Leather Wave or SOG Powerlock?

J

John Chong

Joined
Nov 18, 2000
Messages
142
X'mas is coming up and it's a toss up between the Wave and Powerlock. Which do you guys prefer? Pros and cons of each?

I know the Wave has a large and loyal following, but I've also been hearing a lot of good things about the Powerlock.
 
I have both, and the Powerlock is so much nicer! All locking tools and the compound leverage are big pluses!
 
I don't have the Powerlock so it may not be fair to vote for the Wave.

However, the Wave is an "altogether multitool".

When in doubt, buy both! :D
 
Look at the question this way......

Light urban duty....Wave

Heavy do it all duty.....Powerlock / supertool

Pocket tool.....Juice / SAK

Ah, yes.....something for everyone:D
 
Of those 2, I'd pick the SOG PowerLock "hands-down", BUT you might also want to think about the SOG (Deluxe) Pocket PowerPlier, as it's smaller and lighter than both the Wave or the PowerLock...Which means that you'll be more likely to carry it as an EDC rather than have it sit in a drawer.
 
You might also want to take a good look at the Victorinox Swisstool. It is much more useful than the Wave, albeit a bit bigger. Seeing as how almost everybody around here carries at least one good one hand opening knife, the Wave's biggest feature is redundant for most forumites. The number of engineering compromises neccisary to get these one handed blades to work on a multitool is the reason I traded my Wave.

Some people have apparently had problems with the Swisstool, but I have used mine for lots of things and it has never given me anything but excellent service. Still as smooth and solid as the day I got it.

I have never owned a Powerlock, but I did use one of SOG's other tools for a while. It was a quality piece, but the functionality of the individual implements was not as good as the Swisstool. Nobody has as much experiece designing and building things like can openers and awls as the SAK people. I did like the way the tool could be taken apart for cleaning or modification, however.
 
...and pick the Powerlock as the best out of the two.

I carried the Wave for about a year, but found it a little too lightweight for me. I prefer the Powerlock due to the Compound Leverage, the fact that ALL the tool blades lock, the 1/4" hex drive, and the ability to disassemble and clean/maintain the Powerlock. Another option that the Powerlock gives you is that you can replace the original tool blades with other types that can be purchased through SOG, such as the gut hook(seatbelt cutter).

If you really want to make a statement, then get the Powerlock with the Titanium Nitride coating. I've had mine for a few months and it is as new today as it was when I took it out of the box. That TiNi coating is pretty tough stuff!!

I would say, as mentioned in previous posts, if you plan on lightweight use for your multitool than get the Wave. If you plan on putting your multitool through hard use, in extreme conditions, then get the Powerlock. You will not be disappointed. :D ;)
 
The nicest thing about the Wave (for me) is that it could be used as a replacement for a small folding knife due to its one-handed blade design. It has both plain and serrated blades, but only works if you are right-handed.

Otherwise, it would be best to go for a multi-tool on which all the tools lock.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys! I've also been reading any other reviews I can find on the Net and... it's still a tough choice.

One thing I need to ask, can the tools in the Powerlock be accessed without opening it? They can for the Wave right?
 
All of the tools in the powerlock require the handles to be opened. The wave also requires this, except for the 2 knife blades, file, and saw.
 
That's the beauty of the SwissTool. All the tools (except the pliers of course) can be easily accessed without opening the tool. A big plus for some people.
 
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