Top to bottom: Wingman, Rev, Gerber, Wave, Juice, SOG.
I'm not really a knife-guy. It's just another tool. That said, here's some of my thoughts on some new and old multi-tools. If you want a thorough review, those are available all over the internet. I'm just some dude screwing around.
When it comes to multi-tools, I'm looking for three main things. Mostly pliers and a knife. Thirdly, useful screwdrivers. I definitely want an external knife. I have no use for the saws, and a few are exceptionally pointless. I will occasionally use a file, but very rarely. I prefer spring-loaded pliers.
By order they fell in the photo:
Number One: The Leatherman Wingman. This is my EDC. Key selling point, an external opening knife. Bonus features: I use the pliers frequently, the scissors are fantastic, I use them to cut velcro strips, they're really surprising. A couple weeks ago, I used them to cut a paint can! The flat-phillips driver works perfectly well. I carry these and I haven't found anything that's going to replace them. That said, the knife blade is junk.
#2. Definitely not my second favorite. Leatherman Rev. Like the Wingman, but worse in every way. The knife is hard to open, there's no scissors, the pliers don't open far enough and the grips are way too wide when squeezing. This makes these exceptionally hard to get any leverage on. If it was cheap enough, it'd be a good tool, but the Wingman outshines it.
#3. Gerber Evo(near-twin to Suspension). I hate this tool. There's not even much wrong with it:It's way too big and it's way too heavy. That said, the knife is very sharp, easy to open, and the locking action seems positive. And the tools open from the outside, as they should. The scissors are so small, they're pointless. The phillips driver is offset, but it doesn't really like up with anything to make a handy screwdriver. The action in-general is positive and snappy. If it wasn't so big and heavy, I might like it. Oh, and the saw is less than 2-inches long;it just makes me angry.
#4. Leatherman Wave. I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I can see why it's so popular. The knives open from the outside and you get four external options. Two of which are Very easy to open. This tool is big and heavy, but it packs a lot of punch. Everything has good locking action. The pliers open wide,~50% wider than the comparable Gerber. The bit driver is useful and unique. Plus, there's a tiny bit driver for glasses-size screws.Downsides? The scissors are tiny and useless. Do I really need two knives? I hate the saw blade, but it's big and could maybe cut a stick.
#5. Leatherman Juice S2. This is new to me and I kinda like it! It's comparatively compact. The action is snappy. The pliers are huge, considering the size of the tool. The knife blade is traditional and can't really be opened one handed(big downside for me). Equally annoying downside: The scissors are Under the can opener. Who needs a can-opener more than scissors? Makes the tool clumsy. The internal tools are also very sharp and hard to open;they drew blood before I figured that out.
#6. The SOG Switchplier. Yeah, it's stupid, it's a gimmick and I dove right in knowing that. I think I hate that I like it. Except that it's also terrible. If you see are view online calling this a bad tool, it really is! It's also fun!Sadly, the pliers open to Less than 1-Inch! Less than an inch! The tiny Juice nearly doubles that. Other than that, the entire tool is awkward. Some tools need the pliers deployed to access, but some don't. Tools are buried behind other tools. The pocket clip is tool weak. And the very first day I carried it, the pliers deployed in my pocket. Most frustratingly for a gimmick-tool, the pliers rarely deploy all the way open and lock. Hopefully they break in and work properly. Having said all that, I'll carry it again tomorrow...
I think the only one left that I want to try is the Leatherman Leap. Too bad it has that stupid saw...
The rest of them are So Expensive! Oh well.
This picture shows all the pliers pushed shut. I just wanted to show how big and small the grips are in the hand. Note the big Wave closes tight for tons of gripping power. The Rev is a big wide grip that holds the hand wide open for minimum gripping power. The SOG closes tight, but the grip flexes a little. Rubber-bands are for the spring-loaded tools.
Lastly, pliers open. This shows the SOG all the way open. Even the little Juice easily beats it.
I'm not really a knife-guy. It's just another tool. That said, here's some of my thoughts on some new and old multi-tools. If you want a thorough review, those are available all over the internet. I'm just some dude screwing around.
When it comes to multi-tools, I'm looking for three main things. Mostly pliers and a knife. Thirdly, useful screwdrivers. I definitely want an external knife. I have no use for the saws, and a few are exceptionally pointless. I will occasionally use a file, but very rarely. I prefer spring-loaded pliers.
By order they fell in the photo:
Number One: The Leatherman Wingman. This is my EDC. Key selling point, an external opening knife. Bonus features: I use the pliers frequently, the scissors are fantastic, I use them to cut velcro strips, they're really surprising. A couple weeks ago, I used them to cut a paint can! The flat-phillips driver works perfectly well. I carry these and I haven't found anything that's going to replace them. That said, the knife blade is junk.
#2. Definitely not my second favorite. Leatherman Rev. Like the Wingman, but worse in every way. The knife is hard to open, there's no scissors, the pliers don't open far enough and the grips are way too wide when squeezing. This makes these exceptionally hard to get any leverage on. If it was cheap enough, it'd be a good tool, but the Wingman outshines it.
#3. Gerber Evo(near-twin to Suspension). I hate this tool. There's not even much wrong with it:It's way too big and it's way too heavy. That said, the knife is very sharp, easy to open, and the locking action seems positive. And the tools open from the outside, as they should. The scissors are so small, they're pointless. The phillips driver is offset, but it doesn't really like up with anything to make a handy screwdriver. The action in-general is positive and snappy. If it wasn't so big and heavy, I might like it. Oh, and the saw is less than 2-inches long;it just makes me angry.
#4. Leatherman Wave. I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I can see why it's so popular. The knives open from the outside and you get four external options. Two of which are Very easy to open. This tool is big and heavy, but it packs a lot of punch. Everything has good locking action. The pliers open wide,~50% wider than the comparable Gerber. The bit driver is useful and unique. Plus, there's a tiny bit driver for glasses-size screws.Downsides? The scissors are tiny and useless. Do I really need two knives? I hate the saw blade, but it's big and could maybe cut a stick.
#5. Leatherman Juice S2. This is new to me and I kinda like it! It's comparatively compact. The action is snappy. The pliers are huge, considering the size of the tool. The knife blade is traditional and can't really be opened one handed(big downside for me). Equally annoying downside: The scissors are Under the can opener. Who needs a can-opener more than scissors? Makes the tool clumsy. The internal tools are also very sharp and hard to open;they drew blood before I figured that out.
#6. The SOG Switchplier. Yeah, it's stupid, it's a gimmick and I dove right in knowing that. I think I hate that I like it. Except that it's also terrible. If you see are view online calling this a bad tool, it really is! It's also fun!Sadly, the pliers open to Less than 1-Inch! Less than an inch! The tiny Juice nearly doubles that. Other than that, the entire tool is awkward. Some tools need the pliers deployed to access, but some don't. Tools are buried behind other tools. The pocket clip is tool weak. And the very first day I carried it, the pliers deployed in my pocket. Most frustratingly for a gimmick-tool, the pliers rarely deploy all the way open and lock. Hopefully they break in and work properly. Having said all that, I'll carry it again tomorrow...
I think the only one left that I want to try is the Leatherman Leap. Too bad it has that stupid saw...
The rest of them are So Expensive! Oh well.
This picture shows all the pliers pushed shut. I just wanted to show how big and small the grips are in the hand. Note the big Wave closes tight for tons of gripping power. The Rev is a big wide grip that holds the hand wide open for minimum gripping power. The SOG closes tight, but the grip flexes a little. Rubber-bands are for the spring-loaded tools.
Lastly, pliers open. This shows the SOG all the way open. Even the little Juice easily beats it.