MultiTools

[capngeo]

I need to send me Leatherman in for repair... I don't want to go "naked" while waiting on it's return.... So I'm thinking about buying another.

What do y'all recommend?

[ohdrinkboy]

I have a leatherman and a SOG. Much prefer the leatherman.

[Papa Joe]

I was given a Gerber as a gift several years ago and have nothing but good things to say about it. Through my own carelessness I managed to snap one of the tools, called Gerber and a new updated tool arrived by Fed Ex air within three days.

[Drink Wine]

I also like my gerber multi tool. I've had it almost ten years. I can open & close it with one hand. Making it very handy.

[nwdiver]

Have Gerber and Leatherman both very good, the gerber is smaller.

[minaret]

Leatherman Wave.

[HopCar]

I have an original Leatherman, a Gerber that the pliers slide in and out of the handles and I've played with the SOG. If I were buying one today I would buy a Leatherman Wave. There is really no point in talking about brands. All three mentioned are very good. Go into a store and handle the different models and see which has the features you want, is easy to open and close, and feels good in your hand.

[Lake-Effect]

I ... have something close to an obsession with pocket tools.

(list of my approx 15+ models deleted, on doctor's orders)

The choice is - do you want a do-everything tool for the glove compartment/nav desk drawer, or something that fits in the pocket? For pocket, I'd say the choice is between a Swiss Army knife or one of the new smaller Leatherman. The latter has pliers, if that's high on your list.

The big Leatherman models seem to be the new gold standard, but they are big and expensive. And big.

Gerbers are now "offshored", I think, and the small one I have ("Clutch") has cruder stamping and finishing compared to the above. Still they have some nice models too.

[Cormorant]

I had an early Leatherman without locking blades, including the screwdrivers. Avoid nonlocking screwdrivers at all costs! I have scars on my knuckles to attest to the fact. . . .

I moved to a Gerber with locking blades and have had it for years. I wear it on my belt and use it somehow every single day, often several times a day.

Nowadays all the good multitools have locking blades, I think.

So as said above, just shop for the size and features you want. You'll be very happy.

Oddly one feature I wanted was a corkscrew, which doesn't appear in many multitools. But it's one of those things that when you need it, you need it. . . .

[capngeo]

I bought the Leatherman Charge Tii ( I have a thing for Titanium)

[Cormorant]

Sweet! Looks like it has interchangeable driver bits.Good feature to have when you run into that oddball allen head or torx.

[pupuce]

Leatherman and Gerber are both good tools... Here in France, Victorinox multitools got a good fame, especially for their resistance to rust in a sea use

http://www.victorinox.com/ch/category/Cat%C3%A9gories/SwissTools/SwissTool-115-mm/1112?f=category&v=1/100/1008/1112&m=add&

[Karratha Mike]

I broke the pliers on my 10 year old Leatherman Wave a few years ago. Took it to the Leatherman factory over near the airport in Portland, OR. The receptionist pulled a brand new one out and offered it to me. I told her that the one that I broke was engraved and could they fix that one. No problem! My repaired Leatherman was mailed to my house. No charge!

[Cormorant]

I broke the main cutting blade on my Gerber tool when I was stupidly using it to pry something sideways. I told Gerber I had broken my blade, they told me to send it in. They replaced it free of charge -- no questions asked about my stupidity. . . .

[hellosailor]

If you have one with a scissor, get one with a plier. Or vice versa.