Help me choose a multitool

I have the PST II, Swisstool and the Wave. I like them all but I find that I usually bring the PST II along with a SAK and a fixed blade when I go fishing. The PST II has all the tools that I use, and it might smaller and lighter than the wave or swisstool.
 
I use a hammer. :D

They're all good but what makes the LM Supertool stand out is the knife blade. It's the only one that I'm not scared will snap. It has some meat on it...and like my Dominican building super says "bones are for dogs, MEAT is for men!" although he's talking about plump women.
 
The Victorinox Swiss Tool and Leather Super Tool are far too big and heavy for my tastes. The Wave is the best of your choices, in my opinion.

When I carry a multitool, I go lightweight with my venerable PST. I've tried a lot of multitools, and always end up back with my good old dependable PST.
 
I have all three and I like the Swisstool the best. The Swisstool is a heavy duty tool and has the easiest access to all the tools, without clumping or having to fold and unfold the handles. All of the Swisstool’s tools lock and they are safer and easier to unlock than the Supertool. The Swisstool also has a straight edge on the rulers/handles and a nice wood chisel.

The disadvantages of the Swisstool are the screwdrivers and to some the pliers which are sort of a cross between needle nose and standard pliers. The Swisstool, like the Supertool is one of the biggest and heaviest mulitools.

The Supertool 200 is also a heavy duty mutitool, which has the advantage of true needle nose pliers. If you use the pliers a lot but don’t use the tools in the handles much the Supertool 200 is a very good choice. The Supertool’s tools are inconvenient to get to since you have to unfold the handles, find the tool you want, separate it from the clump of tools, lock it into place and refold the handle. And when you want to close the tool, you have to release the lock using the lock levers or by unfolding the other tools in the handle, and then folding the tool(s) closed and then folding the handles. With the Swisstool, you just unfold the tools from the outside of the handles (with no clumping) and lock the tool into place. The Swisstool’s lock release is also much easier to use.

Despite the Supertool 200’s hard to access tools, it is well made, comfortable to use (unlike the earlier original pre 200 Supertool) and has a very nice electrical crimper and lanyard ring.

The Wave has the advantage of one hand opening knife blades along with a little less weight and bulk. The Wave has the same scissors and Diamond file as the PST II. You can get the Wave with either a nylon or leather sheath (I like the nylon one better, but the leather one is also very nice). On the downside, aside from the knife blades, file and saw, the Wave’s tools do not lock. The Wave also lacks rulers and an awl.

If you decide to get a Wave, I would suggest buying one locally so that you can check out the operation of the pliers and the knife blades – I have seen some with blades that were too tight or with handles that wiggled.




- Frank
 
If you are use to the size and weight of the PST than it would be natural to go to the Leatherman Pulse which I think is the best tool in this size and weight class, it offers improvements over your PST.

You will notice a major weight and carry difference if you go up to the larger tools like the 200,gerber 600 or Wave ect.

If you are using your tool mostly for the pliers than you will find that the Gerber 600 wins hands down for the speed and ease in which the plier head is accessed.

I carry a Pulse when weight is a factor and a Wave most of the time but I always carry the Gerber 600 when fishing as it is a one handed operation to get the pliers out, you can even speed open it by dragging it to one side of the sheath and yanking it up at the same time,the dissengaging buttons on the plier sides will catch on the sheath and open it for you!

I have also owned the Gerber legend but dident like it cause the handles are too far apart when the jaws are fully opened, but, the spring loaded plier head was nice.
 
The Swiss Tool and the Wave. Swiss Tool is slightly on the heavy side but the finishing is first class.

The Wave is compact and it looks good on the belt. Get both and you won't regret it.
 
Wave from Target for <$55! Just one minor inconvience as I see it. If you buy it on-line, you may have to send it in for adjustment. Mine came too tight. It is definately my favorite multi-tool so far. If you get it at Target there might be another drawback...You could end up with two or three models from this sale if you can't resist a great bargain.
 
Originally posted by stich
Wave from Target for <$55! Just one minor inconvience as I see it. If you buy it on-line, you may have to send it in for adjustment. Mine came too tight. It is definately my favorite multi-tool so far. If you get it at Target there might be another drawback...You could end up with two or three models from this sale if you can't resist a great bargain.
Click to expand...

Target is great! I bought a LM wave there about 4 weeks ago for $65. I broke the tips off the end of the pliers doing something I should not have been doing :rolleyes:

I was going to send it back to leatherman for repair and I found my Target slip so I decided to take it back to Target and see if they would give me a replacement.

Getting a replacement at Target was no problem. When I went back to grab the replacement one I seen they were onsale for $55. I was not going to say anything about the sale price to the lady doing the exchange becuase I was just glad to be gitting it replaced.

Well when I took the replacement one up to the til she scanned it and said "looks like your going to make some money" :)

I walked out of Target with a new LM Wave and $10 more in my pocket.

What more could a guy ask for :)
 
I`ve used the LM Super Tool as an EDC for 4 years now and I am very pleased with it.:)
The weight don`t bother me at all, and I like the size of it. It fits my hands.
I only wish the edge of the pliers were harder. They won`t cut ironwire thicker than 2mm without making a dent in it.:(

Tor
 
If you can, try them out side by side. I did, and chose a Swiss Army multi-tool. All of its' tools are accessible from the closed-up position; you do not have to unfold the pliers to get at any of the tools. All of its' tools open & close with a crisp, sharp "snick" indicating a good tight tool/spring fit. All of its tools lock into place; they won't suddenly close on you as you use them. Only the Swiss had the full range of awl, scissors, saw, ruler, etc. that I wanted in a single tool. The Swiss weighed 2 oz.more than the Wave; that's inconsequential. It is a very well engineered tool.
 
I'm currently carrying the Gerber legend 800.

The features I like on this tool are the carbide inserted wire cutters, the Rem Grit saw blade, and the spring loaded pliers.

What I dislike is that the pliers don't open as wide as my SOG PowerLock does.

I would recommend both of the above tools, along with the LM Supertool, and a Gerber 600 series.

the best of the bunch IMHO has to be the SOG. Someone stated in this thread that they didn't like the compound leverage of the SOG, and IMHO, that is the best part about that tool; it makes the pliers have much more gripping ability, and that is a big plus.

I used to own a Wave, and I liked it for very light duty use, but as soon as I used the pliers to turn off a gas meter, they broke. It went back to LM, and it was traded off as soon as I got it back.

If weight isn't a concern, I suggest one of the above, and since the LM supertool 200 is on your list, that will be an excellent choice.
 
I really, really like the Gerber versions as the pliers slide out of the handles instead of having the handles flip around as the Leatherman and others do. The difference is that the Gerbers do not wind up with sharp edges that cut into your hands when you really clamp down on the pliers. I found this to be a major advantage over the other multitools out there.
 
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