A month with the Surge...

C

Colorado_Outdoorsman

Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
23
I bought a Surge about a month ago...

Got it home and had to scratch my head about the enclosed sheath as there was no allowance for carrying the extra blade and the bits... So I bought a nylon one...When I got it from Leatherman I started wondering why they did not send the one I ordered with the Surge in the first place... They told me that somehow the wrong sheaths got sent to Target stores... Within a few days. Leatherman sent me a new sheath, and it was leather! To say the least that impressed me... more on that in a moment...

I carry the Surge in the horizontal position at about 3:00 on my hip and have not noticed the weight... I have used each feature more than once and have to say that I love this tool... Yes its heavy but I use the crap outa mine and the extra weight, to me at least, equals to strength and more reliability... I cant seem to break this thing and I am rough on my tools... Earlier this week I spent 20 minutes fishing it back outa a snow bank... Dropped it a few times and managed to set it down in a mud hole once...

After just about a week of use the leather sheath has left me wanting... It already shows serious wear and I switched back to the nylon version of the sheath... Seems I will use the nylon during work and swap over to the leather when off work...

I find that all the bits that come with the bit kit are not all that usable for what I do so I took the ones that I would use and left the others in the other holder... I carry the saw blade affixed to the knife and the file in its little sheath... I carry the Bit Kit holder in the sheath and a Fisher Space Pen and have to admit that I like the set up... The sheath is snug enough that the bits wont fall out even when I am low crawling the length of a homes crawl space... Back to the Leather sheath for a moment, it uses one snap that I found came unsnapped easily in the horizontal carry position... Another reason to stay with the nylon... Velcro is a bit more secure...

I have cut many different gauges of wire and have yet to have the cutters fail me...

The saw bade makes short work of PVC tubing... I love the interchangeability feature and have already priced replacements when it comes to that...

The knife blade is wickedly sharp and holds it edge well...

The serrated blade makes quick work of nylon rope...

The bit kits, while being proprietary, do hold up to use well...

The scissors are among my favourite new features as they come in real handy on a daily basis...

I rate the Surge a 10+

All in all I have to say that this tool has become my EDC and my old Wave (Original Version) has earned its Semi retirement to my glove box...
 
It's always good to read that someone has become comfortable with one tool or another. I've had a Surge for a few months and found it didn't do what I needed at work, but it's great on my days off around the house. I need the hefty driver implements on the Core, but miss the blades located on the outsides of the handles. :)
 
I go back and forth between a Surge and a Swisstool Spirit, depending on the sort of tasks I anticipate. I love the Surge for its nice selection of tools and its robust construction and size. I dislike the stubby bits, which can't reach recessed screws. I wish the eyeglasses driver was deleted and replaced with a long philips. I had the same problem with the wrong sheath at Target, and LM quickly sent me a leather replacement. No problems yet. I added a DeWalt hacksaw blade to the spare blade sleave.

The Spirit is more comfortable to carry, is comfortable to hold, and also has neat/useful implements. Its quality is superb, but it is not as heavy-duty as the Surge. It is perfectly acceptable for light, daily use though. I dislike the unusual main knife blade for its chisel grind and partial serrations (I don't mind the blunt tip), but to be honest, this hasn't caused a problem in using it. I guess it's just an aesthetic thing with me. Also, the scissors is really too small to be very useful.

I have no regrets for buying either tool.:thumbup:
 
A bit of a different question here as I await my Surge in the mail.

As a first time multi-tool user, I am amazed at how much product loyalty (see the countless, uttlerly intriguing testimonials/stories of Surefire flashlights at www.surefire.com) comes down to not only the literal technical/mechanical abilities of a product, but the emotional experience as well.

I am awaiting my Surge in the mail, but have scoured the Leatherman site in the meantime for this sort of user experience and found the "At Extremes" section. This section evokes a life of adventure... sub zero survival exploring the south pole, green berets amputating/sawing the remains of a soldiers leg devastated by a land mine... I'm just a regular person, but am probably just looking to savor an adventure with my Leatherman if even through hearing about others' cool stories. Crazy!

So, what websites of really interesting reviews, examples, testimonials can you point me to of this sort of extreme user experience? As an illustrator/graphic designer, I constantly think in pictures. Pictures that capture the ultimate experiences of an idea or a product and am trying to do the same for my Leatherman.
 
Tester5 said:
So, what websites of really interesting reviews, examples, testimonials can you point me to of this sort of extreme user experience? As an illustrator/graphic designer, I constantly think in pictures. Pictures that capture the ultimate experiences of an idea or a product and am trying to do the same for my Leatherman.
Click to expand...



Swiss Army Knives have been to the Poles, the top of Everest and used by NASA for repairs in space. Take a look on the true stories page of the Victorinox web site. There is also a more stories pdf file .
 
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