Leatherman Crunch?

[toe_cutter]

Noticed the threads don't have any information on the Leatherman Crunch. It's basically a Leatherman with a mole-grip set-up, rather than pliers. There's also a similar one made by Irwin (called the 'vice-grip') and another made by Kershaw. Has anyone bought/used these multi-tools? The advantage is supposed to be the extra power the locking jaws are supposed to give in loosening bolts, etc.. Personally, I'd prefer an ordinary set of pliers. Any experiences/opinions?

 

[parnass]

The Leatherman Crunch is still sold, though few if any of the big box stores carry them. I bring a Crunch along on bicycle trips instead of a long nosed plier multitool. When not bicycling, I keep the Crunch in a back pack but carry a long nose pliers type multitool (Victorinox SwissTool X, SOG PowerLock S60, Leatherman SuperTool, or PST) as well.

The Crunch is compact and well made. However, the locking pliers takes longer to unfold and deploy than a more conventional multitool. It is a multistep operation.

 

[cb4life_30]

I can't speak for the crunch but I did buy a visegrip style multi a few years back. It was made by vise grip and had only three folding components. Some kind of collaboration between Schrade and visegrip. They were pretty handy. i think due to there small size. I EDC'd it for about six months as a combo with a superknife. I still keep it in my tool belt the vice grip is very durable and the perfect size for my uses. A friend of mine had the crunch when it first came out and he liked it because he could just clamp it on to a beltloop. Not really a deal maker for me but hey he was happy...

 

[Bod Of Bing]

I've used the Crunch on a daily basis for 3 years now. It is a great tool if you need locking plier strength. For most of my tasks the regular pliers of Leatheman or Gerber, even the blunt nose styles, don't cut it - - I frequently deal with jammed or misfit nuts. Yes it takes two hands and a few extra seconds to deploy, but if you are going to be using pliers often enough that it would be a nuisance, you should probably be carrying real pliers anyway and not expecting to use a multi-tool for constant use.

It also has less tools than the other premium Leathermans, but I have found the screwdrivers and bottle opener useful for 90% of my immediate ad-hoc small tool needs. With a scissors instead of the serrated blade it would be perfect (I already carry a combo edge knife), but as is it is an excellent tool.