I just got one of these at Home Depot. I have to disagree with powernoodle's previous post. To address his criticisms: I find the rolled stamped handle construction reminds me of my Vic Spirit. It's true that the scissor spring will not work unless they are fully extended so that the lock engages. This doesn't seem to be a problem. The thumb pad on the scissors are about the same thickness as large Victorinox scissors, and thicker than full size Wenger scissors. They seem plenty good, nicer than the scissors on the Vic Spirit, and the Leatherman Wave, not as nice as the scissors on the Leatherman Juice XE6. They don't have a nail nick as such, but the spring seems to function just as well, and they deploy easily.
Upsides: The individual implements seem about as good as any. Scissors are decent size and look more robust than those on the Wave. Knife blade is nicely ground combo edge. Blade is accessible without opening the tool. Price is crazy low for what you get.
Downsides as I see them. Implements other than blade and scissors don't lock and each implement on either side shares a common backspring. This means they clump. Nothing new here, as this is a trait that goes back to the original PST, but no improvement either. The knife blade has a hole for one hand opening. However, it's small and heavily buffed such that it's a bit difficult for the thumb to get purchase. The blade could be a quarter inch longer with no interference. A couple of the implements are odd to me. The file is nice and toothy, single cut. But it's short, and the backside features a tiny rule with inch and cm gradiations. These aren't really bad things, but seem of limited usefulness. And the package opener is a novel, single use hook-like blade, presumably intended to open clamshell like packages. Does what it's supposed to (I used it on the leftover packaging as a test), but feels like it's there due to lack of ideas or something.
The intertesting: Action is smooth, and the sprung plier head is a very nice advance that somehow seems to have migrated up from cheap imported multitools. Hopefully the Wingman won't be prone to rusting like the bead blasted models. Comes with a removable pocket clip! Another unusual touch: the wire cutters are not bypass type cutters found on every other Leatherman. Instead, they are diagonal cutters. They seem to work fine on wire coat hangers. I'd be curious to see how durable they are in the long run, especially with the internal spring cavity, versus their traditional plier head. Also, the cutters have what appear to be hard wire cutter notch. This is not specified in the instructions, and I'm not sure it would be necessary with the diagonal cutter design anyway. I suspect it's a stress relief. I'm in awe at what can be had for the price here. This is not a simple PST type tool. Typically Leatherman, they went with something completely different and new, that seems to recycle few if any parts and ideas from previous lines, with a keen eye on cost cutting. Bravo.
The bottom line: looks like a winner for the low end multitool market.
Upsides: The individual implements seem about as good as any. Scissors are decent size and look more robust than those on the Wave. Knife blade is nicely ground combo edge. Blade is accessible without opening the tool. Price is crazy low for what you get.
Downsides as I see them. Implements other than blade and scissors don't lock and each implement on either side shares a common backspring. This means they clump. Nothing new here, as this is a trait that goes back to the original PST, but no improvement either. The knife blade has a hole for one hand opening. However, it's small and heavily buffed such that it's a bit difficult for the thumb to get purchase. The blade could be a quarter inch longer with no interference. A couple of the implements are odd to me. The file is nice and toothy, single cut. But it's short, and the backside features a tiny rule with inch and cm gradiations. These aren't really bad things, but seem of limited usefulness. And the package opener is a novel, single use hook-like blade, presumably intended to open clamshell like packages. Does what it's supposed to (I used it on the leftover packaging as a test), but feels like it's there due to lack of ideas or something.
The intertesting: Action is smooth, and the sprung plier head is a very nice advance that somehow seems to have migrated up from cheap imported multitools. Hopefully the Wingman won't be prone to rusting like the bead blasted models. Comes with a removable pocket clip! Another unusual touch: the wire cutters are not bypass type cutters found on every other Leatherman. Instead, they are diagonal cutters. They seem to work fine on wire coat hangers. I'd be curious to see how durable they are in the long run, especially with the internal spring cavity, versus their traditional plier head. Also, the cutters have what appear to be hard wire cutter notch. This is not specified in the instructions, and I'm not sure it would be necessary with the diagonal cutter design anyway. I suspect it's a stress relief. I'm in awe at what can be had for the price here. This is not a simple PST type tool. Typically Leatherman, they went with something completely different and new, that seems to recycle few if any parts and ideas from previous lines, with a keen eye on cost cutting. Bravo.
The bottom line: looks like a winner for the low end multitool market.
