The Kick does not have locking tools. The fuse, which is about the same size as the kick, does have locking tools, and it also has a scissor, which the kick lacks.

The knife on both the kick and fuse is a little smaller then on bigger leatherman tools.

It's tools to make the tools time.

What you have is unfortunatly governed by:

A)how much you can afford.
B) what's obtainable.

Having said that, a decent multi-tool is very much your first priority.

In order of quality (and price!):

Victorinox.
Leatherman.
Gerber.
CRKT.
Anyone else. That means Far-East and Made in China knockoffs. Some are better than others. They are better than nothing.

I use a full sized Victorinox multi-tool for work. I used to use a Leatherman. I like the leatherman's but the Victorinox is categorically the better tool.

A decent robust pocket knife or small fixed blade knife is next.
A lighter.

Decent pocket torch.

I EDC a smokers oilskin that has in it.

Needles. Sailmakers and ordinary needles.
Good quality thread.
12' duct tape.
A Bic lighter.
2 Wet-fire cubes.
10 Tinder-Quick.
5 lifeboat matches.
40' 30lb test Spyderwire.
Hooks.
A gaff hook. Useful for hooking things out of awkward spots.
A ziplock bag.
5m braided brass wire. The stuff you use to hang pictures with.
A spark-lite.
5 MP-1 tablets.
6 Aquatabs.
4 band aids.

I also carry one or more 20' lenths of 550 cord in my back pocket(s.

I can repair, creat or bodge up a lot of things with the above.

Not trying to pick an argument, but you make a strong statement like that based on what exactly?

IME, the actual build quality is very much comparable. Pretty much the same materials, similar hardness and toughness. Leatherman offers some higher grade steel for primary blade though, not a bad option.

Swisstool vs. LM Wave (I guess that's about the most objective possible comparison), the Victorinox may LOOK more robust but is bigger, too big to fit in a pocket. The Wave will handle any sensible task reliably. I've abused mine for a good number of years now. Can't say I wouldn't prefer better steel/harder edge on some of the tools but it's every bit as good as anything made by Victorinox and it gets the job done consistently.

Ergonomically, the Wave is better designed and more practical IMO. Everything is exactly where it needs to be and works just the way it should. Looking at the Swisstool, it's evident Victorinox is basically a pocket knife manufacturer. When the multitool concept became popular they jumped on the bandwagon and pretty successfully so, but their multitools still lack the "mojo". On the other hand, LM specializes in multitools and it shows.

Either way, both brands are excellent. But while I like the SAK in all its forms for what it is, LM just makes better multitools all around. I suppose that's open to various opinions but two friends of mine have swapped their Swisstool for a LM so I'm not alone. Everyone's mileage may vary.

I have an older model of the victorinox swisstool and it's a good tool. But unless the most recent models have improved a great deal, the leatherman wave, core and surge are all better.

The swisstool has a different selection of tools, including a small prybar kind of thing which is neat. And they all open from the outside. BUT using the pliers is not as comfortable in the hand as the LM's, there's no hard wire cutter, and both knives on the VS are quite mediocre. Really not good for heavy cutting.

Sizewise the closest LM comparison to the swisstool is the core, and even though all the core tools require opening the tool - none open on the outside - I would take the core any day. By the way, the core has a really nice awl, but no scissor.