Multitools Reviews

We bought two of this because it looks so great in the review and advertisement. After using it for a month, there are some flaws, which should be improved to make it a practical tool. Does anyone know what's the awl for? To us, it is too blunt to be useful. It should have sharper edge so we can actually open envelopes, remove staples, etc. The set of screw drives is comprehensive but take care not to exert too much force on them especially the small one, the tip WILL BEND. Anyway, it was be repaired with the other CS4 :-). If you are a Swiss knife user, you will find the Philips screw tip drive too big for common screws found in the office. Also, you should be real careful about the blade, cause it is really sharp... it hurts but we love it. If you are not too fussy about the strength of the tool, go get it.

I have about a dozen different kinds of mult-tools. This one is
probably the most practical. It's design is slick with its rounded corners, making it comfortable to keep in your pocket - no sheath needed. It has everything you would need for any incident. Its anodized blue color only ups the cool factor for this handy gadget. Everyone should keep one of these in their pocket. It's always in mine.

Clearly, I owe the fine folks at Leatherman an apology. I had dissed Leatherman's customer service in a prior review (scroll down..), whining about a minor, self-induced problem. Come to find out, they (including the Main Man, The Head Honcho, The Connection - Tim Leatherman)had made several attemts to contact me in effort to address my complaint (whine), but all their attempts were deflected courtesy of my email blocker settings. Through their continued efforts they were able to contact me through other means. Sooo, here I stand, embarrassed for badmouthing such a fine company and terriffic product. Sorry.

The CS-4 and I remain inseparable - it's an integral part of my everyday life. In fact, I have gone on to purchase half a dozen or more as gifts for friends (including a Wave for myself), only I had them properly engraved/etched this time as recommended by the manufacturer.

Christmas is coming...

The bottle opener is good enough that I use it instead of a standalone one. Plus it has all the standard Leatherman tools. That's why I bought it and it delivers.

Only negative is that it needs a proper foil cutter, or at least an additional small knife blade. You have to use the main blade, which doesn't work particularly well since it is too long, and gives it unneeded abuse.

Like most people, I think I have great need for a leatherman/swiss army knife type contraption but in reality have very little use for them. However, this one is great. The "picnic" uses make it better for me: cork screww, cheese knife, cutting knife. I've used it often on simple urban picnics. I've also taken it camping and it fit every need in my week in the woods.

This thing is absolutely great. It has all the most commonly used appliances as well as a can and bottle opener and even a cork screw... Work hard, Play hard...this is the one. Its also built with typical Leatherman quality which has always been exceptional. I install Satellite TV for a living and I honestly pulled this thing out a dozen times the very first day I had it. I swear by it...P.S. I bought it at the largest knife shop in the world and its still about 20% cheaper on Amazon...My mistake.

i ordered it december 16, 2005 and today is february 21, 2006 and amazon has still not shipped it. my first order was canceled without notice to me, the second order was placed on january 17, 2006 and the estimated shipping date keeps getting pushed back, the latest estimated shipping date is march 1, 2006. i hear this is a good multipurpose knife, but i suppose it will be hard for me to know, because amazon sells it, but will not ship one to me.

I have owned and used the SOG Paratool for a little over ten years. It has a good assortment of tools and it has proven handy on a number of occasions, but it has no significant advantages over the Leatherman, and significant disadvantages.

They claim that the way that the pliers pivot out from one side of the handles is advantageous for leverage, but I've never been able to figure out just how that is supposed to happen. Rather, the arrangment makes it very awkward to access the other tools. You have to grasp the jaws of the pliers in order to fully unfold the handles, then fold one handle back over the plier, but the plier action isn't spring operated and the locking action is barely perceptible, so as you open it and then fold one handle closed, the plier jaws have a tendency to open and close, pinching your skin. When trying to use the pliers, because the locking action is so weak, the slightest twisting motion will cause one or both of the two handles to fold over on you, which can cause the jaws to slip and again lead to a very bad pinch on your hand, bad enough to break the skin. Simply put, this design is hazardous.

When I bought it, the thing that attracted me is the smooth outer surface of the plier handles. That is its single advantage over the Leatherman, but when I weigh that against its considerable disadvantages, I have to conclude that it is a decidedly inferior tool. Each time that I used it, my resolve to replace it increased, and I recently replaced it with a Leatherman Juice.

