After using many multi-tools, I realized that I don't have one compact enough to be a true everyday item. Sure, most of the time I'll have either a Wave or a Pulse on me, but some days I just go without it due to the weight and bulk on my hip. Then I checked out the Leatherman Juice S2, and man is it a nice lightweight tool. You can find them for about $40 to $50; mine was $35 because it's one of the older models. The older models have plain scissors, while the new models have serrated scissors. The Juice S2 is available in blaze orange or grey; mine is orange. For such a compact tool you get a lot of functionality. Of course, it's American-made. There are other Juice models other than the S2, hence me continually saying "Juice S2". To be technical, this model number 70202. Here are the details...
Closed Details: When closed, the Juice S2 is 3-1/8" long, 1-1/4" wide, and 1/2" thick. As a comparison, it's noticeable thinner than my Victorinox Huntsman. It's 4.8 ounces in weight; not super light, but definitely better than most other multi-tools its size and larger. The handles are anodized aluminum; blaze orange in my case. One side says leatherman in white; the other says juice S2 in white anodization. One thing I noticed right away is that one side (the side with the three screwdrivers) is thicker than the other side; I thought the tool was bent at first, but it's not. The liners and pins are stainless steel, as are all the implements; no plastic at all on the juice. Each backspring has LEATHERMAN PAT PEND engraved into it.
There are no rough edges at all, and the Juice feels very nice in your hand. It was made to fit in your pocket, and it shows with it's smooth, no-snag design.
The Tools: What's the most important part of having a multi-tool? Having multiple tools! The Juice S2 gives you a nice assortment and still keeps the size reasonable. We'll start with the thinner of the two sides, the side marked juice S2...
Blade: The blade on the S2 can be opened without opening the pliers. It opens via nail nick and is a slipjoint; no lock on it. It's made of 420HC stainless, and it's 2-3/4" long with a 2-1/4" cutting edge. It has a modified leaf-like elliptical shape; kind of like a Grohmann. It's 3/32" thick (just between 1/16" and 1/8") and is hollow ground. It came pretty dull, but it sharpened up quite easily and will now shave. Even though there's no lock, once it's open, it's stiff. No flex or movement at all until you choose to close it. This is a nice length for EDc and would work very well as a general task blade.
Lanyard Tab: Open the pliers and you get a lanyard tab with a hole diameter of 1/8". It's not large enough for gutted 550 cord, but I simply put one of those large Victorinox keyrings on it and stuck my lanyard in that. It works just fine; it's a lanyard tab, not much to say about it.
Phillips Screwdriver: Next to the lanyard tab is a #2 Phillips-head screwdriver. It's 1" long and is ideal for light jobs. It opens via thumb pull; just snag your fingernail on it and pull it out. While nothing on this tool locks open, the Phillips driver will stay open until you close it; there's no play in it and it's quite solid. I wouldn't use it as hard as I would a normal screwdriver, but for emergencies and light work it's great.
This brings us to...
The Pliers: A Leatherman standard tool. This is the only tool on the S2 that's marked, and it's stamped LEATHERMAN USA on both sides. When fully open and in the clamped (closed) position, there's 2-1/4" of pliers exposed. The needle-nosed portion is 3/4" long with an open capacity of 1-9/16"; the inside (bolt turning?) portion is 1/2" long with an open capaity of 1", and the wire cutters are 1/4" long with an open capacity of 5-16". you also get hard wire cutters, which I've never used. The pliers work great, but again, they're for light-duty or emergency use. They've served me well at work and emergency work on the car without fail, and I'm confident they'll last for a long time if I treat them right and not expect them to perform like a Charge.
This brings us to the other side of the handle, in which we get a lot of screwdrivers. They all open with the same thumb snag like the Phillips...
Medium Flathead Screwdriver: This is located inside the handle, so keep the pliers open to access it. It's 1" long and the driver itself is 1/8" wide. It stays open with no play, and you'll have to use some force to close it. This is a good thing; it won't just slip shut onto your fingers.
Small Flathead Screwdriver: Right next to the medium driver is a small one. It's also 1" long and the driver is 1/16" wide. It's pretty ideal for eyeglass screws, but I can't think of another use for it. I was going to file mine down into an awl, but I decided against it. No play in this one, either.
Large Flathead Screwdriver: The last screwdriver in the S2. It's 13/16" long and the driver takes up the entire width of the metal at 1/4" wide. Use it for, well, screwing or unscrewing larger flathead screws. I've found it the most handy size for industrial applications, ie. door screws and such.
Well, we're running out of space on this compact multi-tool, but we have room for two more tools, so here we go. They're on the same side as the flathead screwdrivers, which is the thicker side for those of us keeping track. They both open without having to open the tool, just like the blade. Here they are...
Can Opener Tool: It's a can opener and bottle opener in one. You open it with a small flattened piece. When open, it's 1-1/2" long and only 7/16" wide. It opens cans and bottles; I'm not quite sure what else to say about it. It works very nicely; as easily as any SAK I've ever used.
Scissors: The most-requested tool when I hand somebody a SAK or multi-tool has to be a pair of scissors, and the S2 has a nice pair. They open via nail nick, and like the other tools they snap open with no play. They're springless; a piece of metal rides along the fixed side of the handles and uses the backspring as a springing lever to keep the scissors open. They're 2-3/4" long, and if you haven't been following multi-tools, that's HUGE for a pair of scissors. The cutting edges are 1-1/8". These things work great, and they deliver a clean cut every time. There is one drawback to the scissors though, and that's the fact that you have to open the can opener to get to them. The flattened portion of the can opener goes over the scissors, so you have to get the can opener out of the way first. Overall, they're still great.
