Doug,<br>I was wondering if there is any review yet on the actual usefulness and what pros & cons relating to the complete Leatherman Juice multitool kit called XE6 .<br>Also, how does it stand in comparison to other major multi tool kits or even among other Leatherman tool line.<br>Thanks for any advice<br>Oliver<br>PS I had the pleasure of seeing the whole line of prototype Leatherman Juice multitools shown to me by Tim Leatherman himself. Since that time, I wanted one production piece so much, and now, I finally got one.<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by win on 09/29/01 04:59 AM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>

Win,<br><br>I, some associates and Sue have been carrying various models of the Juice for a few weeks now. The largest model is a bit large for pocket carry, but doable. So far they are holding up well and performing pretty good for the most part. Interestingly, I haven't pulled my Wave out of its pouch since I've been carrying the Juice, despite its smaller size. Mind you its also only been a short time. One question I get asked over and over is whether you can get a choice of color in the model with the features you want. So far, the answer is no. I think Leatherman is missing the boat here, but what do I know? We'll have a full report eventually, but not real soon.<br><br>Doug Ritter<br>Editor<br>Equipped To Survive

Thanks Doug.<br>I was carrying around the largest juice more and more and I wanted to see if it can be a good replacement for the Swisstool. So far, its got everything I need though the plier is smaller than Swisstools' .<br><br>I wonder what others in the forum think about the Juice.<br>Warmest wishes,<br><br>Oliver<br><br>

>>One question I get asked over and over is whether you can get a choice of color in the model with the features you want. So far, the answer is no. I think Leatherman is missing the boat here<<<br><br>I think you are right that Leatherman is missing the boat here. I used to work in a camping store that sells multi-pliers, etc. and based on my experience with the customers, it doesn't make sense to offer multiple colors without allowing the customer to choose the color they prefer. The customer will have to select either features OR color, but NOT get their preference for both. They won't like that and it will be a problem at the sales counter. Color is very important to many consumers and some of those bright (possibly feminine) colors will definitely turn off some buyers. It would have been much better to make all models available in one or two basic colors and let the customer choose. I predict that many customers will actually select the color they prefer and accept whatever features come with it (or buy a competitive product without an offensive color). I've seen many customers make decisions like that when choosing backpacks, sleeping bags, tents and hiking boots.<br><br>Hopefully Leatherman has done their market research and won't run into a problem with the colors. They must be targeting a young market segment. It looks like a great tool line and could be a holiday gift idea for a lot of folks this year.<br><br>

How's the Leatherman Juice CS4 to carry? Anyone got one yet?<br><br><br>

I don't have one yet, but hopefully I will have one of them before long. I was checking them out in the store two days ago and I put one in the front pocket of my khakis to see how it felt. I was focusing on the S2 model which is maybe 1/8" thinner than the CS4 and 1.1oz lighter. Obviously that brief test is not the same thing as carrying it all day, but I was very impressed at how comfortable the S2 was there, and I'm a real stickler for not carrying much in my pockets. It felt about the same as a medium-sized swiss army knife- not like a multi-tool at all. <br><br>I wouldn't be anxious to carry the CS4 all day in my pocket since the smaller S2 would be a better choice for me, but I think most people would consider the CS4 to be a very realistic pocket carry. I find things like that carry better if you can get them to stand vertically in your pocket. Sometimes I'll put a safety pin through the pocket to make that possible.<br><br>I think the Juice could be the answer for people who want a reasonably capable multi-tool on hand, but prefer to keep it concealed.<br><br>

I have the CS4. I love it. I drove to Atlanta from Athens to get one from REI. They were out. On the way home, the wife insisted on stopping at the local megamall. Halfheartened, I agreed thinking that Galyans MIGHT have one. NOPE! While she was in Yankee Candle, I strolled up to Sharper Image. I begrudgingly eased in (I hate malls and mall stores). There in a glass case was the CS4 and the S2. "Just got the floor model left on the CS4, the S2 is already spoken for" the teenage employee responded. Noticing the $79 price tag (ouch!), I asked "any discount for it?" " Yeh, display models are half price" (sounds good; locked in glass, it had remained scratchless) "I'll take it!" At the register he informs me that there is one left so he can't give me the discount. " I'll take two!" Now I have one and my wife has one for a total cost of $120!

