Some people swear by the Leatherman. I chose the Gerber. Why? It just seemed the more attractive (tools, price, one-hand opening) at the time.
Which did you choose? If you don’t have one, which would you choose?
Leatherman for me, although my pocket knives are all Gerber. But all I usually need is something to let me make small repairs for myself or students, so Leatherman’s Juice line is just fine. I think I own all of them, come to think of it.
They’re both good, the Gerber has the convenience of the flick-out plier head, great for when you need one-handed access to pliers, plus it has the “fiddle factor”, it’s just plain fun to flick the pliers out over and over and over…, the 600 series also has a “blade exchanger” that allows you to use jigsaw blades as hand saws
the downside to the Gerber (MultiPlier 400, 600, and Diesel series) tools are stubby screwdrivers, too many flatheads, and poor quality knife steel (400 series, likely 420J2, which just plain sucks), the flick-out mechanisim makes the tool seem “rattly” when the plier head is retracted
Gerber Pros;
convenient one-handed flick opening
fiddle factor
“Blade Exhanger” on the 600 series
Cons;
a little rattly
knife steel sucks
the Leatherman series is very solid, no rattles , the plier head is slower to access, as it has to be unfolded, “Balisong” style (butterfly knife style), but that allows for longer screwdrivers, as the plier head doesn’t retract into the body of the tool, the knife steel seems to hold a much better edge, it’s also unknown steel, probably 420HC, but the heat-treat is better Leatherman has superior knives, the plier head also comes to a finer tip than the Gerber
both good tools, Leatherman is a tad more polished and has better fit-and-finish, but the Gerber has the fastest plier access
Leatherman pros;
stronger plier head
finer needlenose tips
longer tools
better edge holding
no rattles
cons;
plier head takes longer to access
steel is mediocre, but better than Gerber
I would choose Leatherman. And I did buy a Leatherman knockoff, but it’s now on display at the security checkpoint at Mariscal Sucre International Airport.
I guess my choice in this was initially based on ignorance (since I hadn’t tried a Gerber) and now it’s based on familiarity.
“It’s a toolbox, you use the tools for the job…I kind of favor the old 1911…”[sup]*[/sup]
Oh, wait a minute, multitools. I’m kind of hard of them, I guess, because I’ve owned one or more from each of the quality manufacturers (Leatherman, Gerber, SOG, and Victorinox) and have managed to break or wear out most of them in normal use. They all seem to use soft stainless steel for the blades–I’m going to guess 420 or 440A stainless at best although the Leatherman might be 440C–making it hard to retain an edge, and the plier heads seem to be universally cast rather than forged. If I were pressed to pick a brand I’d select the Leatherman with Victorinox running a close second. I’ve really been unimpressed with the Gerbers I’ve handled; earlier ones seemed kind of flimsy and loose, and more recent ones overly bulked and while tight-fitting seem to use the softest (but probably most corrosion resistant) steel they can find. In general I’ve been severly disappointed with Gerber products over the last decade. The biggest problem I’ve had with the Leatherman is I had a blade break off due to corrosion cracking. My current “carry” tool (which stays in my daily bag) is a Leatherman Blast.
If I were going to design a multitool from scratch I’d leave out the blade entirely (a knife, even a folding knife, should really be designed around the blade), make the pliers-head needlenose with replaceable wire cutters, have two standard sizes of Phillips head and flathead along with a jeweler’s size reversible screwdriver, a 1/4" adapter for Torx or hex bits and ratchet heads, and scissors. No saw, no can opener, no LED flashlight, et cetera; “tools” only. Alas, manufacturers want buyers to believe that they can take the thing out in the woods and build a log cabin with it, the same way that knife makers twenty years ago were producing hollow-handled knives to store some kind of token “survival gear” inside despite the fact that anything that could possibly fit inside the knife could just as easily fit in your front pocket. But then, I also carry a Victorinox Swiss Army Rucksack knife in the same bag, which essentially covers everything I would remove from a multitool, and a powerful LED flashlight, plus one or two other knives somewhere on me. I like to be well prepared.
