Leatherman - Girly-Girl Purple - Need Input

Esav Benyamin said:
I carry a Victorinox Ranger in my gearbag. Great combination of tools, and what it's missing I don't need, except pliers. If my prosthetic foot needs tightening up, fingertips won't do it.
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Esav,

You have a prosthetic foot? Really? I'm not being insensitive or rude (I hope) just curious.
 
I am a die hard Victorinox fan. Their multitools are heavy and are good for the car and office. I have borrowed my son's Sog Paratool for daily carry as it is comfortable.

I am not that happy with Leatherman but there are two of their tools that stand out, particularly in the lighter range. The Juice and the Squirt.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
tholiver, have you looked at the Swisstool Spirit? It has an impressive array of tools and all the larger Swisstools' quality.

I carry a Victorinox Ranger in my gearbag. Great combination of tools, and what it's missing I don't need, except pliers. If my prosthetic foot needs tightening up, fingertips won't do it.
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Yeah i've looked at the spirit but online only. I'm sure its probably great but I've heard some here say that the scissors aren't up to the usual Vic standard. Also i prefer a more traditional Vic style blade.
If i get the chance to handle a Spirit locally i may give it a try and get one. As it is right now i'm probably going to do an online sale for either the xe6 or the Swisstool CS. The smaller size and the foldout corkscrew has me leaning towards the xe6. My particular SAK oriented tendencies tend to draw me towards multitools with corkscrews! lol.
:)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
tholiver, have you looked at the Swisstool Spirit? It has an impressive array of tools and all the larger Swisstools' quality.

I carry a Victorinox Ranger in my gearbag. Great combination of tools, and what it's missing I don't need, except pliers. If my prosthetic foot needs tightening up, fingertips won't do it.
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Actually i kinda like SAK pliers and would recommend them (i have them on my swisschamp). While they are not as big as the pliers on my Wave they are better fitted and more capable for precision work. I rarely use pliers on any multitools but when i do i prefer the SAK pliers because mostly i use them more like super-tweezers for gripping tiny or awkward items.
Generarlly for me the blade/canopener/saw/scissors/straight screwdrivers get a lot more use than the pliers.
:)
 
When I used to work for a living I was an inveterate tinker. Since most of the time I was a supervisor and later the manager, nobody got to tell me to leave it alone :)

Just before multitools came in, I carried a SAK, a dogbone screwdriver, and a small locking plier. Loose doorknobs, vehicle parts, desk handles, anything I could fix. The mechanics would call me over to help them out.

Once Leatherman started up, I bought the progressively larger, stronger multitools, and branched out into other companies.

But now my needs are limited and I rarely carry tools on a normal day. The fun has gone out of having the best. :D
 
I always wondered about those sak pliers. Also, is the magnifying glass optics glass or plastic? Is it replaceable? Im thinking its time for a new SAK, my super tinker is 15 years old and id like to pass it on to the brother.
 
Suzukigsx1300r08 said:
I always wondered about those sak pliers. Also, is the magnifying glass optics glass or plastic? Is it replaceable? Im thinking its time for a new SAK, my super tinker is 15 years old and id like to pass it on to the brother.
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Don't underestimate SAK pliers. Once, when caught without proper tools, I had to assemble frames and hang a photography exhibit for which I needed a screwdriver, pliers and wire cutter. My Swisschamp did just fine (fortunately, the wire was just thin enough).

I believe the magnifier is glass, but whatever, it is definitely good enough for examining photographic negatives and slides (also anything else). In olden times, before digital photography, that was something I needed often when picking up processing at local labs in which the customer loupes would usually go missing. If it needs replacement, I guess Vic could do it.
 
Well judy. Are you buying a multi-tool for the pliers (as most people would, thats what multi-tools are based on), or are you looking more for screw drivers and knives? If youre looking for knives, screw drivers and gadgets along with colors and looks, a sak is the way to go, they have so many configurations and stuff, or if you just need small pliers they also have those. Now, if you need big robust pliers for wrenching on stuff along with the gadgets a multi tool would be better for you, but they are also larger and dont have the option to change designs as easily as SAKs do. For the most part if im not out in the woods for long periods of time or working on the motorcycle or car ill carry a sak. its easy to conceal and has everything i need while out. If i need something while camping if i will be fishing or hunting or if im out working on the motorcycle and may need pliers or something ill carry my swisstool or something similar.
 
