Leatherman Raptor - In Depth, Long Term Review

ScottsBad,
No problem. Honestly, if it's something you are going to stow and not use that often, why not go for the set of $2 trauma shears? Maybe spend a little on an EMS-grade ring-cutter, that can be had for $10-$20, and perhaps a Benchmade rescue hook? That'll all run you about half the price of the Raptor, but still give you great capability.
 
A few months ago I actually had my €2 trauma shears confiscated in Italy. I happily let them go, since it meant that the Carabiniere wouldn't look further and find the €200 fixed blade deeper in my bag.

This is why I have so much interest in the Raptor, and yet can't quite pull the trigger on it. I'm pleased to have a certain amount of disposable income, but a €90 multi-tool is still a big loss when it's the first thing you see when you open my EDC bag. (Yeah, where do you put your IFAK?)

Funnily enough, they didn't notice the Leatherman Surge rigged on the outside in a MOLLE pouch.
 
WCEDC said:
JJR512,
Yes, that Sportsman's Warehouse. I found out about it through Leatherman's chat support thing. I asked them who else had exclusive colors, and they told me :D
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What else did they tell you? I recently emailed them with a similar question, and this is what they told me.

1. The green version is exclusive to Pacific Flyway Wholesale. I haven't dome any further research on this, but I assume that this wholesaler supplies Sportsmans Warehouse. The Leatherman rep was unaware of Sportsmans Warehouse so it doesn't seem like it was created just for them, and it may be possible that other retailers sell the green version as well.

2. The red version is exclusive to REI.

3. The orange and red version is exclusive to Cabelas.

4. The all black version and the tan version are available to any retailer, exclusive to nobody.

5. The all-orange version was never actually mass produced. Only samples and prototype were made, some (maybe all?) of which were distributed to reviewers. I don't know how many were made. I'm told that they decided not to produce the all-orange version due to quality issues.

6. The rep I spoke to said he vaguely recalls having once seen a blue-handled Raptor, but he has no information on it. Leatherman never mass produced a blue version according to their records, so it may have been a prototype.

I would dearly love to get my hands on an all-orange version as a collectible. I would also like Leatherman to make a blue-handled version, especially if it's the blue from the Star of Life. I feel this version would have a special appeal to EMTs.

WCEDC said:
If you want me to get you one, if they're still available, let me know. Shipping would probably be around $6 by USPS.
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I found one that has them in stock. I tried the Portland store, because I was actually going to ask you about getting one and sending it to me. When I was talking to someone in the store on the phone, though, I mentioned what I was planning, and he actually said they could send it to me directly. He put me in touch with a manager, and they said they can't process a credit card transaction over the phone anymore due to new safety restrictions. So he said I should buy a gift card online, and when I receive it, call them back and they can process the transaction with the gift card over the phone. They have one set aside for me. Thanks, though, I appreciate the offer! If there are any complications, I'll let you know.
 
Awesome man! Glad you got it sorted out! Probably my buddy Roger, he became a manager there, after working at Cabela's with me shortly.
Blue would definitely be awesome!!! I'd be all over that (or the green).
It's funny, we definitely had all orange ones for sale at our Cabela's store (near Portland, in Tualatin).

The Leatherman chat person told me about the sportsman's green, REI red, orange/black @ cabelas, and black or tan for everyone else.
 
If you ever come across an all-orange one for sale, or even get a lead on one, lease let me know.
 
Definitely will do!
Be sure to post a pic when you get your green raptors ( For the record, I am jealous :) )
 
I just received another reply from Leatherman. I had asked if they had any info on where the all-orange ones had gotten to, so I could try to find one. They're sticking to their story about it never being a production item. They said, "Since the tools were not put into production we did not keep any part numbers to reference them with so we unfortunately do not have a way to track who they were sent to and who had returned them to us."

The Portland store (Sportsman's Warehouse) had two of the green ones in stock at the time I checked. I got one so there's probably still one left...
 
I find the Raptor excellent and agree with the OP on the shears; they go through most materials with ease and certainly a vast improvement over the simple inexpensive EMT shears which I have in my IFAK.

I was surprised to read about the quality of the OPs Raptor and how the tool opened/closed and the general feel of the Raptor; my Raptor shears open and close butter smooth and have a very reassuring yet subtle click when locking. Very positive and very smooth opening and closing. I could not be happier in that regard.

The belt cutter works fine as well. The ring cutter I have not tried yet, but I see no reason doubting the OPs statement in that regard. It would be the vulnerable point on the tool.

I find the Raptor factory sheath fine for a MOLLE ruck or EMT vest, but for my use on a belt, I found it too bulky and made my own kydex sheath. It holds the Raptor just fine and the tools snaps in and out with authority.

BladeScout said:
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Today I received the red Raptor from REI. I expected it to be exactly the same as my black one, except for the handle color. My initial impression, though, was disappointment.

