I use mine (several) for fixing things -- they have uses a knife doesn't; screwdrivers, pliers, etc.

tro

The gear you listed adds up to more weight and bulk than a good Leatherman tool. My Leatherman is always on my belt, is less bulky than what you listed above and has more tools. When you include the Delica and real quality pliers, the cost is roughly the same as many of the full sized Leatherman models available at Wal-Mart and Target. You are fooling yourself with a false economy. And what good are your tools if they are not always with you? You don't get to plan your next emergency.



Some of the most useful cuts of wood in a survival situation (poles for shelter, poles for an improvised litter, poles for a fish trap, etc etc) are less than 1" in diameter and it's a lot easier to make those 1" cuts with the saw on my Leatherman than chopping away with a large knife. I know, I've done both multiple times. Plus the Leatherman saw is infinitely better for fine work like trap triggers and other improvised parts. Remember that the saw works great on materials other than wood like plastic and bone.

Sometimes, you don't know what you don't know.

As an aside, for anyone who's interested:

The new Leatherman Skeletools just showed up on their website (www.leatherman.com).

I must have one. Or both. Curse my multitool addiction! :-)

Eric,

I think you would find that a multi-tool is going to be far more useful than any regular fixed blade or folding knife, whether for everyday use as many of us attest to, or for survival purposes.

The reason is simple, there are a variety of tool implements on a multi-tool that a knife simply won't suitably substitute for. Just to name a few very real and likely survival uses: Wire-cutting, wood sawing, opening cans and bottles, screwdriving, crimping, prying, nut and bolt tightening, nutcracking, potholding, etc. It also has at least one decent knife blade on it for cutting, so in that sense it can emulate to some degree what your other more dedicated use knives do as well.

I've seen whole elk field dressed with a Leatherman tool, about as quick as I could do it with my old buck hunter. In fact, the notion that it can be used for everyday tasks ought to legitimize it's value as a survival tool I would think.

Keep your other knives with you if you can. I've used my Leatherman Wave regularly in remote wilderness settings and in downtown Manhattan.

I agree completely! I'm also glad that you posted the list of multi-tool uses so I can convince my wife that I need another one.

I don't understand this "either/or" mentality with the knife vs. multitool (I also smell trolls lurking). It seems to me that someone who wants to be prepared for a variety of situations would respect the redundancy that having both knife and multitool provides. Even some of the higher-end Leatherman tools have better quality knife blades than the cheap folders one would find at Wally-World or Target.

One other reason for the multi-tool. I teach at a high school where the administration would absolutely panic if they saw me packing a fixed blade. I carry a Leatherman Squirt S4 with a photon II attached to the key ring. Most faculty ignore it or comment on how useful the tools are. I keep my Charge Ti locked in my briefcase for heavier use.

If one doesn't wish to EDC both knife and multitool, at least consider tossing a decent multitool in the BOB.

DavidBinGA,

Hey, welcome to the fire new guy! Thanks for the interesting link, I hadn't seen that site before.

-Blast

Hey, that's cool. I didn't know that.

-Blast, learning something without the need for penicillin

You can tune this to your own arm length by measuring the distance from your eye to the multi-tool or other measuring object in your hand and doing a bit of simple trigonometry to determine the precise angle. After that more simple trig can be used to determine the distance to objects of known size (height or width). This is good stuff.

The real problem, then, is using the 8 or so inches of the multitool to measure out the 25, 50, or 100 feet reliably

I've ordered the Leatherman Wave for carry in jacket pocket. That multitool.org site was great in helping me choose. To those two or three who consider my posting one of a troll, I had to look up what a troll is but I don't think getting feedback on whether I should add one is trolling... and if it is, I am now a better equipped troll

Eric