How handy is the leatherman squirt?

BMCGear

BMCGear

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
6,885
Considering carrying one of these in my 5th pocket. How handy is it vs a Victorinox?
 
I carry one on my car keys, so I am generally never without one. As a knife, I consider them a last resort as I almost always have a knife on me. I think the blade is too small to do much cutting. I primarily use the pliers on mine. There is also a tiny scissors hat I have never used. My regular carry knife is also a Vic SAK by the way. My second knife is usually a modern and will vary if I carry one. Depends on my mood and what my day likely entails. Regardless, I keep knives inside my truck all the time in addition to something I might carry in a pocket.

If I had to choose one or the other (Squirt vs Vic SAK), I would take the SAK.
 
Last edited:
On a daily basis I carry a Squirt in a caddy with my folder inside my front pocket, mainly because of its pliers. I also have a Victorinox Classic inside my coin purse, which is placed inside my back pocket. I use the Classic's small blade a lot for light slicing and cutting duties.
 
It’s very handy. I’ve been carrying my Squirt daily for years attached to a small Fenix flashlight. The pliers and screwdriver attachments get used fairly often. I never warmed to my SAK’s and find the Squirt works better for me.

I also carry a knife. The tiny blade in the Squirt is generally inadequate for all but cutting string.
 
I guess I'm the odd man out as I think the squirt is handy as hell. It makes a great general EDC for modern urban/suburban life. I've used every feature on it numerous times, including the blade that people think is too small. Too small for what?? Yes, it can be a bit small for butchering a water buffalo or chopping down a tree.

But I've used it to slice open 50 pound bags of mulch, 40 pound bags of Morton's salt pellets for the water softener system, cut open lots of plastic blister packages, cut twine, nylon 3/8th rope, nylon 1 inch webbing, light bush branches needing to be cut back, a rack of BBQ beef ribs that a plastic knife wouldn't separate, breaking down cardboard boxes for the recycle bin, and lots more. And the chisel ground is soooooo easy to sharpen up. A two minute job, literally, and it seems more rugged.

I LOVE the chisel ground blade and wish more pocket knives had it. The blade on the squirt in my experience is as capable as the one inch blade on a Stanley 99 utility knife. The standard utility knife blade is just an inch long, and it handles most cutting jobs on a helll of a lot of construction sites.

The small pliers are a wonderful thing for a fumble fingered arthritic old fart, and I've found the wire cutters to be good for plastic zip ties.

I don't carry a Victorinox classic anymore like I used to. It has been totally phased out by the Leatherman squirt. If I had the choice between a small SAK like a classic or even executive, and Leatherman squirt, one or the other, I'd go with the Leatherman. Just much more real world uses there in one little package. And Leatherman factory service is on par with Victorinox. In the end of last May, the scissors spring on my 5 year old squirt broke. I sent back and in a very short time they sent me a new Leatherman, no questions asked. Turn around time was only a few days subtracting travel time in the postal service.

Leatherman vs the 58mm and 74mm SAK's? I go Leatherman hands down.

Leatherman vs the 84mm or 91 mm SAK's? Okay I have to give that one to Victorinox. I can get a 91mm SAK with pliers, and you'll have more blade.
 
Last edited:
BMCGear said:
Considering carrying one of these in my 5th pocket. How handy is it vs a Victorinox?
Click to expand...
A Vic is a knife with tools, the squirt is a pair of pliers with some tools including an occasional use knife blade.
I love the squirt and mine has been with me every single day since I got it almost a year ago, it's an extremely handy little tool.
You'll be happy with what it offers for it's size but if you compare it to a Vic like the recruit the only think it's got going for it is the pliers and scissors, they're not quite as good as Vic classic scissors but they work fine.
If the knife blade is important then it's not for you, otherwise it's great and extremely handy.
 
