Leatherman Juice Xe6

Morablades

Morablades

Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
1,990
I can't find any of these locally to handle. The Juice S2 has pretty much replaced my SAK. The Xe6 seems to be a little overkill on the tools, but it's the closest one to the now discontinued Kf4, which is what I really want. Anyone handled the Xe6? My main concerns are if it's too bulky for it's size and whether or not the corkscrew "screws" up the grip. Thanks, Dylan
 
I have one, and I have to tell you, for one of Leatherman's "smaller" tools, it is definitely a handful. It is heavy... too heavy for pocket carry, at least for me. The corkscrew doesn't really not sharp at affect the grip, but I wasn't too crazy about the quality of this tool. The can opener is dull and useless unless you sharpen it. The awl is a joke. On mine the back spring for one of the screwdrivers broke. I personally would rather carry a swisschamp, but get one and check it out for yourself. You might have different luck.
 
I have the Juice Pro, which is virtually the same as the XE6. It is compact, but thick and heavy; not comfortably pocketable for me. The corkscrew doesn't interfere with grip any more than on a SAK.

I like how the handle are snappy rather than floppy, and how most of the tools are accessible from the outside. The tool selection is like a big SAK. The quality of the tools is comparable to a SAK, although SAK quality is slightly better. The awl and can opener suck, but I sharpened them up with a dremel. I quite like mine as a casual edc, but I reach for my Vic Spirit if I anticipate any real work.
 
I have the Juice Pro too - it's the exact same as the Xe6 except the Pro has a serrated foil cutter and a pair of tweezers.

It's my go-to tool when I'm heading out of town or plan on carrying a bag with me - it's a compact tool, but fairly heavy and chunky for it's size. Fits great in a bag - not in your pocket. A lot of utility in a small package. Had it for a couple of years and it's been great for anything I needed it for.

Knives (plain edge and serrated) - These come sharp and are easy as hell to sharpen. Very similar to Victorinox steel in that it takes minimal effort to sharpen and takes a hair-popping keen edge. Thicker hollow ground blades than SAK's. More than adequate if they're the only knives you have on your person for light-to-medium duty chores.

Scissors - I like the scissors on the Juice series better than any of my other full-size Leatherman tools because these scissors are BIG and open fully. No springs to break or lose like in SAK scissors. Very nice scissors for such a compact tool.

Pliers - Love these for light-to-medium duty jobs. Haven't used the wire cutter, but the actual pliers are quality all the way. Not for heavy duty work, but if used for what they were intended for, then you'll be very pleased with them.

Screwdrivers - I've had them close on me before when applying downward pressure, and the flatheads will most certainly cut you the first couple times you try to pull them out to use. I never look forward to using these - they're really a compromise given the size and space of the the tool. I wish the backsprings were stronger than they are.

Saw - Only used it once and it worked fine. I prefer a locking saw on my larger multitools to this, but it'll work if it's the only thing you have on your person.

File - Really nice file, especially the diamond-coated fine side. Leatherman always produces extremely useful and quality files, and this one is no exception.

Awl - Dull, and therefore useless. I sharpened mine, but never have a use for them anyways.

Can/bottle opener - Completely useless as a can opener and barely usable as a bottle opener. Feels very flimsy when opening a beer. People report that when using it as a wine assist to open wine bottles it'll chip out the glass because the tool is so thin - I haven't had this happen but it's totally possible because the damn thing is so thin and flimsy. A huge disappointment - the Victorinox combo tool is so superior to this thing.

Corkscrew - It's not very long, so you don't get much leverage when opening a wine bottle, but it does the job. Mine had a lot of back-and-forth play, but it doesn't affect the usability of it.

There's always compromises in these small tools, but overall it's been great. I would buy it again even though some of the tools are lacking in some respects.
 
I agree with all the above, with two exceptions:

The dull awl was easily sharpened enough to be useful, and I use it often. Last time was 20 minutes ago, when I needed to poke a shoelace hole through leather on a new boot. As a starter for screws, it does the job on all but the hardest of materials.

Although not up to Vic standards, the can opener on mine has worked well enough. Sharpening it is not a good idea because then the dual purpose implement, when used as a cap lifter, will puncture the bottle top. This is probably the weakest element on Juice models, except maybe the corkscrew assist :grumpy:, but all it has to do is function. Nothing on a multitool works as well as a dedicated tool, so anything at hand that does the job when such tools are not available is okay with me. With that perspective, I'm at peace ;).

Although I like Leatherman products, I wish Vic made comparable models in that size with usable pliers. If that's an important consideration, the Juice line is just about the only choice available at this time.
 
I like my XE6. Its my EDC and rides in the coin pocket in my jeans.
I'm mostly a SAK guy but i really like the XE6.
Its shorter and not as thick or wide as my Vic SwissChamp.
On my cr*ppy scales it and the Swisschamp are both 7 ounces.
Of course the Swisschamp does have a few tools that the XE6 does not.

The weak link with the XE6 is the canopener. I sharpened mine so it works a little better now. Mostly the canopener is thin and needs to be redesigned slightly.
The scissors are "ok", not as good as Vic scissors but IMO better than Wenger scissors.
The awl is not sharp but is easily sharpened.
You could go one step down and save some weight, the CS4 is basically an XE6 minus the file and the serrated blade. The CS4 is a little over an ounce lighter.
I think the main advantage of the CS4 over XE6 is the decrease in thickness.

But really i edc the XE6 and its not big or bothersome at all.
And i'm not a big dude, i'm only 5 ft 9 inches!
 
I have an xe6, wave and a surge. What I found interesting was the fact that the smallest tool, the xe6, has the most implements - even more than the Surge! It's a great design. I carry the Wave on me, and the xe6 stays in my bag. Sometimes, you need two multi-tools, especially when you need to use the pliers and a screwdriver at the same time! The Surge stays at home. It used to be my EDC, but wore a hole in every pair of jeans that i own.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top