- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,607
Well I was poking around the sporting good store yesterday when I spied the discontinued Leatherman H502 sitting in their display case. They had them on clearance at $20 off. It was the very last one they had. I decided that it would suit my needs perfectly as a cheap yet hard use tool based folder for a little adventure I'm going on next week.
The guy hands me knife and the ripped package that contains the paperwork and the sheath, and I set off toward the check out counter. The girl at the counter informs me that I get an additional 15% off because it's an open package
All told, I think I spent just a little over 30 dollars with tax for the H502, very nice ballistic sheath, AND it had a LM bonus of coming with not only the 3 two-tipped drivers but also a sleeve of other bits that fits in the back pocket of a sheath.:thumbup: Very pleased.As you can see from the picture, the H502 is one of the more feature heavy folders in LM's line up of last generation knives. It has a 3" blade of 420HC with a plain edge (the K502x has the upgraded steel...and price), fold out non locking can opener, fold out driver that takes the leatherman bits (it's the old style like you find on the Surge. The bits are held in with a spring tension with no locking mechanism like what is found on the Skeletool...not my favorite as it failed on my Surge, but we'll see), and a very cleverly hidden slide out carribiner/bottle opener. I often looked at these when Target carried them, but the price turned me off. At around or under $30, I am quite pleased with what I got.
First of all, this is a CHUNKY knife. The closest thing in size that I have to compare to it in size, build, and weight is the Buck Xtract. To be honest, the Buck probably beats it on blade steel finish, and it certainly is much more one handed, and it of course sports a pair of medium duty pliers. However, the H502 trumps it pretty much everywhere else. The lock up is much tighter with a good snap of the lockback instead of a liner lock. It obviously has more utility in the driver department as all Leatherman bits will fit into the driver. Finally, the handle/grip is to die for. I absolutely love it. The area around the bolster (that will see the most hits and dings) is some kind of tough polymer. The rest of the handle is rubberized grip that reminds me a lot of the Gerber Gator series. Even with wet hands, this probably won't slip. The slide out clip and opener seems to work just fine. It'll clip to clothing just fine...even if it is a bit heavy for that. It also excels at opening bottles:thumbup: I really like the fact that is simply disappears when not in use. If you never wanted to use it, it takes up such minimal space that you won't be wishing something else were in its place.
However, there are some cons to this knife/tool. While it is a very smooth opening folder with a rock solid lock up, it is overly chunky for pocket carry. Like the Xtract, there is no pocket clip. It's going to have to ride in the belt sheath or in a larger pocket like in a coat or vest to be comfortable. The blade polish is typical LM fair. It's some sort of not-really-brushed finish typically seen on the blades of their tools. Not a big deal, but not the most rust resistant. I'm also not a huge fan of the spring system holding the extra bits in place in the storage handle. If carried in a sheath, it would probably do a serviceable job. However, if you give the tool a moderate shake downward, the bits will slide free enough to fall out. This isn't a big deal for me. I plan on keeping the "on board" bit a flat/philips combo and leaving the holder empty. I can store the extra bit sleeve in the sheath or my cargo vest pocket.
In a nutshell, I'm very pleased with this knife. I got it for a good price, and it will fit my needs well. My wife and I are heading off on a cruise in a couple of days, and one of our adventures is going to be a day long hike at the Mayan ruins. I wanted something that I could bring that would have a lot of utility as well as a good bit of oomph if an emergency should pop up. I also wanted something that I wouldn't cry over if I lost or broke it. The clearance H502 fits the bill nicely.
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