Leatherman ought to bring back the original wave as the wave classic. I'd probably buy another one.

The oldest piece of gera in my pack has to be my trusty Coleman Peak 1. Bought it just out of high school. Never had a problem with it.

I wish I could find my old Svea 123R. But alas, I'm afraid it's lost forever. My years-old Coleman Peak One is a good replacement though. Of course much bigger and heavier than the Svea, but more convenient and certainly less finicky at startup. 100% reliable too.

I'm surprised so many like the Leatherman Wave. I have one of the originals. While it's good enough for a multi-tool, I still find all multi-tools cumbersome and awkward to use and much prefer single task dedicated tools if they are readily available. The Wave is good for emergencies when you have nothing better, but that's about all IMHO. I would not choose one as my primary tool to accomplish a task unless it was the only thing at hand.

i was going to launch into a big story about my canoe--will take me anywhere there is a couple inches of water-if not i can carry it--makes a shelter with a hard roof..so on--but the real world answer is my 30 year old basic SAK..if i'm going for a walk or need to pick my teeth or open a box that is what i reach for out of the heap of stuff i have.

I've found the pliers and file on the wave to be at least as good as anything from sears or lessor tools. Sure the screwdrivers are not the greatest, but its too handy to have around. Simple tasks like when you get home from work and the cable doesn't work you can either flip out the wave screwdriver and open the cable jack or walk to the garage tripping over the biks and toys and dig through the drawer in the tolbox and look for the proper sized screwdriver out of the 40 or so that are in there and then have ti put it back when I'm done. its much easier to just use the wave.

What kind of canoe? Just curious.

Ken--for 20 some years a Oldtown Pathfinder then for the last three a Bell Prospector in Kevlar so my old knees can make the carry..in Scouts late 50's early 60's we had Oldtowns but i don't know what kind except they were made without seats.clever idea as it kept us low, kneeling on the wood ribs was a hassle but we were kids and made do.--by the way i took your advice and will get a poncho from Campmor--

+1 on Svea 123, SAK, Marine K-Bar and Zippo; all mine are 20-30 years old and still going strong. All have limitations, but if you know the limitations and account for them, they will serve you well.

Water bottle, various designs. Daypack, ditto. SAK. Fleece hat.
Granola bars.

I know there's a lot of improved flashlights out there, especially with the switchover to LED technology, but I've taken my AA mini Maglite all over the globe for about 17 years and have only needed to replace the bulb once.