Judy, you're making this too hard and thinking too much!

The lovely purple tool wants you, wants you bad, can't you hear it whispering to you? "Buy me baby, just Buy me! I need bought so badly!"

Seriously I have several leathermans, purple is just fine. Buy what you like... then later buy what you need.
 
I've owned two of the Leathman Juice tools, one of which was an XE6 and the other was the red model (the model number escapes me at the moment). They're pretty cool, but not that sturdy. I bent the red one trying to bend a coathanger. And the can opener on the XE6 bent when I tried to actually open a can with it.

I carry an SAK now (usually a Victorinox Cyber Tool 41), which suits my needs nicely.
 
ashtxsniper said:
Leatherman or Sog multi-tools beat a SAK anyday.
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Leatherman and Sog make good multitools but i still prefer a SAK. I would maybe choose a multitool if weight and size were not an issue as multitools are generally bulkier and heavier than SAK's. And then if you must have a multitool you still have Victorinox multis to choose as well.

I really liked my Wave until it fell off my desk, about 2 feet, onto a carpeted floor and became all loose. Its still usable but my faith in its durability was shaken. Now its strictly a deskdrawer multitool. However this might be a symptom of an inherent mechanical vulnerabilty in the generic foldout multitool design when it is actually folded out.

I also accidentally dropped a SAK off a roof (two levels up) and the only damage was some scuffing on the celidor scales.
I think that often people who have never owned/used a SAK see red plastic scales and think its just a toy when they are actually surprisingly tough.

I would also restate what others on this forum (and other forums) have said, namely how many straight screwdrivers do you actualy need on a multitool?I've seen a few with 4! I'd rather have one or two less straight screwdrivers replaced with some other tools.

I still think per inch and per ounce the swisschamp beats any multitool.

And a three or four layer SAK is easy for pocket carry whereas most multis are just too large/heavy for unobtrusive pocket carry. The knife in your pocket is always more useful to you than the one left at home.
:)
 
I too believe that Multi-Tools should have less screw drivers, but i mainly buy a multi tool for:

A) The pliers, if i need needle nose pliers i will get needle nose, i like victorinox's pliers because they are neither blunt nor needle nose.

B) Screw drivers, i like an assortment but not 5 of each

C) Cutting tools, i like a saw and a straight edge. Im not a big fan of serrated edges because i dont use them often.

The swisstool met every need that i had. So does the super tinker. I wish they sold(or maybe they do)a put it together yourself multi tool. Buy the type of pliers you want, which would be the base of your design and then have tools you can choose from to add into it. There would be so many possibilities and you would have whatever you needed or change it with your jobs!
 
DaveH said:
Judy, you're making this too hard and thinking too much!

The lovely purple tool wants you, wants you bad, can't you hear it whispering to you? "Buy me baby, just Buy me! I need bought so badly!"

Seriously I have several leathermans, purple is just fine. Buy what you like... then later buy what you need.
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Thanks, Dave.

I like options. I love purple. But I needed to find out what my options were as far as comparable multi-tools. I probably will buy the Juice XE6 because it is purple. But it is apparently also a decent multi-tool. I did not want to get it just because it is purple - it needed to be more than that. Never having owned a multi-tool, I don't know what I really need in one. But I am going to find out.

I like what you said - buy what you like... then later buy what you need. I guess if one can never have too many knives or pairs of shoes, one can never have too many multi-tools.

I think I am going to get the Juice Thunder (XE6). But I am going to look at all of the other multi-tools suggested in this thread and make a list of the ones I will put on my wish list for my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. multi-tool.

Thanks to everyone for your input. It has been very valuable to me and I am going to do some good research on each different multi-tool suggested.

But purple is gonna come first! :D :thumbup:
 
Totally Judy said:
yeppers. Irish Spring, I believe.
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FWIW it was the slogan for Secret deodorant.

Although it looks like you have made your decision, FWIW, much as I love Vics, I find a Leatherman more useful. I have EDC'd both.


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You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there. - George Burns

Hah! Not old yet!
 
Well, I did it! I ordered the Leatherman Juice Thunder - purple purple purple. It will go well with my purple knives!

Thanks to everyone who posted. I am going to do more research into the other multi-tools mentioned/recommended and will probably end up buying one or two more, depending on how the Juice works out and what I find that I really need.

Thanks again, everybody.
 
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