What's your favorite Multi-tool

Depends, I'd have to say for me it's a tossup between the Victorinox Swisstool and the Sog Powerlock.... depends on what i'm looking for. They're both about equal as far as pliers go, maybe favoring the SOG a bit more, simply due to the design... I like the fact that with the Swisstool, if you need the pliers you open them, anything else is all already accessible & also locking, without having to open the unit, take out the tool, lock it, close it, use it, etc.

The Leatherman's never really appealed to me all that much I find that the action on pretty well all of them tends to be "rough" compared to either the Swisstool or the SOG or even the Gerbers for that matter.... The easy access blades I don't find excites me all that much because for me, if I'm going to need a knife, i'm going to grab my knife, not my multi-tool.

That being said, if I wanted screwdriver bits en masse, Leatherman is the way to go. :) Although the Swisstool Plus kits come with bits that fit your average drill.... so you could interchange...

Overall if I was going to buy one, (and I probably will someday) I'd probably end up with the Swisstool.
 
I couldn't really say. I've had only one for years now, a Gerber Scout 600 that I can't leave home without. I did have a Schrade muti-tool that I was fond of, but it was stolen some time ago, and they are no longer made, sadly. I am very happy with my Gerber, and thier customer service is fantastic. I broke the file on mine once, and Gerber fixed it and only charged me shipping and parts, and even asked if I wanted to change or add any tools on it. I think the best feature is the saw blade coupler. I have a Remington Remi-Grit blade on it now that will cut through anything, but it will accept any jigsaw blade. I am also quite fond of my Victorinox 'Champion' Swiss Army knife. It has a lot of tools on it.

It's probably a matter of personal preference on most of these tools, at least the ones made by major Brands. Just find one you like and keep it close, always. I've even temporarily fixed my cars and motorcycles with mine. It's better than walking home!

Semper Fi!
 
I have most all of them. If I am working I like the big Gerber tool about the best but in my off time or for fishing, I like the old original Leatherman the best. It opens quick has the right tools and weighs four ounces. I like the new Juice but so far its stiff to operate .
 
A LM Charge Ti w/ a pocket clip carried w/ a Vic. Compact is my EDC. IMO, it's redundant to carry a single-use knife, such as a Benchmade, with the above combination.

The Charge is best for my needs for the following reasons:

The Charge can be flinged open like a Balisong.
All its blades and tools are one-hand opening and locking.
The diamond file keeps my other stuff sharp.
The small screwdriver opens the quick connects of electrical outlets.
A LM Universal Tool Adapter fits perfect in the Charge.
If I had one arm trapped by a rock, I would want the Charge with me.

I like the Schrade ST-5, the Super Bear Jaws and the LM Supertool, but they, like the Swiss tools, are too slow to deploy. I haven't worked a LM Surge, but it sounds good albeit hefty.
 
I used to carry a SOG paratool and then later a Leatherman Wave but lately I've kinda converted back to SAK's. For day hikes its usually a Vic Huntsman occasionally supplemented by a little gerber Clutch (i got it very cheap). The Gerber is there just for the pliers, although i can't remember the last time i used pliers on a multitool.
If i am camping proper then i just take my Vic Swisschamp.
The Swisschamp has everything i need and only 1 or 2 superfluous items (the fish hook degorger and the philips).
For EDC in town i usually carry a Vic Farmer or Alox Lumberjack and a Vic Compact.
 
tholiver said:
The Swisschamp has everything i need and only 1 or 2 superfluous items (the fish hook degorger and the philips).
Click to expand...

Hardly superfluous, the fish hook disgorger is at the tip of the fish scaler, which I have used only once because it is terrible for actually scaling fish. OTOH, I have used the implement countless times as a probe or to spear something I don't want to touch with my fingers. Also, it is scribed as a ruler, which is sometimes helpful.

To fully exploit the usefulness of any SAK is to think outside the intended purposes of its tool array. The only thing never used on my 14 year old Swisschamp is the small backspring mounted screwdriver. That I haven't yet found a use for it is probably a character flaw on my part. :o
 
znapschatz said:
Hardly superfluous, the fish hook disgorger is at the tip of the fish scaler, which I have used only once because it is terrible for actually scaling fish. OTOH, I have used the implement countless times as a probe or to spear something I don't want to touch with my fingers. Also, it is scribed as a ruler, which is sometimes helpful.

To fully exploit the usefulness of any SAK is to think outside the intended purposes of its tool array. The only thing never used on my 14 year old Swisschamp is the small backspring mounted screwdriver. That I haven't yet found a use for it is probably a character flaw on my part. :o
Click to expand...

Yeah i also often use my SAK tools for purposes in addition to those for which they were designed.
My "superfluous" comment was meant to signify that i personally have never used the degorger as a degorger, to me it is superfluous.
But if it makes you happy i must say i have once or twice used its inches/centimetres measurement scale.lol.
The superfluous comment was meant to highlight the fact that the swisschamp is super-useful but also lean, having a minimum of extraneous rarely used tools.
A lot of multis are overly heavy and bogged down with rarely used tools or with excessive duplication of one tool type (i mean really how many straight screwdriver tools do you need?).
IMO the Swisschamp is versatile and packs the most (useful) tools per ounce.
:)
 
tholiver said:
Yeah i also often use my SAK tools for purposes in addition to those for which they were designed.
My "superfluous" comment was meant to signify that i personally have never used the degorger as a degorger, to me it is superfluous.
But if it makes you happy i must say i have once or twice used its inches/centimetres measurement scale.lol.
Click to expand...

Thank you, it does. :D

tholiver said:
The superfluous comment was meant to highlight the fact that the swisschamp is super-useful but also lean, having a minimum of extraneous rarely used tools.
A lot of multis are overly heavy and bogged down with rarely used tools or with excessive duplication of one tool type (i mean really how many straight screwdriver tools do you need?).
IMO the Swisschamp is versatile and packs the most (useful) tools per ounce.
:)
Click to expand...

