Leatherman Juice series being discontinued

i think that people who need pliers are going to need proper pliers. I think the juice suffered from toyish look that doesn’t appeal the market. Maybe if they put a little bit more thought to tool of this size it would be liked more. The juice as is also had just some really weird design features as well.
 
I tried the Juice years and years ago. It just didnt work for me. Little pliers and little tools that cant do much work but cost twice as much as SAK and take up 2-3 times as much room.

I'd much rather have a super streamlined tool like a Skeletool over a Juice.
 
They gave the juice line a good run. I think it falls into that category of "its a good idea, but not for me" for a lot of folks. I'm guessing they are hoping that they will get traction with the newer small tools and see what the market actually wants. For urban carry, a mini rebar with the new magnet tools might be really cool, but again, I have no idea what the market actually wants. I wonder how well the SOG pen style tools are moving? there may be no market for anything between the Micra/style and skeletool.
If I was going back into light and sound, I'd probably go with a skeletool and a c-wrench rather than worry about bigger pliers and weight of a wave or ST300. If they could do the bali style jaws in the skele frame that might be cool.
For outdoor, I don't need the stuff of the Signal, but a two blade skele (plain and saw) might be worth the weight.
If I was working urban and was thinking bug-out/get-home/emergency responce, then I'd go for one of the big tools, Surge/Wave/ST300.
But for just "walking around" I really have yet to have really needed much for pliers, and any of the "oversized tweezer" tools have done the job. I'm only one datapoint, but the fact that I've looked at buying a juice since they came out, and still have yet to own one speaks a lot to me.
 
I would like to see a small pliers tool with scissors and screw driver blades and a file in the 3 oz category.

Put the Juice heads in a legacy frame just a bit bigger than the Micra. My use would be as an off hand front pocket companion to an EDC knife (as I use the Micra for) and for lightweight backpacking.

IMO, a Juice Replacement needs to be pocket carry sized.
 
I LOVE my Juice S2's. I can't stand using the larger MT's or Vic's for things like driving in wood screws. I've used the pliers for pulling out a LOT of carpet staples from wood floors when I didn't have my tool bag. The scissors and can opener comes in handy when I travel, too. I think that if you need the pliers for larger bolts, they are too small, but I hate using pliers on bolts anyway. Although a bit larger and heavier, my SOG Paratool or Vic Spirit X (preferred) would probably work their way into my pocket if I lost my Juice's. My Charge, and Wave aren't as comfortable in use for me, and I'm always getting pinched when using the pliers. I might have to pickup a 4th Juice as a backup since 2 of the 3 are dedicated to different packs.
 
Buy bye juice!
Hopefully the leatherman think tank might come up with something a lttle more juicier.
Imo back then it might have appeared to be a good try at imagining something useful for the funky fashion urban dweller.
I wonder just how many workman had made it their top choice as a work tool :-)
 
I think they should revisit the Leatherman Mini Tool idea. I often carry a Swisschamp that fits most of my need, but I would love to have a newly produced Leatherman Mini-tool so I can have larger pliers in a super compact package. Heck, they could even make it thinner, delete the knife and file/screw driver and Id still love one. All I need is super compact full size pliers.
 
I think if you use the pliers a lot, carrying or having access to a small pliers makes a lot of sense. Basically, I keep a larger pliers in my field bag, including a Vic Spirit or SOG Powerlock, and carry the Squirt all the time. The larger pliers is still available, but not quite as handy.

One needs to look at what they actually use the multi-tool for, not what our minds say (the want versus the need thing) when we see these tools. As I have said before, I won't carry a larger multi-tool (or even a large thick SAK) on my belt unless I know I need it that day and then generally for only a portion of the day or the next trip to my truck. I very much like the small Robogrip pliers; their weakness to me is that they rust easily. I keep multiple sizes of those in each of my tool bags. If they get wet, pay attention and allow them to dry before stashing them in a tool box to rust away.
 
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I’ve got a Juice C2, carry it in a custom leather pouch from MacGregor customs with a aaa Steamlight and a Fisher Spacepen. It’s such a handy tool in a convenient size. Just got a mini screwdriver for the corkscrew to make it even handier. It’s my “I’m likely going to be out to work on some small tasks at my mom or sisters place today” kit. Sure the pliers are light to medium duty but they’ve been up to any task I’ve thrown their way. The screwdrivers are easier to use than on the larger Leathermans. I’d like to swap out the blade for scissors one day if it’s possible.
 
