Multitools--What's Been on Your Belt?

[fm2176]

As a career Soldier, I've carried a multitude of multitools over the course of multiple years.

Anyway, I'm just wondering what has been your go-to past and present. For me, a basic military-issue Gerber has been THE multitool of choice for the past ten years. I recall when the generic term was "Leatherman", but in the Army at least, "Gerber" has become the term for all multitools. I still have the one I was issued in 2005 and carried it until I got back from Afghanistan. It's somewhere in the back room, so I've carried a newer version since last year. Honestly, I think I signed for one years ago and now have 10+ floating around...

Before the Gerber kick, though, I was a solid Leatherman, uh, man. I've owned many since the original Super Tool, but the Wave was my go-to, at least until I lost both of the ones I used to own. I've got a couple of Crunches somewhere, a smaller Leatherman, and a Surge that stays in the truck.

Besides those, I've had a few others over the years, from oddities like CRKT's Guppie, Zilla Tool, and Eat'n Tool to SOG, and off brands like the one that came with Hesco barriers. As an aside, anyone notice how quickly the things accumulate? Most of mine have been found in the field or on post, and most are in excellent condition.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I have a Leatherman MUT that lives in my purse (or the coverall pocket if I'm in the shop)... while the thing is *huge* compared to most of the other Leathermans (Leathermen?) it's by far the best multitool I ever had. The bronze carbon scraper (that I use as an awl) bent and broke, but it was a cheap and easy replacement. The wire cutters are a little iffy for fine wire, and the plier nose won't close *all* the way to use as tweezers (my only real fault with the system) but for what I expect of it in reality, so far so good. So far...

BTW - I changed out the AR punch for the Glock punch as it's more useful in my environment... if I were in a combat-ready situ, I *might* change it back, tho the smaller pistol punch seems to work on an AR if you're careful...

 

[bobcatdan]

I use to carry a nice USA made sliding Gerber. I liked it very much until my ******* father snapped the main blade off. I do believe it has a lifetime warranty, but have not found away to warranty it. Since then I have gone simple, trusty Buck 110 on belt always.

 

[Danno1]

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Original Leatherman.



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[stg454]

Leatherman Surge for the past 6-7 years. Original Leatherman for 15 or so years before that. Only reason I changed was wanted the bit driver.

 

[Jp_norris]

Leatherman wave here. I own some gerbers and a sog, but the fit and finish on the leatherman is definitely the best.

 

[CJM8515]

Leatherman wave (newer one). Tried gerber but didnt like the snap open pliers thing. I do like that they usually have more blunt nosed pliers however.

 

[NUTTSGT]

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Original Leatherman.



.

Same here, compliments of saving coworkers Marlboro Miles many moons ago.

 

[kctyphoon]

black oxide leatherman wave.. i use to carry folding utility knives, then went to the Milwaukee fastback utility knife, which led to the Fastback folding knife, and then finally the wave.. i carry mine using the detacable belt clip which you have to buy separately as an accessory, and it clips onto the right side in the inside of my right front pocket.. its the perfect compromise between size and function, and i dont even know its in my pocket.. its basically the same size as the Milwaukee Knife, just a little deeper, but with much more funtion.. i do NOT leave my house without it in my pocket.. i was always against spending $100 on a leatherman, and bought a gerber diesel first instead. boy did i get that one wrong..

 

[Joe B.]

I still have my original Lratherman from the early 90s. Back then there was only one. The one I carry now is probably over 10 years old But I don't remember the model. It is probably time for a new one.

 

[wiens80]

Leatherman Crunch, the vise grips on them offer good versatility. They do a lot of different things reasonably well.

 

[defektes]

Gerber, great warranty, just call them and they usually mail you a new one.

 

[southalabama]

A gerber military issue. Got mine the easy way. Ebay.

Thank you for your service

Just got a new gerber multi tool for the range bag. It's full of ar15 cleaning and assembly tools.

 

[ff4500]

Leatherman Skeletool.
Use it all the time, but didn't want something bulky clipped to my pocket.

I have a Leatherman Surge that I keep in the truck and occasionally put on my belt.

 

[1950mercury]

I had a gerber but it sucked....when using the pliers if they slipped off the bolt they would pinch my hand...had it happen 3 times in 15 min...i threw them as far as i could throw them and left them there....now its the original wave if i carry one

 

[orca8589]

I have an old U.S. Schrade "ToughTool" from the late 1990's, that I still use occasionally just for the fun of it. I also have an old Gerber #400 from the same timeframe, and I've got a Gerber #600 that gets used a lot these days. An old Leatherman SuperTool is in our car as a backup tool for camping, etc.

I have to agree with ducksface, though. I'd much rather have a single-purpose tool for the need at hand, if it's possible.

