LM TTi & accessories: what sheath?

bulgron · Mar 23, 2014

I have a Leatherman Charge TTi, two bit driver cards, and the bit extender. All of that flat-out won't fit in the leather sheath that came with the tool. (I can get the tool, one bit card and the bit extender in just fine.) I can get all of it into my old nylon sheath, but man is it tight.

Anyone else out there with this problem? What do you use to carry that kit? At this point I'm wondering if some kind of an magazine sheath might not fit better but thought I'd ask for advice before I started experimenting.

gadgetgeek · Mar 23, 2014

skinthsolutions.com looks like they are doing a site revamp at the moment, but they do very nice work. I'm sure you can either find something to suit, or they can do something up for you. Their stuff is semi-custom, so lots of adaptability in the design.

znapschatz · Mar 23, 2014

bulgron said:
I have a Leatherman Charge TTi, two bit driver cards, and the bit extender. All of that flat-out won't fit in the leather sheath that came with the tool. (I can get the tool, one bit card and the bit extender in just fine.) I can get all of it into my old nylon sheath, but man is it tight.

Are you sure you'll need all those bits? Trim them down to those you actually use and they will probably fit in one card. Then you can use one of the sheaths you already have. I like the nylon.

bulgron · Mar 23, 2014

gadgetgeek said:
skinthsolutions.com looks like they are doing a site revamp at the moment, but they do very nice work. I'm sure you can either find something to suit, or they can do something up for you. Their stuff is semi-custom, so lots of adaptability in the design.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on that website.

bulgron · Mar 23, 2014

znapschatz said:
Are you sure you'll need all those bits? Trim them down to those you actually use and they will probably fit in one card. Then you can use one of the sheaths you already have. I like the nylon.

Turns out, I can't know in advance what bits I'll need. In fact, the whole point of getting the bit kit is so that I can carry around those bits just because I sometimes need them. For example, I was recently in a house thousands of miles from where I live looking at a leaky faucet that I had to take apart and repair. The tools available in the house were scattered all over the place and hard to find, and the faucet required a torx bit. If I'd known in advance that (1) I was going to be confronted by a leaky faucet and (2) that the faucet required a torx bit, I would have brought a torx bit set with me. But of course I had no idea until I showed up there that this was the situation.

Since I can't predict in advance what tools I'll need, I want to carry a leatherman with both bit cards so that I have at least a prayer of dealing with repairs without running off to some hardware store so I can buy tools that I'll then throw away (because I damn sure won't be taking them back home with me.)

This all has to do with closing out an estate that is multiple states away from where I live, so the circumstances are not usual to say the least.

Capt. Spaulding · Mar 24, 2014

Definitely check out the Skinths first and foremost. Besides that there are a couple options I can see. One is to carry another sheath dedicated to the two bit cards and the bit extender. I do this, but never on my belt. Only in my backpack, but if i was going out on a job it would not be a issue to carry two sheaths for a few hours. The other option I see is to store the Charge, bit extender, and one bit card in your sheath and either slide the other bit card in say your back pocket or whatever pocket would work. The problem with this is some of the bits might slide out and get lost. If that does not work for you, you can do the same setup with the Charge, extender, and one bit card in the sheath and get one of those coin "holders" that are designed with a little slit that opens up when you squeeze it and carry the extra bits in there in a pocket. They wont get lost or come loose from the coin holder. You also would have the option to carry all the bits in the coin holder and just go with the charge and extension in your sheath. Hope this helps. :thumbup:

bulgron · Mar 24, 2014

Capt. Spaulding said:
Definitely check out the Skinths first and foremost. Besides that there are a couple options I can see. One is to carry another sheath dedicated to the two bit cards and the bit extender. I do this, but never on my belt. Only in my backpack, but if i was going out on a job it would not be a issue to carry two sheaths for a few hours. The other option I see is to store the Charge, bit extender, and one bit card in your sheath and either slide the other bit card in say your back pocket or whatever pocket would work. The problem with this is some of the bits might slide out and get lost. If that does not work for you, you can do the same setup with the Charge, extender, and one bit card in the sheath and get one of those coin "holders" that are designed with a little slit that opens up when you squeeze it and carry the extra bits in there in a pocket. They wont get lost or come loose from the coin holder. You also would have the option to carry all the bits in the coin holder and just go with the charge and extension in your sheath. Hope this helps. :thumbup:

Two sheaths seems awkward to me, but the coin holder idea will probably work, at least until I can find a single-sheath solution. The main problem with it is that I'm destined to lose the bits if I don't keep them with the tool. I happen to have one of those coin holders floating around in my office cruft. I'll throw the extra bits into that and then throw it into my computer bag (which always travels with me) so that I at least know where it is.

Thanks for the idea Capt Spaulding!

Capt. Spaulding · Mar 24, 2014

Glad I could help. :thumbup:

If it doesn't work out for you or is not ideal then let me know and we can figure something else out.

bulgron · Apr 4, 2014

I ended up ordering a skinth plus for my leatherman. It will have room to carry some other stuff beyond the LM and the bit set, so now I'm on the hunt for "useful but small home repair gear." Should be fun.

It will take 3 or 4 weeks, or maybe even longer, before I get the skinth plus. I'll try to find time to post a review once I get it.

