Leatherman & Victorinox

Joined
Sep 29, 2005
Messages
1,665
Dear all,

Leatherman & Victorinox are 2 heads of multi-tool market. Me and few friends had causal talk and brought up this issue.

Is leatherman consider a higher notch brand than Victorinox??

I think leatherman is higher, but some of my friend do not agree. So I decided to put on this thread, see for other people's opinion.
 
I lean toward the leatherman tool. this was the first multitool i ever had and i have always been pleased with the quality of the tools, not always real happy with the blade steel but to me a blade in a multi tool is for things like stripping wire, scrapeing battery terminals etc. I carry a knife to cut things and a leatherman to work on things. I don't have any experience with the victorinox but i'm sure it is a quality tool. I've carried sak's for years and always victorinox and have always been impressed with the quality. later ahgar
 
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I like both, but for slightly different reasons.
I own a Swisstool, but the tool(s) I've carried on my belt is always a Leatherman (for the past year, a Blast). I like the Vic Swisstool, but find the individual tools more hard on my thumbnails to open than the Leatherman's tools. Also, I like a lot of the subtle little features Leatherman continually incorporates into the tools, and the tools' ruggedness.

Besides, I also always carry a Vic SAK in my pocket everyday, too. The tools on the Swisstool, for the most part, are the same as on many SAK's.
 
I give the edge to swiss tool on quality, although Leatherman has come a long way with the Charge series.
 
I have both, and like them both, but IMO the Victorinox ST is higher on the scale than my Leatherman Charge. In terms of general utility, fit & finish, heft, ruggedness and elegance, Vic wins hands down for me. The things I like about the LM Charge are the PE blade, OH opening, clip and the plier head design. =)
 
Hello everyone,
I'm new to the forum. I joined about a month ago to find out info on multitools. I read every post and link on every multitool. Great info from you guys!

I had a LM Wave for the past 5 years that I lost. After reading up on all of the different tools, I decided a Victorinox Swiss Tool would best fit my needs. I couldn't be more happy with the Swiss Tool. I mostly use my tool at work, but always carry it on my belt, all of the time. I don't have a folding pocket knife( I do plan on buying one of the red handle models) , so the Swiss Tool is my primary cutting tool also.

The Victorinox is of much higher quality than my old LM was. The handles on my Wave never lined up when closed, and had a lot of play in them too. The handles on the LM rusted where the tools fold into them. The cutting blades were hard to open with one hand, not hard like requiring excessive force, but hard on my fingers.The cutting blades also had lots of grind lines on them, that made the blades look cheap. The scissors didn't cut very well. The pliers would always stick after using them.

The LM was nice, but the Victorinox is nicer. The cutting blades on the Swiss Tool seem to be of higher quality, and I like the tip design (drop point) better. The philips screw driver has a much longer shank than that of the Wave. The Victorinox also opens and closes more smoothly, has no play in the handles, and the handles line up perfectly. The nylon pouch my Swiss Tool came with is kind of pathetic for such a high quality tool. I wish the Swiss Tool had one hand opening blades.

Like I said, my LM Wave was a 5+ years old model. I bought my Swiss Tool about a month ago, and I don't know if it's a newer model or not because the handles say patent pending.

I like this site. I will stick around, learn some more, and ask some dumb questions.

KTM Guy.
 
I would say, LM wins in terms of ruggedness and overall quality, but the Vic is in close 2nd. Its the best thing you can get if you dont want a LM (better than freaking Gerber).
 
KTMGUY said:
The handles on my Wave never lined up when closed, and had a lot of play in them too. .... The cutting blades were hard to open with one hand, not hard like requiring excessive force, but hard on my fingers. ...The pliers would always stick after using them.
These problems have been largely resolved with the new Wave and Charge models.
 
My 2 cents...

Victorinox is of far superior quality to anything Leatherman makes - much more refined and more sturdy. However, Leatherman is far more innovative than Victorinox offering a wider range of solutions. That is also why I think that the fit on many of Leathermans tools is not good - they try to do too much sometimes.

Victorinox pretty much keep the same lineup of tools, occasionally adding a few new ones. They take an age to bring out something new, but I get the feeling that its because they work to get is just right before releasing it.

Leatherman keeps churning out more new tools every year (of course Victorinox has a much wider range of products having been around longer) likely to up their sales. Leathermans are geberally more expensive than Victorinox, which is also part of the reason I own more Victorinox tools than Leathermans.
 
Well, I have the Swisstool and the Charge Ti, and I did a side-by-side comparison. Take my observations with a grain of salt, knowing they're unscientific.

Robustness (is that a word?): I've got to give this to the ST, however, I do so with the observation that the ST pliers are significantly thicker and don't have a true needlenose tip, so I would expect them to be stronger. It's tough for me to compare handles, because I don't know how to compare titanium to steel. The Charge is certainly lighter and smaller. I can also flex the handles of the ST when squeezing them more than I can the Charge--maybe that's because I can get more leverage due to the ST's longer length.