Stranger
[sup]*[/sup]I’m just quoting from Ronin there; I really prefer the Sig P220 over the 1911.
I think the new Leatherman Wave is one of the most useful and well-designed tools I’ve ever owned. I get them as gifts to really deserving friends.
I’m a total Leatherman kind of guy, so much so that I refer to all folding multi-tools as Leathermans, although I’d switch in a hearbeat to using Strangeronatrains if they ever start making them, especially if they happened to come in titanium.
The last multi tool I got was the Leatherman Micra. It’s on my keyring and I seem to find new uses for it all the time. I really like that the main tool at the hinge on this one is a small scissor instead of a really useless tiny set of pliers.
How about this?
I use a Leatherman PST II myself. I’ve had no complaints.
Leatherman Wave here. I’ve been through many of the models starting from the first one and I love the way the handle is rolled back so it doesn’t bite your hand when you bear down.
That being said, there are some Gerber features I’d like to see in it, specifically the mount point that let’s you mount jigsaw blades.
When I choose the leatherman versus gerber about 20 years ago, even though I love Gerber knives I went for the leatherman. The deal was the Gerber had more moving parts to break. I needed the tool for serious trekking in Tibet and everything I took had “least chance of breaking” as the over riding determining factor. I still have that leatherman and in fact used it last night.
My experience pretty closely matches that of Stranger, except insert Buck for Victorinox.
FWIW, all of them worked fairly well, but I still managed to break all of them. The most common failure modes were blade breakage and wire cutter damage. If you try to cut heavy gauge steel wire or small screws with them, it will put a nick in the wire cutters that make it difficult to open the pliers.
Things to look for when choosing a multitool;
When the pliers are open, do the handles have edges that will dig into your palm?
Are the screwdriver blades long enough to be useful on recessed or set-back screws?
Do the various foldout tools lock in place, or can they fold back up on your fingers?
I never found a tool that didn’t have at least one weakness or another. For example, my Gerber had a wickedly sharp serrated knife blade and heavy duty pliers, but the handle cut into my hand if I squeezed hard and the gear looking teeth at the hinge wore out the sheath and ripped the lining out of my bomber jacket. The Leathermans (Leathermen?) were comfortable, but I kept loosing blades to breakage. The Buck had an interesting way of opening that made it very comfortable to use, but it would try to fold up if you used a twisting motion. And so on.
BTW, the only multitool I carry now is a Leatherman Squirt E4, because it has a fully functional wire stripper, and that is useful to me on a day to day basis. Which is how you should choose yours - what is most useful to you on an ongoing basis? Pick the one that has the features most useful to you and if you’re like me, be prepared to replace it at least once a year.
I find one of the most useful tools on these all-in-ones is a scissors. I probably use the scissors on my Wave more than any tool besides the knife.
I have the first Leatherman PST. I used it for 10-ish years, broke it, sent it to Leatherman and got a new one a week later for free. I use it every few days for something.
I like this one over the newer Leatherman tools. It’s thiner and not as bulky.
I’ve looked at the Gerbers but the PST just feels solid.
I like the Gerber. In my experience, the pliers are a little more rugged on the Gerber than on the LM. One problem I find with the Gerber, however, is spotting of rust on the stainless steel.
That’s what I can in here to post. I don’t always have oil up in the mountains to do an immediate thorough cleasing when I drop it in the mud or a puddle. I’ve never had a problem with the Leatherman, but have some rust show up on the Gerber.
When it comes to multi-tool I go for quality tried and true, and to me that means leatherman. I’ve owned the same leatherman for a decade and I find Gerber’s rendition nice and all but just not the same as a leatherman. Mark my words, I value a good knife and mutlitool, I really do, and I usually hold onto my wares for many years unwilling to give them up for the next great thing. I have pocket knives for different occasions and one multi.
I guess I’m a leatherman man.