~Chris

 

[Charlie9000]

Leatherman Skeletool.
Use it all the time, but didn't want something bulky clipped to my pocket.

I have a Leatherman Surge that I keep in the truck and occasionally put on my belt.

I've been really happy with my skeletool. It's easy one hand open blade making an assisted open knife unnessessary, it is small and sits deep in your pocket with the clip, and has a great screwdriver with replaceable bits. Tough to beat.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I'm cheap so I have a lot of the entry level stuff. I prefer the pliers on the sog but their knives are garbage. Vice versa with the leatherman. The bear mgc bear jaws are in my opinion the happier medium but those come too "tight" from the factory best knife on them from my recollection. I don't own a "swiss tool".

I don't bother now, I'd just carry a pack with the tools on the multi tool. I could justify the weight so I wouldn't have to go 28 days with a chinese swiss army knife (that's the movie right?) to free myself from a rock or fight a bear or whatever.

I really dig some of the traditional multi purpose knives (with much larger blades) victorinox sells though wouldn't pay the asking price for one.

 

[Lwel9226]

Leatherman Wave when I am in work clothes, original Leatherman when in street clothes, and a Buck 112 in my pocket all the time......

LW

 

[colin39]

I have the charge ti and charge xti

this one, ive never took pics of them as they are always being used, or off being repaired at the mo, after i broke the tip of the plyers. My silver ti sit unused in my car glove box.
At the moment while waiting fot my charge to be fixed im using this
The leatherman wingman, im not as happy as with my charge , but im liking some features, i like the way it springs open........... oh thats about it spose i could have used the one outta my car , but it was a gift from my boys , and im a bit sad like that its more of what it means to me than a user tool.

Colin

 

[kbeefy]

At home it's a Leatherman Charge Ti my dad gave me for christmas a couple years ago. It's a bit large, but I've gotten used to it. I couldn't carry a multitool that didn't have single hand deployable blades, and it has 2! The file works remarkably well, I used it to make a self taping bolt last year to facilitate a field repair on a shifter. I like the bit holders also, while not a full #2 phillips, it usually does better than whatever permanant ones are available. And it's replaceable. The belt clip is probably tied with the easy open blades as my favorite part.

At work I carry a Leatherman Skeletool. Awesomely light, belt clip, single hand blade, and the easy to deply bit holder. I have to open alot of 1/4 turn fasteners that area all flat head, and this is the trick. Also, the carabiener is an excelent bottle opener.
The only thing I don't really like about it is the onboard bit storage occasionaly looses bits. I assume it gets jostled in my pocket somehow, I've lost 2 bits because of it so now I don't keep a spare in there anymore.
Also, the handle design isn't that comfortable to use the pliers. Too small.

 

[JonnyMac]

My buddy uses the skeletool at work, primarily as a knife for opening cardboard boxes. I love the belt hanging system but jeeez is the serrated blade soft. Ive resharpened it several times and even re filed the serrations in but it wears away super quick. My 15 year old wave is as sharp as the day I got it, im wondering if he has a got one which had a poor metal hardness...
anyone ever see anything like this?

 

[Lippyp]

I have a leatherman wave in its original leather belt pouch complete with the additional holder for hex bits that I've had for about ten years. I also have a pair of little gerber mini ones in the tool roll in my car, one has pliers, the other scissors.

 

[anurag1990]

1. Silver leatherman rebar- Its great quality and like everything on it. Pliers are amazing with replaceable cutters. Does not cut wires as cleanly as normal diagonal cutters, but does the job fairly well.

2: Victorinox 15 tool pocket knife- lovely companion with tools for everyday use. Sharp knife, screwdrivers, scissors, and a useful saw. Plus a tweezer ...usefull thing too.

 

[canuckian]

Drives me nuts to wear anything on my belt. If I were a prison guard or a police officer I'd learn to live with it i guess. Any tools I have on my person day to day are in my pocket and that usually only consists of a pocket knife and a little snap on flip blade screwdriver. I do have a skeletool I keep in the truck if I need it.

 

[7echo]

Lately been carrying a Juice S2. Have original style Leatherman tools in each glove box and most of my generic tool bags. I bet I have 10 of the critters of various style hanging around.

 

[BUDSVTX]

I always have my Leatherman Wingman at my side clipped to my belt. I also have a orginal Leatherman that my DAD gave me, it is in it's orginal box and it never gets used. Well maybe to change batteries in the remote.

BUD

 

[gravelydude]

Drives me nuts to carry things in my pocket. I carry a Swiss-Tool multi-tool in a sheath on my belt. I bought it when they first came out about 20 years ago. It is still in great shape, and I use it every day. It has both a regular knife blade, and a serrated blade. All the tools lock, and it has been a very functional tool for many years. I have been through seven sheaths, but the tool is still going strong.

