Is a Leatherman multi-tool worth the extra $$$

[theBigKahuna]

This is hopefully NOT a religious discussion... I'm looking @ multi-tools and both Leatherman and Gerber make good tools. Is the Leatherman more durable; has more tool features etc that make it worth the extra cost?

[ttex]

I have not used a Gerber but the Leatherman is real nice.

[LittleWing77]

Get a Myerchin. Fantastic and what you need to have at hand for offshore:

www.myerchin.com

Fair winds,
LittleWing

[Snore]

The Leatherman looks spiffy. BUT when things get ugly, you will have “one hand for the boat and one hand for you”, so you need something that can open with one hand.

I like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


It has a knife, spike and pliers, all accessible with one hand. And at $30, if you lose it- it doesn’t hurt too much.

[Lake-Effect]

I own several (it's almost an obsession). The choice of which one really comes down to what you want to do with it. The Leatherman WAVE is awesome; I don't have one but my friend does, and the little eyeglasses screwdriver it has helped save a cruise when I sat on my glasses and needed to effect some repairs.

But for daily carry while sailing/adventuring, I like the Gerber MP600 - everything is sturdy on it, good pliers, no small bits to lose. I also have a good basic sailing knife in a pouch on my PFD.

Actually, my minimum go-anywhere tool that sits in my knapsack is a 25 yr old Swiss Army knife ("Driver" or "Officer") with a couple of blades, two screwdrivers, bottle and can openers, and of course, a corkscrew.

I've also had decent luck with some knock-off multitools. At around $20, they are worth having several - one in the car, extras on the boat, kitchen drawer... and you weep less when they drop overboard.

[Mike OReilly]

I've gone through a number of multi-tools over the years, although never a Gerber. My current one, and the one I've liked the best, is the Leatherman Charge.

It has a wide variety of tools, all smartly designed. PLUS, its two main blades can be accessed using one hand, so it doubles as an emergency blade on board.

It is a little bulkier than some, but better than other ones I've had. For me, it's been the sweet spot of functionality, durability and size.

[Hartleyg]

I used to live in Arizona and carried a Gerber, which I liked. When I went sailing, the "hard" parts of the Gerber(mostly the pliers, but some other bits) immediately rusted - badly. I switched to a Leatherman Wave, which I've now worked my way through 3 of (one went overboard, one got swiped) and they didn't rust. I was just given a Leatherman Skeletool CX for Christmas, which I like because it's smaller & lighter than the Wave - time will tell. Btw, I wore out all of the nylon cases for the Wave and ended up with a nice leather one I found on Amazon. I carry my multitool every day - land or sea.


Hartley
S/V atsa

[oscar]

There's a Wave on my belt when I have my pants on. Together with a MF Tactical flash light and an epipen.

That said, pulling it out on deck is risky as there is no way to tie it to yourself.

So I have a Knife/Spike/Plier combo as described in #4 with a lanyard around my neck. Only pull the Wave out when I know dropping it will not make me lose it.

[Hartleyg]

Hey, Oscar, I have a flashlight, too A Surefire "tactical" one with two CR123s in it. It has saved my butt more times than anything else I carry, especially as my eyes aren't as sharp as they once were.



But I don't use the multitool as a knife, at least not very often because multitool knife blades are usually NOT great knife steel and they're not easy to deploy - I keep a one-handed knife on me all the time, too (usually clipped in my pocket) If you want a religious discussion, ask about knives =8^O



Hartley
S/V Atsa

[Macblaze]

I carry a Leatherman skeletool on a lanyard...basic but light and so far has always had what I wanted. No rust and reasonable openable onehanded.

A question your you geeks out there: a lot of sailing knives/multitools have serrated blades but isn't keeping a serrated edge sharp a pain and requires special tools?

[Orion Jim]

I find the Wave is best so it stays on the boat. The Gerber stays in the car. Both are fine but the Leatherman is more sturdy in my opinion.

[GordMay]

Both Leatherman and Gerber make a lot of different multi-tools, and your choice might differ (between them), depending upon the exact combination of features best suits your needs.

Leatherman vs Gerber – Battle of the Big Multi Tool Makers
➥ https://outdoorsmantoolkit.com/leath...r-multi-tools/

[Russ Goedjen]

The leatherman Crunch hard to find but worth every penny has a vice gip pliers which is a real tool. Nothing else is even close to the power of the crunch.

[Pir8te]

I was a big leatherman fan for many years carried the variations of the juice daily
That said I have to say I think that the quality is not what it was (though the service remains excellent) I switched after a juice x6 fell apart in 6 months of use to a Gerber NXT for my daily carry and have 3 leathermans wave's/ wave + in my cars/ tool box as back up
o

[InsuredApple]

I got the "new" Leatherman Free P4 and it was okay while we were still in the marina, but not that we are out cruising, it has become a rust magnet.