I own/collect several multitool brands (Gerber,Leatherman,SOG,Schrade) and by far I am happiest with SOG multitools. The Gerber tool's finish is showing some corrosion and the small flathead screwdriver's tip broke. The Leatherman tools are good (Juice S2 and Kick), but are overpriced (Juice S2). Leatherman is the granddad of multitools and likely offers the widest variety of multitools, but comparative shopping is a must. The Schrade tool is awkward in that some of the tools lockout and some don't lock at all. I am sure it is because some don't require lockout to work, but my opinion is that they should all lockout. I have two SOG multitools (Power Plier and a smaller version)and am very impressed with the heavy duty, anti-corrosive finish, precision, and function of all the instruments. The smaller version has some instruments (phillips screwdriver and a file) that don't have the shiny,chrome-like finish, but still perform well and show no sign of corrosion. All the instruments lockout and work as expected. I've noticed that once any multitool is used for a repair it is not long after that one gets to see how the metal finish endured the stress of the work. I consider this one of the litmus tests of all multitools. Like I previously mentioned in the section about the Gerber tool, some brands just don't stand up well to duress and one will find that the manufacturer actually has a disclaimer that warns against using the tool for what I consider it's intended purpose: on-the-spot, contingency repair. I highly recommend the SOG multitools for that type of use.

I would recomend this, they fit nicely in the nylon pouch for my Leatherman Wave. It's very convient having torx bits with me at all times, with out having to carry another screwdriver.my only problem is that there is no phillips that is small enough to fit in small holes, the eyeglass one is often too small to do the job. this is a great product definatly pick one up

I have the Leatherman New Wave and absolutely love it. When I found that there was a bit kit available I got quite excited, as I often need other bits for fixing various things.

I thought the $13 price was reasonable considering what it would give me and what it would let me stop carrying. When the kit arrived I noticed that two bits were missing. I'm guessing that they slipped out of the holder (some of the bits are pretty loose) and then worked their way out of the box then the package. Today I called Leatherman and they are sending out bits to replace them at no charge.

As others have said, I rearranged mine to have the most commonly used bits on the same card. The card fit perfectly in the back of the leather New Wave sheath when turned so the bits are away from the tool (there's an elastic compartment for just such a purpose).

I would have liked to see a better choice of Torx bits, but aside from that I'm quite pleased.

This is a must for owners of the Surge, New Wave, and XTI leatherman multi tools. I currently am using the Surge every day at work. I'm a maintenance tech and with the bit kit it saves me from having to drag my tool bag (70 lbs) every where I go when responding to calls. Also saves time espically when using the allen bits and figuring out if it's metric or standard.

i bought a similar stainless multi-tool at wal-mart for $6!!! the knives aren't near as sharp, but it does have a better wrench. also have a wenger.... great quality but expensive.

I've had this particular model for the past 9 years and it works great. Someone else said that the tools don't lock, but mine do and they always have. All of the tools are still in great working condition, nothing is broken, and I use it pretty heavily as a stage technician. I truly consider myself a Leatherman girl (over Gerber anyday), and this tool is great for someone like myself who has smaller hands, but needs a good amount of tools to get the job done. I recently upgraded to the Blast only because I need some more tools in my Leatherman after all these years.

After about 4 years of use im having trouble with the screws working lose and loseing them.

I'm a fan of leatherman, and I was able to pick up a couple of these on a Christmas closeout for about a third of normal cost. Let me break it down:

The Good:
1) Solid Tools. Includes sturdy needlenose/plier combo with soft and hard wire cutter combo. Nice 3 inch blade. 2 sizes of standard screw driver bits and a phillips, all are tough. Wire-stripper, bottle opener, can opener combo, and a lanyard ring. Plust it has both metric and Imperial measurements on the handle.
2) Cheap
3) Decent quality leather sheath (though I prefer nylon)

The Bad:
1) Although otherwise of quality construction, the cheap plastic inserts in the handle are sharp (they have an edge) and even in the finger molds, they tend to dig. The plastic offers no grip quality improvement either.
2) The knife fingernail notch sits below the handle edge, making it difficult to open. In fact, all of the tools are tough to get open to some degree except for the Phillips driver.
3) Tool selection is minimalist. Would have been better served to opt for the screw driver bit system they use on the higher end models and substitute a scissors and maybe an awl or small saw instead, of course, it's an inexpensive tool, but I'm not sure how this would be any more expensive to build in this way.
4) Pretty heavy for what you get - doesn't weight much less than my New Wave.

