Have not owned a multi-tool in years!

steve-in-kville

steve-in-kville

Joined
Dec 25, 2001
Messages
1,139
Buying myself a Christmas gift this year. Last multi I had was a few smaller SAK's and a Leatherman Wave.

What is the latest and greatest at the moment?

Thanks!
 
My favorites are the Vic Spirit, the WorkChamp and the Cybertool Lite. But I don't EDC these. For EDC it's the Pioneer X, the Traveller Lite and the Explorer.
 
I have an ARC under the tree. Have carried an SOG Powerlock for well over a decade. Also had a SOG Paratool for several years.

SOG is now China.

I use a multi-tool many times a day and would be lost without one, literally walking around looking for tools!

The new ARC is stamped U.S.A. at least twice. I can't wait till Christmas!
 
steve-in-kville said:
Buying myself a Christmas gift this year. Last multi I had was a few smaller SAK's and a Leatherman Wave.

What is the latest and greatest at the moment?

Thanks!
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Leatherman ARC. If you are used to a Wave then the ARC will probably seem somewhat familiar with some great upgrades. I don't have an ARC but if I was buying a new multitool it is the one I would get.
 
What size are you looking for?
Keychain friendly? "Medium" (LM "Wingman" for example.) or "Large"? (LM "Super Tool 300" and "Wave"/"Rebar", for example?)
What is budget?
The LM "Free" (the cost ain't free ...) with magnetic blade locks cost a lot less than some of the recently introduced models, and more than those without magnetic locking.)
LM recently introduced a model with a "latest and greatest" "super steel" blade ("Magna Cut"?) but at a several hundred bucks price point ... they can keep it. I don't think I've used my LM's (plain edge CPM154) blade twice. The serrated blade (420HC?) has not been used. I detest serrated blades.
I carry at least two or three "traditional" multi blade knives (each with different blade profiles) for all my knife cutting/slicing tasks.

What tools do you [bneed[/b]?
Are you looking for one with a "upgraded" steel blade, such as CPM154?
(The "Charge+ TTI" (still a little under $200, I think) has a CPM154 blade and Ti covers. "Charge+" has a S30V blade and G10 covers. Cost is less than the +TTI model.)

I'd suggest getting whichever MT has the tool set you need, be it a "Latest and Greatest" model or an older model.

Multi tools I carry are the Charge+ TTI (traded a couple knives to a friend for it) with bit sets 1 (missing 3 bits. I don't know which) and 2, and a aftermarket 1/4 inch bit ratchet that is compatable with both the propriatery LM flat bits and standard 1/4 inch bits.
TBH I rarely use the LM bits. I have a 36 pc 1/4 inch bit set and a 125 pc. 1/8 inch bit set (and 1/8 to 1/4 inch adapter) and a SAK Hercules, and Huntsman.

These do everything I need a MT for.
Your needs may be different of course. 😊👍
 
afishhunter said:
What size are you looking for?
Keychain friendly? "Medium" (LM "Wingman" for example.) or "Large"? (LM "Super Tool 300" and "Wave"/"Rebar", for example?)
What is budget?
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I have an old Leatherman Juice that I loved, but is well worn out. That was my "church knife". I'd like something that size. Plus a full size like the Wave.

These new Gerber MP's have caught my eye as well....
 
steve-in-kville said:
I have an old Leatherman Juice that I loved, but is well worn out. That was my "church knife". I'd like something that size. Plus a full size like the Wave.
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Unfortunately they don't make the Juice line anymore. They did have a final limited run of those a while ago, but you missed the boat on that one. Now they're back to being expensive again on the secondary market.

The only thing available in that size currently is the SOG Power Pint and the SOG Power Litre, but as someone else already pointed out, those are made in China. Speaking from personal experience, the quality control on them is not so great and if you have to deal with customer support then it can be a huge hassle. Their customer support was total garbage when I had to deal with it, and that's when I was able to get through... it was a complete waste of time for me. I think that's the point. They probably want it that way so that people don't use it. I'm told that SOG's customer support used to be excellent before they were bought by GSM Outdoors.

Most of the tools in the Power Pint and Power Litre are crappy anyways... but the pliers themselves are good. And the wire cutters are good too. And the quarter inch bit driver is pretty handy. So it's a mixed bag... it's hard for me to recommend it but it's hard to say that you shouldn't get one either...

The only thing I can really say is definitely don't pay full price for one. It's not worth it. It might be worth it if you can get one with a deep enough discount, maybe. If anything, it's a fun fidget toy. Flipping one open and closed can be enjoyable.
 
steve-in-kville said:
Plus a full size like the Wave.
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I think I read somewhere that the Wave + is the best selling multi-tool of all time. It makes sense, I've never owned one but bought my brother one years ago. When my SOG PowerLock started showing it's age I bought a Rebar and don't care for it's "stiffness". I know I should probably take the time to "break it in", but I just threw it in the truck and kept carrying the SOG. My son bought me the Free K2 and the tools pop out so easily and I've seen videos of the P4 and the Arc and ordered one the other day but it's under the Christmas tree for another week or so.

If, for some reason, I don't like the Arc, the Wave+ will probably be the answer and I'll just have to take the time to break it in.

It's hard to change when you've been carrying and using something for well over a decade.
 
I'm really enjoying my leatherman surge. I have some Juice's (get em on ebay) and a wave plus. But the outside scissors and beefiness of the surge just make it seem like a very legitimate tool, you don't feel like your compromising or using a multitool perse. Its a little big but I don't notice it in my jeans pocket. But then again I carry a glock 19 IWB everyday and don't mind that at all either. Honestly if I need smaller than a surge I'm likely to carry a juice. The scissors are still bigger than the waves and has a better phillips screwdriver
 
steve-in-kville said:
What is the latest and greatest at the moment?
Click to expand...