I got an S2 before they were all gone and now I’m thinking I should have got one a long time ago. The size is very pocket friendly and the pliers are big enough for a lot of various things I come across. When I need bigger pliers I have several different types in the tool box. The only thing I would like different is a pocket clip. Otherwise it’s been very useful for me. I have a Wave I used to carry but it was becoming heavy with other gear I have to carry at work so it stays in my work pickup door pocket and is usually close by. I hope they have a good replacement size for the juice series.
 
After much stupidity on my part I believe this image is finally going to work:

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I have these two old-school Juice models, XE6 and C2, that I got back in the day. What I was really looking for was a SAK-substitute with better pliers than the little Vic ones.

The XE6 never really did it for me - the wide handles made it too uncomfortable to use as a plier with any force, and the overall size and weight of the thing didn't feel justified by the use I got out of it. The C2 I carried a bit more as it didn't have those problems, but I didn't like the other tools as much as the ones on my SAKs and I missed carrying a SAK. Carrying both felt like too much duplication. Also whilst the pliers are way more capable than the Vic ones, they aren't really a substitute for a proper pair. Both have been sitting in a box for a long, long time.

These days if I want to have pliers it's either carry my Swisstool / Swisstool Spirit or, current favourite solution: carry a small SAK (Climber or Pioneer X usually) plus a small pair of dedicated pliers - Knipex 145mm needle-nose combination pliers (08 21 145). Now that is a great pair of pliers.
 
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Giving away my xe6 was, and still is, one of the worst gear decisions I have ever made. I loved it. It was small enough to carry but handy enough to get you out of trouble. I never would have looked at it as a 'tool' in its own right, like I would with the surge for instance. But it was a cool little back up.
 
I have a couple of old school Juice Pro's (same as the XE6 pictured above in post 13 I think) and they're the perfect size for me. Small enough for pocket carry and robust enough for, say, pulling out staples or small nails from wood. They're more compact and half the weight of a Surge plus they'll accomplish the same type of emergency tasks for which I feel multi-tools are best suited. I've never really warmed to my SAK's, but I do have a Squirt on my keychain for EDC and use it fairly often.
 
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Dfunk1210 said:
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Hate to see the Juice go. So soon after it finally got a proper sheath. The CS4 was such a great carry.
Click to expand...

Cool! What sheath model is that? I have an S2 and would like to get a better sheath for it. The "clip on" one is pretty chintzy. Not sure how much longer it'll hold on.
 
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mnblade said:
Cool! What sheath model is that. I have an S2 and would like to get a better sheath for it. The "clip on" one is pretty chintzy. Not sure how much longer it'll hold on.
Click to expand...

It is simply called the Leatherman Nylon Sheath Small. Some places call it the Nylon Snap Sheath small. Yea the original clip sheath left much to be desired. I think you will like this new one. It uses a belt loop.
 
Having given a fairly negative view on the Juice models I have...after I took them out to photograph I was playing with the C2 and got to thinking it deserves another chance to be used, so I'm going to try carrying it a bit.

Also, slightly oddly, it fits like a glove into this old Vic leather pouch I have:

4r1cb1Lh.jpg


Don't remember how I came by the pouch, but the C2 seems to fit it better than any of the Vic knives I've tried it with.
 
The old LM Juice belt pouces used to be almost the exact same as the 91mm SAK pouches (pleather with button snap and belt clip). The main differences on mine were the Vic logo on the flap vs the LM logo on the body, and the hole at the bottom of the LM version.

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opplanet-victorinox-vsak-leather-pouch-33256.jpg


fullbreakfast said:
Having given a fairly negative view on the Juice models I have...after I took them out to photograph I was playing with the C2 and got to thinking it deserves another chance to be used, so I'm going to try carrying it a bit.

Also, slightly oddly, it fits like a glove into this old Vic leather pouch I have:

4r1cb1Lh.jpg


Don't remember how I came by the pouch, but the C2 seems to fit it better than any of the Vic knives I've tried it with.
Click to expand...
 
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