Being reluctant to display too much gear on my belt at work now, I've been carrying the Leatherman PST in my left front pocket in its leather sheath. If I can do that comfortably, could I get away with the Juice xe6? I picked the xe6 because it has the most cool stuff. Which one is the larger? How could I get a feel for what the xe6 would feel like in a pocket?

Craig,<br><br>If you don't mind the PST in it's sheath, you'll probably be OK. Think a wee bit less than Swiss Champ in terms of bulk, more or less.<br>

Oddly enough, the PST settles better in my pocket with its sheath than without. My pockets are usually loaded with gear anyway, so I'm used to it. I simply don't travel lightly.

I just copleted an Excel spreadsheet that compares the features of the Wave to the Juice line. It's only a checklist type of comparison and doesn't touch hows each feature compares. For example, both lines have straight edge knives, but there's no comparison if one model's blade is preferrable over the other.<br><br>I'll be happy to email a copy o this spreadsheet to anyone. Just send me a private email at william_vannerson@ama-assn.org<br><br>Also, one of the minor shortcomings of the Wave was the lack of a ruler. What if one were to etch a ruler on the flat, inside surface with an engraver or a Dremel tool? Would such an action compremise the stainless steel surface? If so, would TUF-CLOTH or TUF-GLIDE help?

My anniversary was this weekend and my wife was looking for a present for me. I cleverly dropped a hint about the new Leatherman Juice. Upon opening my present, I learned that REI was out of stock on the Juice, so she bought me a flashlight at Sears.<br><br>I was soooooo close!<br><br>Maybe Christmas. . . How many more days is it?

For those of you who have the Leatherman Juice, does the can opener work? <br><br>The Juice is described in the literature as having a combination can/bottle opener, but the part of the can opener that would function as the blade is totally blunt on the samples I have seen. I can't see how this could possibly be used to pierce a can (unless the ones I saw were defects and shoud have been ground to an edge).<br><br>Anybody tried to open a can with one yet?

I received the following message from Leatherman abut the can opener on the Juice tools. I'm not 100% convinced there isn't more to this, but for what it's worth, their explanation is pasted below. They basically state that the tool sort of works even though it is blunt. It doesn't sound like this answer came from the engineering department. <br><br>Without having used this tool, I suspect that either this tool wasn't designed to open cans, or the tool was not processed through all the intended manufacturing steps. I wonder if simply grinding an edge onto the tool would improve it.<br><br>**********************************************************<br>You are correct that the can opener is different than on our other tools. We<br>here in customer service were looking at that very thing last week. It looks<br>blunt, but will work just fine. You need to angle it into the can and it<br>does take a little more work than the ones on our other toosl, but it does<br>work.<br>Hopefully this answers your questions.<br>If I can help in any other way, please feel free to contact me.<br><br>LynAnn/Sales<br>Leatherman Tool Group Inc.<br>888.372.5432 direct<br>lynann@leatherman.com<br>

In answer to my own question - my juice CS4 just arrived (they are about $110 dollars here in the UK so I got mine from canada for $69 inc shipping). I'm very pleased - its a very comfortable carry, well made, and the scissors are much better than on my keyring SAK. The pliers are thinnish but robust, the saw is a little thin, but I don't expect it to see much use; the whole thing is well put together. Much smaller than I expected, its like a slightly wider version of the kind of SAK's that come with a corkscrew. I rejected the purple juice on the basis of size, but I think I could have coped in retrospect...<br>it lives happily in my front jeans pocket - its invisible to others, and actually I can't even feel when its there, so I fashioned a belt hook for it that will save it should it fall out. All in all, very good.

I see that LL bean has a small line of their own multitools that appear to be made by Leatherman and look a little like the juice line. This might be a good alternate source.<br><br>http://www.llbean.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgrfnbr=1101&cgmenbr=1&ecgrfnbr=3912&ecgmenbr=1&showimage=<br><br>Chris

LL Bean's tools are made by Bear Cutlery. The tool locks on the BearJaws and Super Bear Jaws are problematic. See my Shot Show 2001 report: http://www.equipped.org/shot_show_2001.htm