The Ugly:
They look like a cheap Chinese knockoff. To some degree the handle digging into your palm reinforces this view. They are of rather plain design.

If you can pick it up for a decent price, it's a solid tool. It's design belies a nicely constructed and well balanced feel and the implements are of decent quality (though obviously not the steel used in their higher end models). If you use your pliers a lot, I strongly suggest another model with rounded steel edges like the New Wave or Charges. Based on Quality, Performance and relatively low cost, I'm giving it a 3.5. Because it lacks some utility, and the handles are pretty much a mess, I'm rounding it down to 3 stars on Amazon (no halves). I'm putting these in my vehicles as emergency gear - they won't be Every Day Carry items for me.

The cheap and sharp platic inserts are the deal breaker. If they fixed those, I would have rounded up to a 4 for sure based on your bang for the buck.

Every manufacturer nowadays has a "lite" version of whatever they sell, from the stripped model sub-compact car to lite beer, cheaper components and a few shortcuts is the fast and easy way to make the product available for a few less dollars. But if everyone followed Tim Leatherman's model, the world would be a better place.

At under $30, the Kick is the Leatherman "lite" model, but don't let the price fool you. Viewing the Kick through it's boxed blister pack, concerns about compromise fade quickly - the brush-polished stainless steel exterior looks very solid and precisely machined, as do the pliers. The oversized round bolts holding the whole tool together are the same as on the $75+ Core model, with only the contured black plastic bordering the grip seeming to soften things (it doesn't - the plastic is actually the "metal replacement" polymer Zytel, which is roughly as tough as gold). Visually, it's virtually identical to most any other Leatherman model, both in appearance and quality.

All of which is confirmed when you hold the Kick. The weight and feel is that of a small semi-automatic handgun; the cold and unyielding touch of one millimeter-thick stainless steel makes it clear that this is definitely an all-business tool. "Lite" doesn't refer to weight here, though 5.2 ounces doesn't sound like much, compared to other modern portable devices, this is a serious slug of metal. But unlike a cell phone or iPod, you could accidentally run the Kick through a cycle in the washing machine or even back over it with your car without fear.

The seriousness continues with the Kick's features, each of which are made from optimized-grade density stainless steel and are just as precisely engineered as the exterior. Only the most common tools for day-to-day use are included, so you don't have to deal with the added weight and bulk of a corkscrew or some other feature you'll never use. Each individual tool is machined with an inflexible strength and design as though it could be sold seperately. The long Phillips screwdriver (ideal for recesssed/hard-to-get screws) is compatible with Leatherman's Removable Bit Driver, so if carrying the Kick's twelve tools in your pocket isn't enough, you can also add ten different screwdriver bits. Or add the Wave Tool Adapter, making any 1/4" drill bit compatible with your Kick. Of special note is the knife - though it's just a basic clip-point design, this example is *wicked sharp*, remarkably so for an under-$30 tool or knife.

Comparison shopping to other brands of multi-tools, you'll see thinner and poorer-quality metals, slipshod design and machining, strange combinations of feautres, and countries-of-origin galore, sometimes at double or more the Kick's price. It's obvious that Leatherman was first and has had the most experience with the multi-tool idea, and the Kick reflects this in every facet. So if you think you or someone you know is ready to enter the do-all world of the Leatherman owner, the Kick is a compromise-free introduction at an introductory price.

It's not cumbersome or too weighty. It's functional, and he was able to purchase the bit set that can be used with it. I'm glad I purchased it.

I'm a bit surprised that the clip and ring aren't included with the Waves, but I guess that's the corporate mentality. These may not be value added for all users and they can turn it into a profit instead of increasing the base price of the multitool.

That said, in response to the other reviews, you don't want to oil the blades so they slip open at the slightest movement. That was the the problem most likely. The other problem is that the clip isn't meant to have the tool on your belt or exposed. It's supposed to go inside your pocket where it has a modicum of protection and the clip only allows it to ride at the top. It's not meant to carry the full weight outside of a pocket or on a belt. The pocket also provides protection of sorts from the blade opening inadvertantly.

I don't use the lanyard ring very often, but when I do, I enjoy the quick release feature. The ring itself is on the sharp and thin side, so over time, it could wear through a lanyard if you don't use a metal connector and just tie it off.

