Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Gear Reviews Need a new multi tool.

Today I broke my Gerber multi tool. I pack this thing every day and know I will miss it. Is there anything better out there for the same cost? I am happy with what I have, but might be missing the boat. Dont want any thing fancy like the bit sets or anything. Must also be needle nose, and not a Leatherman.

I have a leatherman wave and am happy with it but I have heard stuff about leatherman being antigun or hunting or some such thing. My buddy has a SOG, not sure what model, but it is cool and that is what I plan to replace my leatherman with when its time.

Send your broken pieces back to Gerber with a letter, you'll have a new one free of charge in a couple of weeks. The price doesn't get much better than that.

Personally, I like the newer Gerber "butterfly opening" tools a lot, I think mine is an Urban Legend model, it doesn't pinch my palm like the original Gerbers. YMMV

Son, I will try that. I have nothing to lose.

I work with alot of the trades in refineries, paper mills, power plants etc and by far the most popular tool I see is the Leatherman. If I ever lose mine, it will be replaced with the same.

SC...............

I don't know if Tim Leatherman is anti-hunter or not. He does make the best multi tools though.
The Charge Ti is the best if you need scissors and the Xti if you would rather have extra screwdriver blades. The 154CM knife blade is the best available on any multi-tool. The knifes,saw and files all lock open as do the screwdriver blades. The locking screwdriver blades are a major improvement as anyone who has had one fold up on them will notice immediately. Lots of interchangeable bits are available, want a T-25 Torx for your scope rings? No problem.
I don't know why people would boycott them, but if we all boycott everyone that says something stupid, there wouldn't be anything left to buy!............DJ

What I dont like about the Leaterman, is it takes two hands to open. I much prefer the flip of the wrist to get the Gerber open. I had no clue about the political stance of Leatherman.

Which do you use more, Pliers or knife,file,saw blades, what you use most might help decide which tool you like best. With the Leatherman Wave and Xti the outer blades are 1 hand opening, with the Gerber the pliers are 1 hand opening. I started out using a Gerber for a couple years but the novelty of the flip out pliers for me was overcome by the superior quality and utility of the leatherman. With the Leatherman I like the all locking blades and tool bits and you can open it with one hand just not as quick as with the Gerber. I also liked that the Wave was a good bit more compact than the Gerber. Either one is pretty handy...............DJ

I have to agree about the wave. It certainly is handy. We sold the gerber for a while and it seemed like while you were showing them about one in four people playing with the Gerber either cut themselves or pinched themselves. The old Buck tool was the same. Hard to beat a Leatherman.

I'm a huge fan of Leatherman. Don't believe that crap about Tim Leatherman being anti-gun or hunter. Not true. I know Tim (not well but casually) and I've never heard any of that from him. BTW, he just retired from the company he founded.

What makes Leatherman special is if you break anything on a tool they usually just give you a new tool. I bought my workmen Leatherman Waves for Christmas and they occaisionally break blades or the pliers trying to do something that calls for a much bigger tool. They just swing by the factory and they get a new tool everytime.

I do know they occaisionally will just replace the broken part if that is more cost effective for them but our experience has been full replacement everytime.

Leatherman is not a big multi-national company. Tim graduated from Oregon State in Mechanical Engineering and setup a small tool shop to make high quality multi tools. Tim is a very quiet, unassuming guy without an ounce of ego or attitude (typical engineer!) Virtually every major knife company has tried to infringe on his patent and he has beat them all back. Mainly, because his tools are just flat better than the rest.

Gerber is another Portland company that just fell off the planet when they got purchased by Fiskars. Their customer service used to be like Leatherman's but now they just don't care. They refused to factory sharpen their own knives! Unbelieveable. For years they did it for $.50 per blade. No more. So I refuse to buy Gerber anymore.

Just my two cents but a little local input!

I had a chance to meet Tim some years back and found him exactly as you describe: quiet and brilliant.

I don't use pliers and other tools regularly, but the Micra is a very handy tool for light use.

Thanks fellas,

If Gerber will not replace my tool, I will look hard at the leatherman.
I do tend to use the pliers the most. I always carry a pocket knife.

MH, Not so much as a report, but more of a comment here- Three days ago I just used my Leatherman Pulse (no longer made I think, updated by another model) to dress out my son's antelope, including butchering for back packing out. I started with my Gerber Gator, but the Leatherman blade did so well I used it for the whole thing. The blade can be sharpened "shaving sharp".

I just recieved a New Leatherman in the mail. I broke the pliers & the small screw driver but told the it was my fault on the screw driver & I would be willing to pay to have it fixed. They sent me a new one.They have a 25 year warranty, beat that. DAN>>>

Don: Do you backpack antelope....that's a whole new concept for me.

I've had the Leatherman Supertool (not sure what model they'd call that now) since '93 and absolutely love the thing. I've got no axe to grind with Gerber, but much prefer the Leatherman. Using two hands to open the LM is a little slower than the Gerber, but I like the needlenose pliers better, I don't get my hands pinched between the handles (not an issue anymore apparently), and the pliers have a wire cutter that Gerber didn't/doesn't? have. About 6 years ago I was using my LM to cut barbed wire, and bunged up the cutter a little, but I was asking more of the tool than I should have. I've never taken the tool to LM to have it fixed but should. I also found a LM Wave that was run over by an 18 wheeler, but think it would be unethical to try to have fixed. Anyway, in 12 years I've used my LM a lot, and never wished I'd had a different model or brand.

TK2

During the presidential campaign of '04, Tim Leatherman and the heads of a number of other outdoor product manufacturers came out in support of Kerry/Edwards. Whether you support his choice, forgive him for it, or even care, is entirely up to you. Not trying to start a political discussion (the issue was covered comprehensively in the Hunter's Campfire at the time) merely setting the record straight

Whatever else can be said, they make a good tool.

wuzzagrunt
I'm one of those GB fans but hell, even John Kerry hunted geese, right! Thanks for the info. I'd heard he was a Dem but not anti-hunter (maybe they go together). Portland has way too many of them. We're trying to get Fish & Wildlife to increase the bag limit on them and wave the permit fees. We got rid of the Rashneeshies didn't we?

Regardless of his political affiliation it's hard to beat his quality and customer service.

The leatherman super tool has the strongest pliers on a multi tool...the reason I keep on using it ....Boots

Just FYI, the Swiss Victorinox brand multi-tools are also excellent quality and very well thought out. Swiss Vic should warrant some consideration when looking over high quality tools. Searching for the "perfect" multi-tool can be more than a little confusing with all the options available today. I bought my wife a Leatherman Micra and it's the perfect tool for her, while a Vic tool or Leatherman New Wave serves me well.