Blades and files: The Charge wins walking away. The PE and serrated blades are superior to the ST, as are the saw blade and the file. Who can hate 154CM and diamonds? And the clincher is the one-handed opening capability of both blades.

Drivers and scissors: Tough to compare the ST screwdrivers with the Charge. I think the Charge bits may be tougher to round off or twist, but the bit holder isn't as strong as a one-piece driver. And, the drivers on the ST can reach further. The Charge scissors appear to me to be superior in both cutting ability and durability (they don't have that little leaf spring).

Wire cutters: The Charge has wider cutters, but I don't know if they're tougher.

Fit and finish: I think comparing polished steel to titanium is apples and oranges. I will note that the Charge allows me to grip the handles and use the knife with a much less slick surface than the ST--in fact, I can envision my hand sliding right down the ST handles and across the knive blade. I understand this is negated with ST with the black anodized finish.

My overall opinion? If you want great pliers and drivers with good knives, get the ST. If you want great blades and files with good pliers and drivers, get the Charge. If one-handed opening is the ticket, get the Charge.

Here's my ideal multitool: The plier strength of the ST with a true needlenose, the compound leverage of the SOG, the wire cutters of the Gerber (replaceable carbide), the one-handed blade opening and titanium handles of the Charge, the knife steel and file quality of the Charge, and the configuration of the Surge (love those big scissors). It would be all right to keep the bit holder but offer an option to use longer bits and make the holder itself out of a super-strong material. Get rid of the tiny screwdriver and replace it with an awl.

Don't want much, do I? :D
 
One thing I read is that the Swisstool screwdrivers are somewhat polished and rounded (bad thing). What do you guys think? I've found the bits on my leatherman tools to be nice and square. This is one thing I really like about my old style wave. The phillips screwdriver is perfect.
 
Well, I have both Leatherman and a Swiis tool(Wenger). The best part is, both are free, I picked them up in the airport. One is a Leatherman Wave( I think, not very sure) And the other is a unidentified Wenger. Both are great, but I normally take my Wenger to camps and stuff cause it has all the diffrent stuff in it that I will use while camping. I only bring my LM to BBQ where a cutting tool is required. Overall, I would say each tool is useful in diffrent ways and situations. What do you guys think?
 
acwire_2125 said:
Overall, I would say each tool is useful in diffrent ways and situations. What do you guys think?

I think that you hit the nail on the head. There are definitely multi-tools that are of poor quality, but there are definitely multi-tools that are of excellent quality as well. There are just too many variations and different sets of needs to declare any one the "best". In fact this is probably more true of multi-tools than just about any other product.
 
Hi. Another newbie here, any thoughts on the 'supposedly' new LM-Wave: The "Surge"? I've been using a SOG Power Plier for years until one half of the plier head broke-off during a routine changing of a spring on my front-door. Turns out the metal of the SOG isn't really stainless steel. I'm seriously considering the LM-Surge, i've seen one and handled it at a store, but i'm not sure if it's the right one for me. I mostly work outside in campsites, trails, etc. What do you experts think? I ask beacuse I haven't seen any specific threads (anywhere?) regarding the Surge in detail. Thanks in advance for any input.
 
Well, I'll advise you to buy a Victorinox for Outdoor work while you should buy a Leatherman for any indoor work, this is my recomedation. But the decision really depends on you.
 
Thanks ACWIRE_2125, Can you recommend a specific Vic for that's suited to camping and extensive outdoor use?
 
How much is your price budget and wad type of activities are you doing? I need to know so as to recommend one to you.
 
Around $55. I saw a Surge on ebay that sold for that much. I do a lot of maintenance for campsites, trails, etc. I also repair basic machinery like mowers and grasscutters. But I have a whole tool box for those, I would also like one that I can carry in the city for when we have to get supplies and sometimes even go out. Something I can use to easily defend myself and my companions should something or someone, god forbid, ever force me to deal with force. I thought the Surge is agood compromise for the quick one-hand release of the blades. What do you suggest? I guess I can get two, but I'd really just like to carry one for all purposes.
 
Ok, so you need one for maintenance for campsites and trails, I presume you need a cross-head screwdriver and a philips head screwdriver. You also said that you want one which can be use for self defence. Take a look at this. If it does not suit your need, tell me wad you need like specific tools and I will search for you again.

Locksmith
( 0.8493.3 )

Handles: Nylon black, 111 mm

14 features

1. large lock blade
2. Phillips screwdriver
3. can opener with
4. - small screwdriver
5. cap lifter with
6. - lockable screwdriver
7. - wire stripper
8. reamer, punch
9. key ring
10. tweezers
11. toothpick
12. wood saw
13. metal saw with
14. - metal file
 
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