length and pliers, but thats it. If the swisstool had better pliers I would stick with it.

 

[Matches]

Leatherman does seem to be getting a handle on the clumping problem, but they don't really want us to forget it. I looked at the Core (on line) but am holding out for the Surge. My 2004 Wave is great but I can't deal with the "pop-out" screwdrivers. In my opinion, Leatherman came up with these because they're less expensive to replace on a tool sent back for warranty work. :thumbdn:

 

[gordonk]

I didn't mind the pop out screwdriver on my Wave II (2204) so much on mine, but I did buy the extra bit set, and noticed that they enclosed a second bit for that small eyeglass screwdriver thing. Guess I should have read the instructions Anyway, I took mine out and tried to get it to stay snug after a put it back in. It wasn't as easy as I thought. I would think that the small one would be bear to find if you dropped it on a carpet or in some dirt. It's a bit small for what I normally need, but nonetheless..... I have one of the old PST's and decided to upgrade. To me I figured the Wave II was it - I guess I should have looked closer. A Fuse or Kick would probably have served me every bit as well if not better. I can't recall seeing the Core when I got my Wave - I did look at one of the Swiss Tools but the pliers weren't pointy enough for what I do. I work in an office testing software, and staging/certifying PC's to work with our products is one of my many tasks, so the Wave was a natural upgrade to my PST from the pliers standpoint.

It does give me an excuse for another multitool, though

- gord

 

[Temper]

Leatherman came up with these because they're less expensive to replace on a tool sent back for warranty work. :thumbdn:

This sounds a little unfair. I doubt whether the reason for the design was to avoid costs during warranty. Leatherman puts out a wonderfully robust tool. I have had a 'Devil may care' attitude to levering with my 1st gen Wave and have even pried open padlocks with it. I did this because I knew the warranty was so good and long. Since I have had it for a long time now I am a bit more careful with it but still am no afraid to really use it.

What I would like to see from Leatherman is an extension for the little stubby bits. This would really take it head and shoulders over the competition.

 

[Matches]

Perhaps I jumped the gun on the driver bits, however, the following is an excerpt from an Equipped to Survive review of the new Leatherman tools:

A bigger concern is that Leatherman has no mechanism in place to replace individual bits that are lost or damaged. That they would start delivering a design such as this with proprietary bits and then not have in place some means to easily purchase a replacement bit at reasonable cost is, in our opinion, extremely shortsighted and not very consumer friendly. Regardless of the merits, or not, of using these proprietary bits, this lapse represents a notable drawback to these tools. The best Leatherman could offer was that they were working on the issue.

I find it difficult to believe that Leatherman has to work on this issue...they are the ones selling/backing the tool. I'm sure if you sent back a tool with a broken bit, it woul be cheaper to replace the bit than to replace the previous type of implement. Of course, I could still be off base, but if I am...they still have a poor system if you can't get bits. :thumbdn:

 

[Daniel]

Leatherman does seem to be getting a handle on the clumping problem, but they don't really want us to forget it. I looked at the Core (on line) but am holding out for the Surge. My 2004 Wave is great but I can't deal with the "pop-out" screwdrivers. In my opinion, Leatherman came up with these because they're less expensive to replace on a tool sent back for warranty work. :thumbdn:

The Surge is out on the street!

 

[Matches]

The Surge is out on the street!

Thanks Daniel, I'm lookin'

 

[Daniel]

I placed my order today from a well-known dealer in the Bay Area in CA.

 

[Temper]

A bigger concern is that Leatherman has no mechanism in place to replace individual bits that are lost or damaged.

Yes, this is FUBAR

extremely shortsighted and not very consumer friendly

This is really odd when you consider their CS. I genuinely wonder if this just wasnt considered. Its already proprietery so you can't lose money selling replacements and its not like they are part of a unique set.

What does our resident rep have to say?

 

[Bodieism]

I placed my order today from a well-known dealer in the Bay Area in CA.

For the Surge ?? I've been looking everywhere for one. I contacted Leatherman CS and they said they had already started shipping some but I can't find anywhere that has them in stock. Can I have that dealer's # or their website address?

 

[Zwaplat]

Any decent pics of the Core (and Surge) ? Would like to see some others than the standard LM ones.