Multi-tools: Best one for survival kit?

Been taking a serious look at the Leatherman Surge, and will probably pick one up. Almost exactly the same (featurewise) as the Wave, but has a stranded wire cutter and an electrical crimper, something I will actually use on my daily job, as well as all the tools that makes the Wave so popular. Guy on another forum offered to sell me his lightly used one for $40.

EDIT: It also has an Awl, the Wave doesn't.
 
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Ive got a leatherman wave an i love it. Its never let me down. although i wish i would of went for the charge AL instead, for the better steel.
 
I have been very happy with Leatherman multitools starting with the first one I bought 15 years ago. Over the years I've picked up a Sideclip, Micra, Wave, and a Juice KF4. So far, the Wave and Juice are my favorites. The Wave is a brute but the Juice is really handy.

I've also owned a SOG and tried a couple of Gerbers, but I'm just not sold on them. I'm not disparaging them in any way, especially the Gerbers. I simply preferred the LMs.

For EDC, I have a Swisstech Utilikey and a SAK Executive. Working in an office, these work better for the business dress code. The Utilikey has proven to be surprisingly useful, but there's a LM in the laptop bag.

Ralph
 
I still use my Leatherman PSTII quite often - its ancient, but never lets me down.

Its also more compact than my Wave or SOG, which is another reason why I usually pack it.
 
Howdy,

I have the original leatherman, the super tool, a folding handle version of the original, the Juice S2, Squirt S4 & P4, Old Wave, New Wave, Buck lite tool, and the original Gerber tool. I may have a few more I don't remember ;)

My hands down favorite is the Old Wave. I got it when they first came out and have been using the same one ever since. I completely wore out the first leather belt sheath and had to buy a new one.

It is my everyday, year round, must have tool.
 
I carry a Leatherman Charge TTi to work with me everyday and I love it. If I have few bucks left after buying gifts this Christmas I think I'll treat myself to a Vic Spirit X :) Looking forward to having an awl but I think I'll miss the one hand blades.
 
Also have used my Leatherman Wave TTi for about a year and a half. Have used every single tool many times. Heavy for belt or pocket carry in my opinion. It's always in my bag, ready for use.
 
cheftothestars said:
I have the Gerber suspension seems very capable so far.
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I have a couple of these as well.. not sure how much you use the saw, but it seems really short to me. But I am use to the longer one on my 111mm SAK


TrailWolf said:
I still use my Leatherman PSTII quite often - its ancient, but never lets me down.

Its also more compact than my Wave or SOG, which is another reason why I usually pack it.
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Do you not find the lack of a woodsaw a disadvantage? I sure do, same for the PST, Kick and Blast.

Col. Cornelius said:
Howdy,

I have the original leatherman, the super tool, a folding handle version of the original, the Juice S2, Squirt S4 & P4, Old Wave, New Wave, Buck lite tool, and the original Gerber tool. I may have a few more I don't remember ;)

My hands down favorite is the Old Wave. I got it when they first came out and have been using the same one ever since. I completely wore out the first leather belt sheath and had to buy a new one.

It is my everyday, year round, must have tool.
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I love the Old Wave. So if you could only have 1, this would be it?

smcclown05 said:
I carry a Leatherman Charge TTi to work with me everyday and I love it. If I have few bucks left after buying gifts this Christmas I think I'll treat myself to a Vic Spirit X :) Looking forward to having an awl but I think I'll miss the one hand blades.
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Hmmmmm I haven't looked very hard at the TTi, mostly because of the price...
 
I love my Gerber Legend. The saw adapter takes standard jigsaw blades, so I can switch them out depending on what I'm doing. An aggressive-toothed wood saw goes in there when I'm carrying it hiking. Very cool tool.
 
Surge is great. I loved mine, till I droped it. Wish I still had it. Might have to pick up another one.
 
MrCoffee said:
Hmmmmm I haven't looked very hard at the TTi, mostly because of the price...
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It's pretty nice. It's the only MT I have currently and it is a bit heavy but I can't compare it to any others. It has a good assortment of tools. The only thing missin is an awl/reamer which I often find useful on my SAKs. I have had a slight issue with some very minor chips in the blade. Not sure if its from cutting plastic packing bands or if Leatherman's S30V is just too brittle. It's still super sharp though and I still have 24 years to take advantage of the warranty if I need to :thumbup:
 
For years I carried a Gerber, they're easy to open one handed.

Then I found the SOG, which is so well machined and easy to operate.

Last week I picked up Leatherman's Blast tool in a nylon case with a great AA LED light. I really like this one, it's a ..... Blast! :rolleyes:
 
MrCoffee said:
Do you not find the lack of a woodsaw a disadvantage? I sure do, same for the PST, Kick and Blast.
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90% of the time my PSTII is used in the city so no.

