I have owned a number of multitools over the years, first being the orignal Gerber Multi-plier. After owning a few Leatherman's I jumped on the Charge bandwagon.
My use for a multitool is for generally urban use along the lines of mechanical repair, general chores, crate opening, box cutting, computers, ad other miscelaneous things. I found the original Gerber to be a VERY sturdy tool, but lacking in versatility. So then after many years I purchased the Wave when it first came out.
It was a great improvement. Scissors, better screwdrivers, one handed blades etc.... All of these were much appreciated on my trip to the Australian outback.
So now on to the subject title.
During my use of the Wave, I grew tiresome of two flaws. The plier pivot joint loosened up after the thick grease worked its way out and made the pliers have far too much play. The tips could be forced to completely overlap and the cutters were useless on any kind of wire. Cutting wire merely folded and flattened the wire. So I headed out looking for a replacement temporary tool whille I sent the Wave to Leatherman for repair. I found Costco selling the Juice Xe6 Pro for $90 Canadian. Yes I am in Canada.
The Xe6 is probably the best urban use mutlitool there is. Almost any time I have needed a light tool for a job, the Xe6 was more than adequate and able. So many tools on it and I have used all of them at some point. Noteworthy tools include the excellent scissors and the foil cutter. There really is little to say negative about the Xe6, except perhaps its size/strength for heavy work, and the same problem as the Wave.
The Xe6 pliers have developed a loose plier pivot causing it to be somewhat useless again for some wire cutting. I do have a major gripe with the sheath suplied with the Juice series, it is utter crap. It works fine for a while, but the elastic sides are a HUGE BIG REDICULOUS mistake. The material is not durable, it rips, frays and fails. Useless junk as far as I am concerned.
I knew I would be buying a Charge when they were announced because Leatherman seemed to have addressed the plier strength issue and there were many more features. So I have one now and after a few days I am generally pleased and it will be my regular carry but there are a few gripes and comments.
The are many things that Leatherman has done to make real improvements over the original Wave. I know others have reviewed the Charge and have shown pictures but I feel compelled say a few things that may have been already stated.
First of all the Charge is much stronger feeling. There is much less flex in the handles when squeezing in plier mode. All the pivots on mine are well adjusted and no flop or rattle.
The blade widths almost completely eliminate the thumb slicing problem from the original Wave that could occur from less than careful one handed opening.
The measuring scales on the handles are welcomed additions as is the bumped edge of the serrated knife to identify it without having to look.
I am very pleased to see the locks on all the tools. The implimentation of this could not be simpler or more logical. The addtional tool bits make this almost the most versatile multitool yet.
The regular knife blade has a few quirks. The blade is not ground perfectly straight; there is a bit of a bump to the profile just before the curve up to the clip. This doesn't hurt the functionality of the blade but it doesn't show the highest quality control. The edge grinds do not match along both sides of the knife, but it again it is not too bad. It remains to be seen how well they executed the 154CM and the heat treatment. One strange thing to me... the regular knife blade has a much larger opening thumb hole than the serrated blade.
The Charge will replace my Xe6 as my EDC, but I will miss the reamer, better scissors, foil cutter and tweezers that the Xe6 Pro offers (and even the corkscrew). In trade I get a much stronger tool, all locking tools, better knife steel, and inter-changeable tool bits. I don't think the removable pocket clip and lanyard ring are very useful as there is no way to carry them with the Charge while they are not connected. Perhaps someone can clue me in to a convenient way to carry them with the Charge.
One last thing. The sheaths supplied are as useless as the one for the Juice line was. It is functional for the short term but will fall apart and let the user down in the not so long term. It is a huge mistake to use elastic materials like these in a situation where heat, sweat, sunlight, and plain ordinary use has been known to be completely destructive. Start looking for an alternate sheath the day you get you Charge.
Thx for reading.
My use for a multitool is for generally urban use along the lines of mechanical repair, general chores, crate opening, box cutting, computers, ad other miscelaneous things. I found the original Gerber to be a VERY sturdy tool, but lacking in versatility. So then after many years I purchased the Wave when it first came out.
It was a great improvement. Scissors, better screwdrivers, one handed blades etc.... All of these were much appreciated on my trip to the Australian outback.
So now on to the subject title.
During my use of the Wave, I grew tiresome of two flaws. The plier pivot joint loosened up after the thick grease worked its way out and made the pliers have far too much play. The tips could be forced to completely overlap and the cutters were useless on any kind of wire. Cutting wire merely folded and flattened the wire. So I headed out looking for a replacement temporary tool whille I sent the Wave to Leatherman for repair. I found Costco selling the Juice Xe6 Pro for $90 Canadian. Yes I am in Canada.
The Xe6 is probably the best urban use mutlitool there is. Almost any time I have needed a light tool for a job, the Xe6 was more than adequate and able. So many tools on it and I have used all of them at some point. Noteworthy tools include the excellent scissors and the foil cutter. There really is little to say negative about the Xe6, except perhaps its size/strength for heavy work, and the same problem as the Wave.
The Xe6 pliers have developed a loose plier pivot causing it to be somewhat useless again for some wire cutting. I do have a major gripe with the sheath suplied with the Juice series, it is utter crap. It works fine for a while, but the elastic sides are a HUGE BIG REDICULOUS mistake. The material is not durable, it rips, frays and fails. Useless junk as far as I am concerned.
I knew I would be buying a Charge when they were announced because Leatherman seemed to have addressed the plier strength issue and there were many more features. So I have one now and after a few days I am generally pleased and it will be my regular carry but there are a few gripes and comments.
The are many things that Leatherman has done to make real improvements over the original Wave. I know others have reviewed the Charge and have shown pictures but I feel compelled say a few things that may have been already stated.
First of all the Charge is much stronger feeling. There is much less flex in the handles when squeezing in plier mode. All the pivots on mine are well adjusted and no flop or rattle.
The blade widths almost completely eliminate the thumb slicing problem from the original Wave that could occur from less than careful one handed opening.
The measuring scales on the handles are welcomed additions as is the bumped edge of the serrated knife to identify it without having to look.
I am very pleased to see the locks on all the tools. The implimentation of this could not be simpler or more logical. The addtional tool bits make this almost the most versatile multitool yet.
The regular knife blade has a few quirks. The blade is not ground perfectly straight; there is a bit of a bump to the profile just before the curve up to the clip. This doesn't hurt the functionality of the blade but it doesn't show the highest quality control. The edge grinds do not match along both sides of the knife, but it again it is not too bad. It remains to be seen how well they executed the 154CM and the heat treatment. One strange thing to me... the regular knife blade has a much larger opening thumb hole than the serrated blade.
The Charge will replace my Xe6 as my EDC, but I will miss the reamer, better scissors, foil cutter and tweezers that the Xe6 Pro offers (and even the corkscrew). In trade I get a much stronger tool, all locking tools, better knife steel, and inter-changeable tool bits. I don't think the removable pocket clip and lanyard ring are very useful as there is no way to carry them with the Charge while they are not connected. Perhaps someone can clue me in to a convenient way to carry them with the Charge.
One last thing. The sheaths supplied are as useless as the one for the Juice line was. It is functional for the short term but will fall apart and let the user down in the not so long term. It is a huge mistake to use elastic materials like these in a situation where heat, sweat, sunlight, and plain ordinary use has been known to be completely destructive. Start looking for an alternate sheath the day you get you Charge.
Thx for reading.