Capt. Spaulding · Apr 5, 2014

bulgron said:
I ended up ordering a skinth plus for my leatherman. It will have room to carry some other stuff beyond the LM and the bit set, so now I'm on the hunt for "useful but small home repair gear." Should be fun.

It will take 3 or 4 weeks, or maybe even longer, before I get the skinth plus. I'll try to find time to post a review once I get it.

Good choice on the Skinth. I'm sure you will like it. They are very well made. :thumbup:

What do you mean by, useful but small home repair gear? Just wondering as I always like to give ideas about stuff if I can help. :thumbup:

bulgron · Apr 5, 2014

Capt. Spaulding said:
Good choice on the Skinth. I'm sure you will like it. They are very well made. :thumbup:

What do you mean by, useful but small home repair gear? Just wondering as I always like to give ideas about stuff if I can help. :thumbup:

A couple of examples.

One, I always walk around with a flashlight, always. It's a long story why that is, but it's turned out to be a useful habit. Anyway, normally I walk around with a surefire of one kind or another, but those are CR123 flashlights and so are just a little too wide for the side tubes on the skinth plus. (1" vs. 1.1") So now I'm looking around at single AA flashlights to carry in the sheath. Something like the Fenix LD12 should do nicely, but I haven't made any final decisions yet, mostly because I really haven't focused on the issue.

Two, is a straight widgy pry bar from County Comm. I'll admit this was a bit of an impulse purchase. I discovered these while reading reviews of skinth sheaths and I immediately recognized their usefulness. Every now and then I find myself trying to pry open something, usually with whatever's at hand, which usually means my leatherman. And as I watch the hinge flex on the LM tool that I'm prying with, I find myself thinking that it's really not a good habit to be in. The widgy solves the problem nicely. I bought the 4" model which actually fits perfectly in the side loop of a standard LM sheath. Small, light, strong, out of the way and forgotten until I need it. Perfect.

I don't know what else I'm going to put into the skinth. There's a whole side tube that at this point will probably be empty -- although I'm contemplating some kind of a water-tight spare battery case if I can find one that fits.

As always, I'm open to suggestions.

Capt. Spaulding · Apr 6, 2014

As far as a single AA flashlight you can't do better then the Zebralight SC52. Its UI or User Interface is incredible. It can be confusing at first, but I have explained it (to other people) in a way that makes it much easier to understand then the explanation from the company. Its High output is incredible as well. They are a little pricey, but in the grand scheme of things and the value you get for the money they are WELL worth every penny. They just released a new model so the SC52 is on sale right now.

http://www.zebralight.com/

If you are willing to go with a (2) AAA light and want something slimmer I like (not love) the Streamlight Stylus Pro. It is a good light that is very simple and straight forward. ON or OFF. Doesn't get much simpler than that. The light output is good. Nothing even close to the Zebralight though. It all depends on how much light you need in your day to day. The Zebralight is great as you have two different high settings, two medium setting, and two low setting at the click of a button. On top of that all of those H,M,L settings are programmable to different lumens to optimize runtimes or light output needs. Here I go rambling about the Zebralight again.

Anyways if you want something slim and simple that uses standard batteries the Streamlight Stylus Pro is a option.

http://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-66118-Stylus-Flashlight-Holster/dp/B0015UC17E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396760753&sr=8-2&keywords=streamlight

As far as little tools or whatnot I love having these things around or on my person. They are cheap and work well. Each side flips to offer different size drivers. Definately worth checking out.

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-66-344-4-in-1-Pocket-Screwdriver/dp/B0014KMDZ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396760738&sr=8-1&keywords=pocket+screwdriver

bulgron · Apr 6, 2014

Capt. Spaulding said:
As far as a single AA flashlight you can't do better then the Zebralight SC52. Its UI or User Interface is incredible. It can be confusing at first, but I have explained it (to other people) in a way that makes it much easier to understand then the explanation from the company. Its High output is incredible as well. They are a little pricey, but in the grand scheme of things and the value you get for the money they are WELL worth every penny. They just released a new model so the SC52 is on sale right now.

http://www.zebralight.com/

I have a Zebra light headlamp and I really like it. Unfortunately, the SC52 is currently on backorder both on Zebralight's website and at Amazon. I was hoping to buy the flashlight for this kit using Amazon because yesterday I took all my spare change to coinstar and walked away with a very large amazon.com gift certificate.

Capt. Spaulding said:
If you are willing to go with a (2) AAA light and want something slimmer I like (not love) the Streamlight Stylus Pro. It is a good light that is very simple and straight forward. ON or OFF. Doesn't get much simpler than that. The light output is good. Nothing even close to the Zebralight though. It all depends on how much light you need in your day to day. The Zebralight is great as you have two different high settings, two medium setting, and two low setting at the click of a button. On top of that all of those H,M,L settings are programmable to different lumens to optimize runtimes or light output needs. Here I go rambling about the Zebralight again. Anyways if you want something slim and simple that uses standard batteries the Streamlight Stylus Pro is a option.

http://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-66118-Stylus-Flashlight-Holster/dp/B0015UC17E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396760753&sr=8-2&keywords=streamlight

I don't mind long and slim in other applications, but that flashlight is not sized correctly for this kit. The side tubes on the Skinth Plus seem to be designed for a single AA flashlight.