Displaying items by tag: Leatherman

This is it, the Grande Finale! Buckle up boys and girls!

The ending may surprise you somewhat, but it was absolutely, 100% as objective as I can personally get, and I stand by it.  But, enough rambling about it- let's get down to it and find out once and for all, which multitool is better!

And, if you haven't seen the first three parts to this shootout you may want to check them out before this one:

Part 1	Part 2	Part 3

To continue our epic battle between large sliding head plier tools from both Leatherman and Gerber, today we are looking closely at the blades.  Since both tools feature plain and serrated blades, we thought we would put them together and see how they stack up.  Since blades are among the most used functions on a multitool we thought it was only fitting to dedicate an entire battle to just them.

As we begin, both the Center-Drive and the One Hand Tool (OHT) are tied at six points after Leatherman's early lead in Part 1 and Gerber's almost total domination in Part 2.  Both tools are going to try to pull ahead today, as the final challenge is tomorrow, and time is running out!

Yesterday I brought you the first part of the epic battle between the Gerber Center-Drive and the Leatherman One Hand Tool.  When the smoke cleared from Round 1, Leatherman stepped out with three points, completely shutting out Gerber and their Center-Drive.  With that much of a lead right out of the gates, can Gerber come back?  The contest is far from over, so let's find out in Round 2. 

Multitools have been a part of our lives for several decades and have been engineered to be a do it all tool box. Manufacturers include everything but the kitchen sink to ensure that we have the tools we need for any occasion and to keep us prepared. The downside to this is the tool is not specialized for a specific task and this general design makes the tool heavy. It also can be a deciding factor in which tool you purchase or edc if you have a collection like me. Several tool companies are designing tools that are specific to a job title, recreational activity or task and the Leatherman Signal is one of those tools. The Signal is patterned after the Leatherman MUT design and scaled down so it’s not such a massive beast. Weighing in at only at only 7.5oz the Signal is enough tool for the task and light on the tools so it's easy to carry where ever your headed. 

Multitools comes in a vast variety of shapes and sizes and certainly have had a lot of changes to them since the first Leatherman was issued. In spite of all those changes the general look and functionality hasn't deviated much. Tools are usually clumped into two categories; Swiss Army style or plier based which is what most people associate with.

We all saw Gerber's marketing surrounding the release of the Center-Drive, and amongst the images of tattooed craftsmen re-imagining old world techniques and blending in modern technology, we saw the Center-Drive compared to both the Wave and the OHT. While Gerber's marketing may have been over the top, I don't think it was any worse than Leatherman showing soldiers carrying the OHT, despite the OHT never having been issues to troops anywhere, despite it having been designed specifically to try an usurp Gerber's hold on sliding head plier tool contracts with the military.

I guess what I am saying, is that when you cut out the marketer bullpoo and actually concentrate on the tools themselves, which one is better? Are they both hype, or are they both on the level? Or, one of each?

Earlier this week Leatherman Tool Group's legal department issued a Cease and Desist letter to the popular tool modification company Texas Tool Crafters regarding the use of Leatherman trademarks.  We do not know the exact content of the letter, however there are several issues being speculated on.

Like all the major manufacturers, Leatherman has an exceptional warranty- at least in the USA.  Recent issues in the Philippines has brought to light some concerns about Warranty Services outside of the US, and may be of interest to many of our international readers- and a warning to US readers as well, as it brings to light an interesting point that you may not have considered.

It seems to be generally agreed that Leatherman's offerings from SHOT this year are somewhat lacking given the recent excitement of Gerber's Center-Drive and SOG's entire new multitool lineup.  Their response is basically simplified versions of what they have been producing for years.

The 2017 SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoors Tradeshow) is just about over now and we have seen just about all that was announced there, and in case you have missed some of it on our forum, here's a bit of a recap!