? about leatherman sidekick

H

hankist

Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
113
hello - i have not bought a new full size leatherman in over ten years - so they have changed a bit since then - anyway , i got got a new sidekick and noticed that when it is folded up the two ends that swing closed , not the ends attached to the pliers , kind of wiggle back and forth , not in the direction of open/close , it is tightly closed but the other way if you can understand what i am saying , kind of like the two handles shift back and forth over each other a little when closed against each other - this is the best way i can describe it - i was wondering if this is normal or something i should be concerned about on a brand new tool ? - thanks for any help/replies - marc
 
Completely normal on that tool. The wingman has a little wiggle too. A minor complaint on a full size budget tool, but I've had mine for about a year now and have put some hard use on it, haven't had any problems because of this yet!
 
Leatherman multitools are not designed and manufactured with great precision, so like Mr. Black says, the wiggle is pretty normal. Not that we like it, but it doesn't really affect anything. If you want less wiggle, better fit and finish, etc., then you have go with something like a Swisstool Spirit at 2-3x the price. Leatherman tools are great, but they are not marvels of modern engineering.
 
yeah thanks - i called leatherman today and asked also - and they told me that on the sidekick and wingman because of the spring loaded pliers they both do have a little wiggle room - so i guess i dont need to worry about it - thanks for the replies - i just hate to buy something new and have a problem - its even worse if i dont know if it really is a problem or not - marc
 
My rebar has a similar behavior, but given the price point, its not a worry to me. Lost of products have dropped in fit and finish, and build quality in the past decade. I'll take a drop in F&F to keep the price point as long as the fundamentals are there.
 
BigBlack87 said:
Completely normal on that tool. The wingman has a little wiggle too. A minor complaint on a full size budget tool, but I've had mine for about a year now and have put some hard use on it, haven't had any problems because of this yet!
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Given that the wingman/sidekick holds up so well, a little wiggle doesn't seem such a much. What more can you ask of a $25 multitool?
 
hankist said:
hello - i have not bought a new full size leatherman in over ten years - so they have changed a bit since then - anyway , i got got a new sidekick and noticed that when it is folded up the two ends that swing closed , not the ends attached to the pliers , kind of wiggle back and forth , not in the direction of open/close , it is tightly closed but the other way if you can understand what i am saying , kind of like the two handles shift back and forth over each other a little when closed against each other - this is the best way i can describe it - i was wondering if this is normal or something i should be concerned about on a brand new tool ? - thanks for any help/replies - marc
Click to expand...



I noticed the same thing. I had a Blast for years and never thought much more about it. Then I got a gift card from work and grabbed the Side Kick or Kick ? Anyway, I decided to grab another so that two were sitting in packs. Lately I have been thinking about a Super Tool as I want something a little more robust. I was trying feather sticks with the Kick last night and it went surprisingly well. Maybe my constant quest for the ideal outdoor set up is moving to a multi tool on the belt along with whatever else seems appropriate for the situation. I do a lot of metal detecting and the tools can come in handy anywhere, any time. I am long past packing a big chunk of steel unless it will have a realistic application.
 
I didn't even notice the wiggle in mine before I saw this thread. Doesn't bother me, it's an outstanding tool for <$30.
 
upnorth said:
Lately I have been thinking about a Super Tool as I want something a little more robust. I was trying feather sticks with the Kick last night and it went surprisingly well. Maybe my constant quest for the ideal outdoor set up is moving to a multi tool on the belt along with whatever else seems appropriate for the situation. I do a lot of metal detecting and the tools can come in handy anywhere, any time. I am long past packing a big chunk of steel unless it will have a realistic application.
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What we do in the outdoors and how we do it varies considerably. Different needs and goals and such.

The two primary things I use a knife for while backpacking and things like that are: a) food prep and b) making shavings, tinder and feathersticks for making fires. I find the blades on multi-tools to be less than great on both accounts.

Regarding food prep, I prefer the blade to be longer and with more belly (spreading peanut butter).

For working with wood, I strongly (very strongly) dislike hollow ground blades and strongly prefer flat/convex blades.

My approach is to separate my multi-tool choice and my knife choice.

For EDC, it's a Leatherman Micra combined with an Opinel.

For backpacking, where weight is at a premium, it's a LM PS4 Squirt and an Opinel.

For general outdoors, EDC+, it's a LM Blaze and either a big Opinel or a fixed blade in a pack (and not my belt).


EDC Back Ups by Pinnah, on Flickr

IMO, the knife blades on multi-tools are fine for shop work like cutting cordage and opening bags and boxes. But beyond that, not so much.
 
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