When I am camping I always carry a hatchet and usually a gerber sliding saw so the base is covered by those tools.

I do have a Wave and SAK farmer, both w saws, but i cant say I really ever use them for that tool...
 
I've carried a Leatherman Surge for almost a year and it comes in handy every day on the ranch, but I can't say that I'd recommend it for use in the woods. It's a pretty heavy tool for one thing. I also think the blade exchanger system makes it weak for woods use. The saw and file are just things to lose when you need them most and they would be hard to trade out with cold, numb hands. Also, because of the exchanger, the file and saw are rather short. I'm looking forward to getting a Super Tool 300 for woods bumming. It's almost as heavy as the Surge, but you get nice long tools including a plain blade, a serrated blade, a saw and a file, plus an awl, and there's no tools that can fall out and get lost. What more can you ask for? The Wave and Blast are other good lighter, cheaper tools, but both lack an awl and the Blast lacks a serrated blade.

I know some guys don't think a multitool is needed in the woods and I understand where they're coming from. However, I carry a Leatherman every day, including in the woods. The way I see it, if you've got a multitool, a decent fixed blade (maybe and RC-4), and a basic PSK attached to your belt or in your pockets, you have your basic needs covered if you lose the rest of your kit. For example, with the ST 300, the two blades can be used as backups to a fixed blade or for finer work. The saw isn't huge, but at about 3 inches it can be used for shelter building and and for processing small wood for the fire. The file can be used to sharpen your fixed blade, fish hooks, etc. The awl can be used to strike a fire steal,for gear repair, and for all manner of things you need a pointy tool to accomplish but don't want to risk damage to a knife blade. Pliers also come in handy for gear repair, pulling hot containers from the fire, cutting and twisting wire for snares, etc. A multitool isn't as good as dedicated tools, but it can be conviently carried on your person, so it will be there when you need it most.

If you don't want a plier-based tool, look at a Victorinox Farmer (fits in survival tin kits) or the larger One Handed Trekker. Both are good tools.
 
Dylside said:
I don't have A TON of experience with various multitools, but there is a good reason. I researched and handled several before choosing mine and I have never needed another one. I decided on the Leatherman Charge TTi a few years ago and that particular model has always been my favorite. I checked out all the SOG stuff, Leatherman's other models, Victorinox, Gerber stuff, etc. and the Charge is tops for me. Since having it for a while, I've thought about upgrading a few times and still have yet to ever find one I like more. That thing rocks the house. It goes everywhere I go.
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:thumbup: +1 on the Charge TTi. It's part of my EDC.
 
For me, only one choice:

Vic Spirit. Awhile back, I bought a LM Wave at a local Canadian Tire (on sale - really good price). I took it home and played with it for a few hours, than took it back. I just found it was too flimsy, at least for me.

Some time later, I was at a local sporting goods store, where the clerk plunked a Vic Spirit in my hand. I knew immediately it was coming home with me. That was a couple of years ago, and I have used it at work, every day since.

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It's kind of interesting to see how the choices differ from a similar thread in W&SS, where there is much more support for the Spirit.

Bottom line, of course, is, whatever works for you.

Doc
 
I really like the newer Wave, and EDCed one for several years. I bought 2 new Waves and 1 old one. I would buy one, wear it out, and ebay it, then buy another, so I could use it rather than send it in and wait for warranty.

The new Wave is considerably bulkier than the old, but has locking tools, stronger tools, and a diamond file, so I prefer the new one. My last Wave I twisted and lost the large bit, twisted the straight driver, and broke the pocket clip, so I quit carrying it. It was worth the 8 oz of weight only when it had all it's tools in good order, IMO. It went with me everywhere, even on long backpacking trips. I think I took it on a 40+ mile trip, but I can't remember for sure.

In my case, I used the pliers constantly, the ruler, bit driver, and serrated blade(as a scraper) often, and the other tools occasionally.

Whether or not the tool is right depends more on a person's activities than which is the "right" tool, to an extent. You could have pulled half the tools out of the Wave, and I still would have liked it, while someone else couldn't do without the woodsaw.:D In my case, the woodsaw got used maybe once a month, so wasn't that big a deal.

Also, for me the pocket clip made a HUGE difference, as it made the tool much nicer to carry. For me, the sheath was OK, but would wear out and look nasty after a while.

For a good compromise tool, check out the Leatherman CS4. It is seriously like an SAK on steroids. It has a ton of tools, is fairly small, pliers and scissors, screwdriver bits, woodsaw, etc. It is not ultra heavy duty, but runs about 25% lighter than the Wave, and 1/2 or so of the Surge (I think).
 
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