Jack

 

[covert]

I too have an army-issue Gerber and it's worked like a charm for the past 15 years or so. On days where I need to travel a bit lighter (and am pretty sure I don't need all the tools in the Gerber) I carry a Schrade Old Timer pocket knife, bought about 10 years ago. On formal occassions I carry a Lagouile knife, also about 10 years old (http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32461&cat=1,51222&ap=1)

 

[Lippyp]

I have a laguiole almost exactly the same as that as my daily carry knife over at my holiday home in France. Over here I have a CRKT M21-02 in my pocket as we speak.

 

[Ainsley]

I'm partial to the victorinox swiss tool spirit. I always carry it with a small fixed blade so the lack of a one hand opening blade doesn't really matter.
I had a leatherman wave for a while and it is a great tool as well. Their warranty truly is no hassle, no questions asked.

 

[Boost Creep]

i have a leatherman oht. its my first real multitool. mostly just had cheapie junk random people have given me through the years. its pretty nice but i don't like carrying it on me. i just keep it in my ride.

https://www.leatherman.com/oht-49.html

 

[Brad54]

I started with a small SOG Paratool when I was in college, bought from Eddie Bauer (as a gift) with a black belt case. If there was a problem with it, it's that the pliers didn't hinge in the handles squarely--the handles had to be unfolded at the same time, and the pliers head had to be folded back into both at the same time when closing the tool to put it away. I never had a problem with it, but it confused the hell out of everyone I'd hand the tool to.

I used it a ton, and one day broke the main hinge pin on one of the handles.

A couple years later, when I was getting ready to throw it away (why I waited that long I don't know), I happened to think they might be warrantied... checked online and they were! Sent it off and it came back completely rebuilt--blades sharpened, the whole thing disassembled and cleaned.

I keep the worn holster on my leather work belt hanging in my closet.

While it was broken, I got a Leatherman Core... it's a good bit bigger than the SOG, and that took a lot of getting used to, but it's got features I use a lot.
I pull it off the belt and use it for something at least twice per week.

-Brad

 

[soj]

I use a Kershaw A100. I would be lost without the locking pliers feature. They are no longer made, AFAIK. I have an extra one still in the package in case I lose/break this one. The were also sold as Craftsman. I wear it whenever I am working.
-jp

 

[Monte]

Leatherman Wingman and swiss army knive

 

[maxpower_hd]

I have had a Gerber for years and really only used the knife other then when fishing so now that resides in my tackle box and I just carry a SOG Access Card like this one in my back pocket. I use it almost daily. It doesn't look like the pic any more though. I've had it about 10 years now. I have a new one in my box waiting for the day this one finally breaks.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001RXMWJ6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[BikerDad]

I have a Leatherman Wave on my belt right now, I had gotten it a while back and stuck it on my EDC bag, but I don't carry the bag much (does that make it a "Some Days Carry" bag?), so I'd never even used it. When going through the bag last night, I rediscovered the Wave and decided to give it a crack at some belt time, since it is so highly regarded. As a result, my Leatherman OHT is getting some time off. I really like the one handed plier usage of the OHT, but the driver bits and especially the teeny little screwdriver (I wear glasses) of the Wave have my attention.

I have some Style CS (baby Skeletools) on keychains, one of which I almost always have with me. They get a lot of use for the scissors and files. I will sometimes swap out the OHT for a Wingman.

When I was deployed for Desert Shield nee Desert Storm, I bought my own Gerber and took it over there with me. Unfortunately, I lost it sometime after getting back. I didn't know the military was issuing multi-tools now, sounds like I got out too soon. Had I stayed in after my second hitch, I would've hit my 20 8 weeks before 9/11.

I'd rather have some things on my belt than in my pockets. I'd carry my keys on my belt if I could figure out a way to not lose them, and to keep them quiet.

 

[crbnfbr]

I usually use my SOG Powerlock, but I also have a Leatherman Wave. I prefer the hinged pliers of the SOG and the leather sheath, but I don't really like the semi serrated knife blade. I plan on getting a replacement straight blade eventually. The Leatherman I like the way the knife opens and the straight blade, but I dislike the nylon sheath. There's positives and negatives to both.

 

[dledmo]

Gerber Multi-Plier 600 Blunt nose is my EDC at work. In my previous work area I often needed to break loose screws which had been hand tightened previously and were now frozen unless you had gorilla hands.

 

[Farmall 1066]

One of these, plus the Swisschamp.
Kershaw A100C, Leathermen Wave, Sidekick, and Crunch.
POS Sog Power Plier that lives in my EDC bag. Really don't like it, other than the pliers.
Like the Wave the best, but find I carry the Sidekick most, with pocket clip.
Need to get a new pocket clip for the Wave.
With one of these, and the Swisschamp, plus a Streamlight, I'm pretty well set.