The new Leatherman Signal

I actually anticipated to be very disappointed, but it looks decent. I do not like multitools with whistles or fire starters though. It yells cheap even though in this case i'm sure the Signal will not be. I also think having a fire starter integrated into the whistle is a big mistake. The last thing you want to wrap your lips around is whistle with metallic shavings all over it.
 
My Wave sheath has a perfectly sized loop for a ferro rod built right into it, no need for one integrated into the tool. Tiny ferro rods are very aggravating to use.

Still, as a huge Leatherman fan I am very interested to see some reviews and this new tool in action.
 
I love it. I just hope it holds up like a Leatherman should. Yeah their warranty is superb. I've used it more times than I'd like but they stand by their products. I don't ever want this to break when I'm having to use it as my only option, ya know?

Fingers crossed.
 
I like that they opted for the rebar/supertool style pliers and cutters. Given that every "dream wilderness leatherman" thread here has included a ferro rod, it could be that they have been listening.
As for toughness, I carry backups because I have a mental condition that assumes I'll loose things. I'm sure if I was down to one tool, I'd still be fine.
 
Definitely seems like a nice tool. One of the better products they have produced in recent years! I will pick one up. They included an awl so you know Leatherman is listening. And I would consider the "survival" items on the Signal back ups. It's also nice that you can sharpen the blade with the removable diamond file. If it's your EDC tool than it could save your butt. I am curious to see if I can modify it and switch out the can opener for a pair of scissors from the Wave. :)
 
I would like to see the weight.

I suspect this will sell like hot cakes for the same reason that most mountain bikes and hybrid knives are sold with knobbie tires, despite the fact that they predominantly get ridden on roads and paths where non-knobbie tires actually work much better.

IMO, the vast majority of successful sport consumer products are designed to address the consumer's fear, which is rooted in a lack of experience. This is why 1-2 weeks into an AT hike (or cross country bike ride) people dump all sorts of stuff they thought they would need (based on fear and lack of knowing) and after some experience, they realize they don't need it.

I'll bet that REI and companies like that will sell a boat load of these. I'll still carry the PS4 and an Opinel.
 
Honestly? It seems to me like a pretty standard Leatherman with a little survival window dressing. That means it will still be super handy, because Leatherman, but if they're going to do a camping/wilderness tool I don't know that pliers are the starting point I would want. A big, fold-out, replaceable ferro rod strikes me as a much better idea than one integrated into a whistle. I doubt this tool will really be bad because again, Leatherman, but it doesn't strike me as a clearly better outdoors option than a Wave or Surge or whatever other tool you grab.
 
So, will there be lots of people returning the Signal to Leatherman for warranty when they wear out the ferro rod?
 
I think it's going to do well. The outdoor community gobbles up leatherman so this should be a win for them.
But I'll stick to my wave and other individual use intended gear.
 
Big miss. About the weight of a wave with the addition of sub par accessories. It'll sell like the Gerber Grylls crap. I really want to like leatherman but their products lately haven't been great. I have to return another PS4 and I'm extremely easy on my tools. They're a local company I just can't get behind anymore.
 
This is an ok tool. I bought one with the discount card the Leatherman Factory tour gives you, so the price was right. The blade is thicker than the blade on my wave, and has a sort of reverse 'tanto' profile that is actually pretty useful. It seems short on tools for its size, but I only really have missed the presence of scissors occasionally. The hammer has actually come in handy several times, and the presence of an awl has also made this tool useful to me. The Wave, for some reason, has no awl. While the 'survival' accessories are obviously lightly built and minimalistic, they do give this tool a feeling of 'completeness'. If you carry just one thing, you have some options on here that extend it past usual multitool offerings. The ferro rod is small, but if you've cultivated some skill with this sort of firelighting, it will serve just fine to give you several days worth of fires. You can secure this tool to you with the carabiner, securing it against accidental lost. The sharpener is removable and thus this tool is actual able to sharpen itself, unlike any of my other multitools (though I usually slip a flat diamond stone in the belt pouch with most of my MTs). As a self-contained multitool, it has convincing utility for me. The build is good, though the hammer/carabiner makes the tool larger than it would otherwise be. It's larger but lighter (fractionally) than the wave.
 
They were pimping this pretty hard at this year's SHOT show, back in January; leatherman.com says $99.85.

I can think of a lot of better things to go in that space than a tiny ferro rod and whistle. Like a corkscrew.

If you need your MT to also be a hammer, then it's more useful to most people than a MUT, but I'll stick to carrying a Surge in the woods—maybe a Wave, if I'm hiking.
 
I like Leathermans as much as the next guy (Surge and bits always on the hip) but this smells of buying into the prepper/survivalist/zombie craze of the last few years. It's not as functional as some of the other products. Then again my old surge had the eyeglass driver. DAMN YOU FOR REMOVING IT!!! Come to think of it every tool is a compromise. I could get the eyeglass driver on the wave, but then I lose the Surge's awl and so on.

This and the bracelet smell of some corporate paradigm shift or other corporate-think. I would wear the bracelet if I was given one, but it will never be as convenient as a leatherman and a bit-kit. And it would be stupid to wear one if you are already carrying a bit-kit. This "survival" tool has that same problem. It's not the full deal and you're trading off enough that you'll carry more gear not less.

Seriously, would you go into the woods with this as your fire and sound? Most people would have a full size rod and a proper whistle FOX40 or similar on a lanyard. The hammer is nice but why did they not use the wave's jaws and keep the crimper and strand wire cutter? (My mistake, the current wave doesn't have them either). Sorry I'll stick with my surge.


THIS PICTURE IS FROM THE LEATHERMAN WEBSITEI carry a Griptilian and a Surge for the obvious reasons. But what is Leatherman trying to say?

12071016_1647338578884023_154503733_n.jpg
 
nine4t4 said:
THIS PICTURE IS FROM THE LEATHERMAN WEBSITEI carry a Griptilian and a Surge for the obvious reasons. But what is Leatherman trying to say?
Click to expand...

"Did we forget to mention that the blade is a 420HC combo edge?"
 
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