All-in-all, these are a nice compliment to the New Wave, and I recommend them since they aren't that expensive. They do what they are designed to do - if you buy them knowing that, you'll be satisfied.

This clip is perfect if you'd like to keep your leatherman on you, but don't want to have it visible on your belt. The clip's grip is secure. Use it if you want to carry your leatherman with a "lower profile".

I don't use the lanyard ring, so no comment.

Very good addition to the Leatherman Wave. No tools required and it easily attached and detached.

I normally carry a pocket knife and a USB flas drive this allows me to only carry one item. It has scissors, a knife blade, standard screw driver blade, a pen, and a led light. This is a very handy tool. You may even remove the USB flash drive to take on a flight.

I got this as a gift for my husband and he loves it! and I think with the new flight regulations it is ok to take on a plane (blade is less than 3"). The memory stick works perfectly and so do all the other tools on the knife. Could be a little cheaper, but not bad at all.

This usb device was given to me, and I am thouroughly impressed. I probably would have never purchased it on my own, figuring that a Swiss Army USB drive would be inferior to other well established companies.

I have the 512 mb version, and it's replacing my PNY Attache 512mb stick. I did a little test to compare the transfer rate. My PNY stick transfered at 1.5 mb a sec. The Swiss transfered at 8 mb a sec!

My PNY has a cap that i'm always losing, the Swiss doesn't, and my swiss has a knife and pen and stuff. The coolest part is the Swiss comes with software to partition you USB drive! Or you can set it to only work with a password!

The price is steep, but I didn't buy it! Hands down the best USB drive I've owned.

Yeah, it looks like a Star Trek Phaser but that's where the fun ends. Upon purchasing my 2 pack from Costco, I thought I'd do some consumer testing to see if it's claims are true...

The package says you get 45 minutes of light from one minute of cranking. "Well, let's see," I thought...

So I turned one on and let it burn down. I was extremely happy that it took over an hour to burn down. I thought that they had conservatively underrated the device and was very pleased by that. Then I cranked it up...

I cranked it for a little over a minute at the rate of about 1 rev per second and let it burn down again. The light was very dim in about three minutes. I was shocked. So I cranked it faster, at about two to three RPS for over two minutes. (By the way, that's much harder than you may think!) The light was dim in about seven minutes.

Remember when you were a kid and ordered something from the back of a kids magazine that sounded really cool? Remember how it was nothing like it's description? Well, unfortunately, this is that.

In the store this flashlight looked great; super bright white light. I couldn't believe how bright it was. Enjoy it while it lasts because you'll never see it super bright like that again.

These come two in a package. I left one new and ran the other one down. Instructions say only one minute of cranking gets you charged back up. This is just not true. One minute of cranking will produce some light but that is not even close to the brightness of the flashlight fresh out of the package. I cranked for a full ten minutes, until my arm became tired, and the brightness only reached about a one-third of what it was in the store.

This product is a fraud. Don't believe me? Try a pair yourself; just make sure you save the receipt.

I took one of these flashlights apart to find out how the charging part worked. I couldn't believe you could actually charge a battery in 1 minute. I measured about 60 mA for the 3 LED's while running and about 25-30 mA charging current. This means you crank about 2 to 3 times the "on" time. Of course, when the flashlights are new, they're all charged up. 120 mA-hour battery, so they can run quite a while before they really need charging. In the end though, you'll need to crank 2 to 3 hours to get 1 hour of run time. Still OK for some applications.

I have looked every where for the different heads but I can't find them any for sale. Every where I do find them they say they don't make them so its pointless to buy this tool. And it does not fold up which SUCKS big time.

Fantastic functionality. A myriad of tools that lock in place with no wiggle-room. The interchangable heads lock firmly into place. I only wish there were some way to lock the handles together when using, say, the screwdriver as opposed to having to squeeze the whole time.

The evolution 650 came as an unexpected pleasant surprise. I work in utility construction and this tool has saved me countless trips back to the truck or toolbox. There are a few notations for the prospective customer that, with the exception of one, haven't been an issue for me. 1.the pliers portion DOES NOT retract into the handle portion like other Gerbers and (the disappointment for me) 2.the amount of slop in the installed plier head. Neither have truly caused any concern for me but I would have expected the pliers to have been a little more "close tolerance". Overall I have been Very pleased.