That's the Arc. The problem is it costs way too much because of the magnacut blade, and it sucks to spend that much money on it only to have the cutters be outperformed by a multitool that costs less than half of what the Arc costs. Leatherman's cutters just don't do as well as cheaper multitools these days. Even some of the cheap Chinese stuff does a better job in some cases. Same thing goes with the scissors. The Free series scissors (which are used on the Arc) are better than many of Leatherman's other scissors, but they're still being outperformed by significantly cheaper stuff... we're talking multitools that you can buy at the extreme low end of the price range. I bought a multitool a while back for around 13 dollars and it had way better scissors than anything currently being made by Leatherman, with the one exception being the scissors on the Leatherman Surge.

Apparently there are also still defective wire cutters floating around because I just saw a very recent test where they tried using the Arc's cutters and they instantly failed spectacularly, and you guessed it... they broke. That's been a commonly reported issue, and that's just one of the quality control problems that I've seen. There are others, but they aren't getting as much attention as the wire cutters have been getting.

It has to suck to spend over 230 dollars on a multittool only to have to send it back to Leatherman for warranty. I wouldn't advise anyone to even consider buying an Arc until Leatherman 1. sorts out their bad quality control issues, 2. the existing stock of defective cutters is depleted, and 3. Leatherman goes back to the old cutter design. But hey, it's the holiday season and plenty of suckers are lining up to reimburse Leatherman's R&D costs. I'm all for it as long as Leatherman gets their crap together, but I refuse to be one of those suckers.

And don't even get me started on the whole magnacut hype hysteria. It doesn't make any sense when you really think about it. Magnacut is great and you could make a solid case that there's decent monetary value for the Arc having it, but the problem is it's not necessary at all on a multitool and it doesn't make sense to have the price increased so much for it. It's a small blade with an even smaller edge. Save the high end steels for better and bigger knives. Leatherman should offer a lower cost version of the Arc without the magnacut, and possibly without that ridiculous thumb stuf that gets in the way. It's fun to flick the knife open, but if you actually want to use the thing, then the stud could be a problem depending on what you're trying to do.
 
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Guy McVer said:
That's the Arc. The problem is it costs way too much. And don't even get me started on the whole magnacut hype hysteria. but the problem is it's not necessary at all on a multitool and it doesn't make sense. Save the high end steels for better and bigger knives. that ridiculous thumb stuf that gets in the way, the stud could be a problem depending on what you're trying to do.
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I have one under the Christmas tree and am excited about it.

You're like a Debbie Downer, man...

Several members here have bought the Arc.
 
Imo nothing beats a Leatherman Super Tool 300. I have owned all of them at one point. Only ones I kept were that one and a Free P4 my wife claimed. Even bought a backup if I ever manage to break it.
 
I’m in the same spot (thinking about a new multitool) and have concluded it’ll be the Vic Spirit X. The Arc is a close second, but since I already carry a nice folder, the MT blade is simply a back up for me.

I think the Arc could be a great single tool option. It’s tempting to try to give that a go, especially given the discount to vets.
 
I tend to lean toward the Leatherman line. I've not felt the need to switch up from my P4 for years, and despite it being too expensive a total waste of resources and me probably being foolish for wanting it...I'm getting an Arc next ;) I see it as a tool that could replace my dedicated folder on days where I want to pack light. It's expensive, but what isn't and I want it.

That said, I may have accidentally stumbled across a Gerber Diesel that my daughter picked out for me for Christmas hiding in linen closet. I know my wife bought it, but I'm sure she picked it out. Not the most convenient cup of tea, but I think I'll make a new sheath for it and carry that one when I need a tool to beat on. I'm sure this is a bit of a gag gift as every year for the last 3 years I buy my daughter a cheap MT to keep in her purse or room so that she doesn't bug me to fix something. At 13 she probably has around 7 SAKs and MTs that she can't seem to kerp track of.

Actually, my first pliers based tool was a Gerber I bought from Walmart in 1999. Sold me on how handy these things are. At least the Diesel is manufactured (mostly) in the US. Kinda excited to get back to my MT roots...but that Arc is calling my name ;)
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Actually, my first pliers based tool was a Gerber I bought from Walmart in 1999. Sold me on how handy these things are. At least the Diesel is manufactured (mostly) in the US. Kinda excited to get back to my MT roots...but that Arc is calling my name ;)
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My Dad was a gun dealer and bought the early Leatherman, a SOG Paratool and a Gerber for his 3 sons. We were all adults and me being the oldest I got first choice and picked the Paratool. I wore it out and abused it and he noticed it one day and sent it back to them and they sent him a new one for me. When he died, I put it up (sentimental) and replaced it with an early American made SOG PowerLock and have carried it ever since.

I would buy another, but they are now Chinese and I want American stuff when given the option, that's why I ordered the Arc.

I'm never without a multi-tool.
 
TrainedBullets said:
since I already carry a nice folder, the MT blade is simply a back up for me.
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It's a shame that there aren't any good knifeless options out there for pliers based multitools. Freeing up the one or two slots that are normally taken up by a knife could either reduce the overall thickness or increase the amount of different tools. There are so many options for knives depending on your needs or wants, so if you do normally carry a folder, then why do you really need a knife in your multitool?

It also makes a lot of sense for places that don't allow locking knives. Because there is no knife, your multitool can still use the same locking tool design as the other models, and then you can carry a slipjoint folder that meets the legal guidelines. Manufacturers could sell the same models to all markets instead of having region specific non-locking models or just not being able to sell well in those more restrictive regions. People could freely travel with their knifeless multitools without having to worry about getting in trouble or having it confiscated.

But to be fair, the TSA will confiscate anything on a whim if they feel like it...
 
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