One of my peeves with my Spirit was the mirror-shiny finish on the pliers handles.

It looks awfully pretty in the store showcase, but it's slippery as heck in practical use. I took some coarse emery cloth to it. It's not as pretty now, but it's better otherwise.

Other than that, I wouldn't hesistate to carry a SwissTool or Spirit into the bush. But overall, I still prefer the Leathermans.

That's what I was thinking. Hadn't thought about the shiny vs. "tactical" thread.

They lost me with their original design where the tools were on the inside when closed.

Last miniute chime in here.......
I also EDC a Victorinox Swiss Tool as well as a Vic Swiss Champ. Love them both. If you're talking about EDC'ing it in a BOB, weight/size shouldn't be an issue. Go for the Swiss Tool, I don't think you will be dissappointed

-Bill Liptak

Feel entirely free to chime in any time. All input is appreciated and, since I'm ordering online (local prices for this stuff is 300% of "suggested retail"), it will take some time for this thread to become obsolete.

I EDC the TTi Charge which replaced my long time EDC of the Wave a little over a year ago. Both are great tools. To be fair, the TTi is nearly identical to the Wave and for the cost, I'd say go with the Wave. I wanted to upgrade because I needed a solid backup and decided splurge.

I also EDC a Leatherman Micra in my pocket. I carry it for the scissors mainly because I find them superior to anything else I've tried. Sometimes I swap it for the Squirt E4 once in a while if I'm doing any sort of electrical work or if there's a chance I might end up rewiring something.

I used to carry a high-end LM Knife, but for the last year or so I've been carrying a CRKT model that I like a lot and has a lower profile.

I've used Gerber, SOG, Benchmade, and many other various makes, but I appreciate the quality of the LM build and for the TTi Charge or Wave, the externally accessible tools are critical. I just wish LM would come out with a truly "made in the USA" model. I haven't seen that stamped on anything in the multitools for a long time.

Figured I would through my thoughts in as well.

I EDC a new Wave myself. I also have it with me whenever I'm in the great outdoors. I love being able to open and close the blade one handed, esp. if I'm using the other hand for something else. The saw is nice when I'm doing small projects like making a figure 4 deadfall and things like that.

When I got married, I gave all of my groomsmen one as a gift. Also got one for my father-in-law. He uses it on a daily basis, has seen much abuse, and still works perfectly.

As many have said before me, it is all personal preferrence as to what you want to carry.

Actually, some time after I was pointed towards multitool.org, I came across this little guy.



Not EDC for sure, but it can probably serve as my primary survival knife, too...

Comments?