The Juice S2 gives you a lot of versatility in such a small package. Buy a few before they are discontinued...
Here's a video review of the Juice S2 from YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCqw0Omapis&feature=channel
EDIT: As the Juice was designed to be slipped into your pocket, it doesn't come with a sheath. Sheaths are available all over for around $5 though if you'd like one.
Closed Details: When closed, the Juice S2 is 3-1/8" long, 1-1/4" wide, and 1/2" thick. As a comparison, it's noticeable thinner than my Victorinox Huntsman. It's 4.8 ounces in weight; not super light, but definitely better than most other multi-tools its size and larger. The handles are anodized aluminum; blaze orange in my case. One side says leatherman in white; the other says juice S2 in white anodization. One thing I noticed right away is that one side (the side with the three screwdrivers) is thicker than the other side; I thought the tool was bent at first, but it's not. The liners and pins are stainless steel, as are all the implements; no plastic at all on the juice. Each backspring has LEATHERMAN PAT PEND engraved into it.
There are no rough edges at all, and the Juice feels very nice in your hand. It was made to fit in your pocket, and it shows with it's smooth, no-snag design.
The Tools: What's the most important part of having a multi-tool? Having multiple tools! The Juice S2 gives you a nice assortment and still keeps the size reasonable. We'll start with the thinner of the two sides, the side marked juice S2...
Blade: The blade on the S2 can be opened without opening the pliers. It opens via nail nick and is a slipjoint; no lock on it. It's made of 420HC stainless, and it's 2-3/4" long with a 2-1/4" cutting edge. It has a modified leaf-like elliptical shape; kind of like a Grohmann. It's 3/32" thick (just between 1/16" and 1/8") and is hollow ground. It came pretty dull, but it sharpened up quite easily and will now shave. Even though there's no lock, once it's open, it's stiff. No flex or movement at all until you choose to close it. This is a nice length for EDc and would work very well as a general task blade.
Lanyard Tab: Open the pliers and you get a lanyard tab with a hole diameter of 1/8". It's not large enough for gutted 550 cord, but I simply put one of those large Victorinox keyrings on it and stuck my lanyard in that. It works just fine; it's a lanyard tab, not much to say about it.
Phillips Screwdriver: Next to the lanyard tab is a #2 Phillips-head screwdriver. It's 1" long and is ideal for light jobs. It opens via thumb pull; just snag your fingernail on it and pull it out. While nothing on this tool locks open, the Phillips driver will stay open until you close it; there's no play in it and it's quite solid. I wouldn't use it as hard as I would a normal screwdriver, but for emergencies and light work it's great.
This brings us to...
The Pliers: A Leatherman standard tool. This is the only tool on the S2 that's marked, and it's stamped LEATHERMAN USA on both sides. When fully open and in the clamped (closed) position, there's 2-1/4" of pliers exposed. The needle-nosed portion is 3/4" long with an open capacity of 1-9/16"; the inside (bolt turning?) portion is 1/2" long with an open capaity of 1", and the wire cutters are 1/4" long with an open capacity of 5-16". you also get hard wire cutters, which I've never used. The pliers work great, but again, they're for light-duty or emergency use. They've served me well at work and emergency work on the car without fail, and I'm confident they'll last for a long time if I treat them right and not expect them to perform like a Charge.
This brings us to the other side of the handle, in which we get a lot of screwdrivers. They all open with the same thumb snag like the Phillips...
Medium Flathead Screwdriver: This is located inside the handle, so keep the pliers open to access it. It's 1" long and the driver itself is 1/8" wide. It stays open with no play, and you'll have to use some force to close it. This is a good thing; it won't just slip shut onto your fingers.
Small Flathead Screwdriver: Right next to the medium driver is a small one. It's also 1" long and the driver is 1/16" wide. It's pretty ideal for eyeglass screws, but I can't think of another use for it. I was going to file mine down into an awl, but I decided against it. No play in this one, either.
Large Flathead Screwdriver: The last screwdriver in the S2. It's 13/16" long and the driver takes up the entire width of the metal at 1/4" wide. Use it for, well, screwing or unscrewing larger flathead screws. I've found it the most handy size for industrial applications, ie. door screws and such.
Well, we're running out of space on this compact multi-tool, but we have room for two more tools, so here we go. They're on the same side as the flathead screwdrivers, which is the thicker side for those of us keeping track. They both open without having to open the tool, just like the blade. Here they are...
Can Opener Tool: It's a can opener and bottle opener in one. You open it with a small flattened piece. When open, it's 1-1/2" long and only 7/16" wide. It opens cans and bottles; I'm not quite sure what else to say about it. It works very nicely; as easily as any SAK I've ever used.
Scissors: The most-requested tool when I hand somebody a SAK or multi-tool has to be a pair of scissors, and the S2 has a nice pair. They open via nail nick, and like the other tools they snap open with no play. They're springless; a piece of metal rides along the fixed side of the handles and uses the backspring as a springing lever to keep the scissors open. They're 2-3/4" long, and if you haven't been following multi-tools, that's HUGE for a pair of scissors. The cutting edges are 1-1/8". These things work great, and they deliver a clean cut every time. There is one drawback to the scissors though, and that's the fact that you have to open the can opener to get to them. The flattened portion of the can opener goes over the scissors, so you have to get the can opener out of the way first. Overall, they're still great.
The Juice S2 gives you a lot of versatility in such a small package. Buy a few before they are discontinued...
Here's a video review of the Juice S2 from YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCqw0Omapis&feature=channel
EDIT: As the Juice was designed to be slipped into your pocket, it doesn't come with a sheath. Sheaths are available all over for around $5 though if you'd like one.
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