Last edited:
jackknife said:
Too small for what?? Yes, it can be a bit small for butchering a water buffalo or chopping down a tree.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's too small at all, I'd have no problem carrying a knife this size as an only knife.
The only reason I don't use it much is because I just never think of a multitool blade as a real knife I'd go to often.
And the Vic classic blade I don't really know why, they just seem more like the blade on a multitool to me because they're proportionally kind of narrow and dainty looking for the size of the frame.
Anything else that's a knife first I use no problem, and if the classic blade was the main on a small two blade pen knife i'd probably have no problem using it for everything I normally cut which it can handle like a champ.
 
Hickory n steel Hickory n steel J jackknife I have no problem with really small blades, maybe a little I guess when I have another knife with me anyway. I downsized to the Vic Small Tinker (84mm) and it's blade is about as small as I want to go for day to day stuff. Sure the blade on the Squirt is about the size of a utility knife blade, but it is not as handy to hold and get at to use as far as I'm concerned. The Squirt is a very handy tool and I love it, but I carry a knife too. The Squirt is a small pliers with other tools including a blade, and a Vic SAK is a knife with other tools.... your choice.

Part of the utility of a pocket knife is the size in your hand and how it allows you to apply force to cut something. It is not just the length of the blade, it's the overall package for cutting. You have to hold it in your hand to use it.

Why do some people prefer fixed bladed knives? The answer is obvious, because the blade does not pivot to close it, it is stronger and often the handle is much more comfortable to use than a folder. The pivot is the weak link in a folding knife and locking or non-locking blades are about safety. No body wants to have a knife blade close on their fingers. Pay attention and it usually does not happen unless you are stabbing stuff.

Pocket knives are about convenience. The Leatherman Ps4 Squirt is about convenience. It is not the perfect knife, but it works in a pinch. I just prefer to carry a folding knife. I generally do not want to carry a fixed bladed knife in an urban situation. But if more people did it, I could easily condition myself to carry a small fixed blade in an urban setting daily.

Probably need to think about this topic some more because deep down I would really prefer to carry a small fixed blade as a second knife with a small SAK in my pocket.

As far as choosing SAK vs Squirt, I think it depends on the SAK size you choose. There is no question that I would choose the Squirt over a Vic Classic (58mm I think). So, a decision along this line depends entirely to what knives you might already carry and what you routinely do with knives.
 
Last edited:
The Squirt is a great little urban carry tool. I tend to see it as a secondary tool to a primary edc folding knife, but the squirt does great with quick fixes. I carried mine for a while before returning to a SAK classic on my keys. I didn’t find myself using the pliers enough to warrant the extra bulk and I like the blade and scissors more on the classic.

The squirt feels a little more heavy duty than the classic or similar sized SAKs, but realistically if I can’t fix it with a SAK classic and a p38 can opener, then I’m running back to my pickup and grabbing real tools.

The exception to this is with full size tools, be they Leatherman or SAK. A prime example is if I know I’m gonna be working on a roof or somewhere I don’t fully want to drag my 50lb toolbox. I tend to grab a few specific tools I know I’ll need for the job, and throw my Leatherman wave plus on my belt. That’s were multi tools excel IMO, convenience. The dang thing has saved me from climbing down so many ladders every time I need to turn a screw or pull a staple.
 
I carried one for a long time when I tried to go without a Juice in my pocket. The scissors were perfect for cutting those broken sides of my fingernails that always get caught on my sweater. The screwdrivers work pretty well for things that need adjusting e.g. sprinkler heads. I never used the knife, but it works fine. I don't remember using the file. I used the wire cutters for zip ties usually, and the mini pliers came in handy when I needed to extricate a slightly stuck grate. After two years of use, the spring for the scissors broke although it can still be used.

I wouldn't want it if I had any real work to do, but it does come in handy for a key chain tool.
 
I have carried the ps4 for a long time on my keys. My 5th pocket has a zippo, I dont smoke but like a fire source.

I have used the ps4 squirt beyond what it was intended for. I have abused it. It has done countless jobs. The knife has cut more then any other knife I own just because it's has always been with me. It's easy to sharpen with a sharpmaker. The paint hasn't completely worn off, but it has wear marks of pride. The tools are a perfect size for the kids toys that need liberated from packaging or new batteries.

Everyone should have a Leatherman Squirt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top