After de-packaging it, I slipped my fingers into the handle, and immediately noticed a bit of wiggle. I checked to see where it was coming from, and determined that the larger handle side (the part with the larger handle, pocket clip, and window punch) had a bit of play in it. In other words, it was a bit loose, allowing a small amount of wiggle. Not a lot, mind you; maybe an eighth of an inch at most, measured at the punch end.

I also noticed that in some places, the mod separation lines of the plastic handles were a bit prominent. Not so much that I'd call them sharp, or uncomfortable, but the plastic molding lines are definitely not smooth.

I did not remember there being any play, or looseness or slack—however you want to call it—in my first Raptor. Nevertheless, I got it out to compare side-by-side, and was surprised to see that it has the same amount of wiggle in that handle. In fact, it also had a very small amount of wiggle in the other handle as well. Not as much as the bigger handle, just a very tiny amount, but still present. (On the new red Raptor, the smaller handle has no wiggle at all.)

Then I realized why I never noticed the wiggle in my older Raptor. The main pivot (the one that the scissors use to open and close; this pivot is not responsible for the aforementioned wiggle, which would be caused by looseness in the individual handle pivots) is much looser on the older one, which means it takes less effort to open the scissors. Because the scissors open with only the slightest bit of effort, that little bit of wiggle in the handles gets absorbed into the scissor opening motion. In contrast, the new red Raptor's main pivot is a bit stiffer, so when I apply some separating effort with my fingers on the inside of the handle rings to open the scissors, that wiggle has more noticeable because it happens separately from the main opening motion.

When I say that the main pivot on the new red one is stiffer, by no means do I mean it is stiff, or that it's difficult to open. I merely mean it's slightly stiffer than the older black one, so it takes slightly more effort to open, but they're still quite easy to open. I merely point out this stiffness not as a complaint, but to explain why the same wiggle is more noticeable in the newer Raptor.

What is the difference in stiffness between these two pivots? Let me illustrate it like this. Imagine holding the larger handle in your hand and pointing the tip straight up. Now pull up on the smaller handle so that this section is perpendicular to the first. Now let go of that handle, so that it falls down towards the larger handle. On my older Raptor, the smaller handle will actually fall all the way down, closing the scissors. On the newer Raptor, though, the handle will only fall about half way.

I do not remember how stiff my black Raptor was when I first got it. I do know that I've lubricated it with some Balisol, so it's possible that the older one used to be as stiff as the new one is now.

At this point I wish to reiterate that I am not making serious complaints about the new Raptor, merely pointing out some differences that stood out to me. After using one for as long as I have (I got my black-handled one within the first month they came on the market), naturally I'd be quite used to it and any minor differences are going to stand out to me. I suspect that someone new to the Raptor would find nothing to complain about.

At this point I'm looking forward to receiving the green one later this week, and I'm still actively searching for an all-orange one.
 
I received the green Raptor today. I'll post pictures later.

My initial impression of the color is that it's very slightly lighter, or perhaps lighter, than I was expecting. I was expecting—or perhaps hoping for—the color to be like a zombie or toxic green. It is close to that, and perhaps that is what their goal was. I'm not unhappy with the color, though.

The first thing I wanted to check (after the color) was to see if there was any wiggle in the handles, like I first noticed in the red one, and then found to be present in the black one as well. Yes, there is some wiggle, but it's the opposite of the red one. The red one had more wiggle in the larger handle; this one has more wiggle in the smaller handle. Overall, there is perhaps less wiggle in this one than in the red one.

But beyond that, this Raptor is very stiff in all joints. Even the pivot for the strap cutter is stiff. As for the main pivot, after the initial wiggle, it is quite stiff, requiring a deliberate effort to open. This stiffness continues for about half of the opening motion, when it suddenly loosens up a bit. The pivots for both handle sections are also pretty stuff.

Based on my three Raptors having three distinct "feels", as well as the different experience mentioned in the original post, I can't help but wonder if Leatherman has a bit of a quality control issue on the Raptor line.

I'm not sure if I should try to loosen the pivots with tools, or just use some oil and try to wear them in.
 
BladeScout,
Have you made any more of the Kydex sheathes? I'd be interested in one for sure!
 
JJR512,
Sorry to hear about you disappointing experience with the Raptors you recently got.
Like I mentioned in my original post, I think because Leatherman has been in a crunch to get Raptors produced, and out on the market, and due to their warranty, they cranked them out as fast as they could, and quality control suffered. You can see in some of my photos, how there's fairly good sized nicks & scratches along the side of the blade. Those were there out of the box (and it was the best one I could see.
Nevertheless, they make a good product that's meant to be used. I just wished at the price-point of the Raptors, that more quality control took place, especially since it doesn't have as many joints/moving parts or tools as say, a typical tool they produce (wave, OHT, etc.)

Quality control definitely isn't like that of Benchmade, for example, but then again, they do have the 25-year warranty that pretty much covers anything.
 
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