Well, yes. Although I really like and often use pliers based multi-tools, if ever restricted to one m-t only, I don't even have to think about it. Swisschamp is the goods. Everybody should have one. :)
 
Milwaukee Mauler said:
I just bought the Surge & thought I was getting an all USA made knife. Nowhere on the knife does it say USA, nowhere on the sealed packaging did it say USA. I called Leatherman & they said it is assembled in the USA of foreign made parts. This knife just shouts China when you look at it. The fit & material looks very poor to me. The first thing I noticed was what looks like soft stainless for the sides, I expected heat treated stainless, this looks like dimestore spoons to me. Someone felt that shinier is better. It does shine, I'll give em that. I like quality. I did not expect gaps & marred pieces that mated to the end sections. Someone thought out a very good design, this knife has great features, I wish some quality would have gone into it. I did not expect that this would be one of the early Schrade ST1's in quality. I expected that this would be like Leatherman's earlier Supertools etc. This is just one cheap looking knife in my opinion. I'm not alone, I've read other reviews that come to the conclusion that if you are someone who enjoys pride of ownership, look elsewhere. I intend to keep this untill someone comes out with a USA made quality knife with the features this has. It is a shame that after thinking out a great design they built something this cheap looking.
Click to expand...
does anyone have similar expiriance with chinese Surge?
 
I thought I had it with the Leatherman Wave II, but it proved to be a brick to lug around daily, and I like to have a MT on my belt every day.

So I started looking around for a smaller one, checked out the Juice line-up, but wasn't entirely convinced (OK, I figured these were aimed at women and waiters, and I'm neither).

So I looked a little more... and arrived at the SOG line-up. Settled on the Powerplier for these reasons:

Small and light
Comes with a good leather sheath, its not an 'optional extra'.
Compound leverage on the pliers - superb feature which really works!
All steel construction
Tools can be swapped out. I replaced the knife with a scissors. I always have a knife on my anyway.
Doesn't pinch!
Affordable - I paid $40 or so for mine.
Made in USA

If you don't know, the Powerplier has the following tools:
Plier
Can opener w/small screwdriver
knife (can be replaced with scissors)
File
Bottle opener w/big screwdriver)
Philips
Ruler (inches and cms)

Its not a perfect MT, as the tools don't lock, and the teeth can be a problem when using the Philips screwdriver, but I bought it primarily for the pliers, and it simply excels in this dept. Personally, I wish SOG would make a pair of folding compound leverage pliers with no additional tools. Sacrilege? Maybe, but I would buy it. IMO a SAK is a better MT anyway.
 
ok ,I pick up via trade on the BF a Leatherman wave (original) I have been carrying it for 3-5 months and it is great . my fav,outta the multi tools i own
 
Use the Wave often to save the day of some tool less souls..
I use my SAK almost daily..
1) Wave
2) Sak Sig/lite.
 
Of the locking-blade Leathermans I've had; Wave (new and old), Charge Ti, Surge, Blast, and Core, I kept only the Blast and the Core, because locking-blades should lock!

I have yet to get my hands on a one-hand opening, locking-blade Leatherman (Charges, Surges, & Waves) with a knife blade that didn't fold like a napkin when given a light tap on the spine of the blade, or with moderate hand pressure applied to the spine of the blade. In my not so humble opinion, they're an accident waiting to happen!

The blades on the Core and the Blast (lockbacks as opposed to liner-locks) held up fine for me.

Regards,
3G
 
Always a nice question - with lots of correct answers. So even I can answer this correctly ;) Actually, this is my first post for a long time. But I've just been thinking about this question.

I have a LM Supertool. I've had it for 10 years. Only until now, I've not seen a reason to change it. I just got a chance to handle the LM TTi. Wan't perhaps the best made tool out there (more complex than Supertool and maybe a little worse quality control nowadays), but definitely the first one that I really considered. Obviously, the strong point is the S30V on the one-hand opening knife. :thumbup: And the smoothed titanium handles (that have quite rough finnish - and not just intentionally). Other stuff, like the pliers, file, saw are the same great caliber that I'm used to. But on the other hand - I already have them.

I think I have used just about every tool on the supertool (the serrated plade and bottle opener less than others). The reason why I like the supertool so much is the quality, selection and reach of the tools. The screwdrivers can reach a long way on supertool, which is not exactly true about the current tools. :thumbdn: Compared to my other all time favourite that I take everywhere when I'm travelling, the Swiss champ, the tools are rough and sharp. And that is a good thing for a screwdriver! The LM tools stick to the screws much better than Victorinox's. There are only 3 things that are wrong in the old supertool: 1) handless are not that nice to hold, 2) the awl is not sharp enough (much better on Vic) and finally, nowadays, everything has changed to Torx - so the plain and Phillips screwdrivers are getting obsolite. (Yes, I do have the tool adapter and lots of 3rd party adapters for it.

Now, how does TTi fit the shoes? Well, I think Core would be closer to Supertool. But then again, I already have the supertool, so I might like to have a little different for a little different usage. The problems with TTi I have are mainly the lack of awl (how can you have a multitool without it?), the too small "small bit driver" (that is only usefull for tightening your (sun)glasses I think...) and the lack of Torx bit. It only has 1 Torx bit and about ten hex or neverseen square ones.

Obviously there is the new sexy alternative: Skeletool CX :cool: No, it doesn't have tools, but it's CF and looks very hightech. What do you guys think about it? I just wish that it would have plain edge knive (and of S30V now that LM is using it even though 154 is definitely good) and a file. Definitely different and more limited usage to my old Supertool.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top