Hey guys (and girls),

I'm new to this board and pretty much to the entire concept of survival in the wildnerness as well. I'm still a student, but I'm pretty heavily involved with do-it-myself stuff and would therefore like to buy a multitool. I know there are some threads around here about who owns what, but I've got some more direct questions I'd like to ask before buying. (Moderators -- if this belongs somewhere else, move it or delete it... I'll try to find the other area to post this in.) I'm pretty much ignoring weight and bulk issues... (which will be apparent by the questions I ask hehe)

Here goes.

1) Supertool 200 or SwissTool? Why?
2) LM ST200 -- does its blades hurt?
3) Warranty coverage -- LM or Victorinox?
4) Differences (other than "more features") of SwissTool RS and X?
5) LMST200 -- does it wobble?
6) Gerber 800 and how it stacks up to the LMST200 and ST... any strength preferences?

Thanks...

Xing

I've got an original Leatherman and a Leatherman... Crunch, I think it's called...Please correct me if I'm wrong, the model with vice grips instead of pliers. I like both, although the original does tend to bite your hand once in a while. I understand the newer models have elliminated the "bite" problem, it's just never been a big enough issue for me to worry about. Consider your own needs and wants, shop around a little, and take the plunge... just make sure that you get a quality product and not a cheap knock-off. Several friends who have seen mine have bought 10 or 12 dollar copies and been surprised when they didn't hold up to serious work... you get what you pay for.
Just my two cents.

Troy

I would wait for the new Swiss Army multi tool coming out. (The Spirit Plus I think) It is supposed to be excellent.

I will ty and give you a hand on this if I can. I own the Swisstool RS and it is by far the best multitool I have ever owned, and it is my fifth or sixth.

1) Supertool 200 or SwissTool? Why? Personal choice. They are both good tools, although I prefer the Swisstool over the ST200 as each of the individual blades are independant of each other, so there is no clumping. And all blades lock and you dont have to open the pliers to get at the tools.

2) LM ST200 -- does its blades hurt?
I dont know what you mean with this one

3) Warranty coverage -- LM or Victorinox? Both have good warranty coverage. Victorinox will replace your tool if you break it, and I sure that LM will as well.

4) Differences (other than "more features") of SwissTool RS and X?
The RS has a sheepsfoot, serrated blae and scissors, but the X has a file instead of the serrated blade. Otherwise they have the same tools as the stock swisstool

5) LMST200 -- does it wobble?
From what I have seen on my friends, it doesnt wobble. Once the tools are extended, they stay in place and dont move.

6) Gerber 800 and how it stacks up to the LMST200 and ST... any strength preferences?
I have no clue. I dont like gerber's becuase I havent seen any of the improvements I would like to see in them since the original.

I hope this helps. I am very biased to the Swisstool, and there are some in this forum that are biased to the other tools out there. What is boils down to is what you want out of a tool and what you are comfortable carrying.

Good Luck!

Garrett

Use the search function in this forum to lookup the various multitools. You will find that this is a quite popular topic.

There have been several threads where folks have weighed in on the strengths or weaknesses of the different mult tools.

Hope that helps.

Harley

Harley,

I will try doing that again -- I have seen threads where people commented which tool they owned and why they liked it, but I wasn't sure the topics there were detailed enough to warrant me nosing into them. But I will take up your suggestion and search some more.

Thanks.

Xing

Garrett,

Hehe, I meant do the handles hurt, not the blades. *slaps forehead* I had heard that the original PST, for example, had handles that cut into the hands if too much pressure was being applied to use the pliers.

Thanks for your input.

Xing

Thanks for that tip -- I may do that. Do you have any idea when it's due?

Xing

Hello!


If size/weight is not an issue, you may try the Sog Powerlock. It is one of the most rugged (foldable) multitool I've handled. You can take it apart easily with a hex, rearrange the tools, and clean them. I've switched from a Supertool (classic) EOD.


Zerge

not really an answer to your question as I'm going to recomend not getting a multitool! I carry a swiss army knife and a seperate 6" pair of needle nose vise grips. As a tool the vise grips were designed as a tool and are much better ergonomically than the multitools. Ok, so dont fold away but are pretty small anyway. I carry both in the same trouser pocket as my mobile phone. The additional advantage for a student is that they are much much cheaper (at least here in the UK where Leatherman crunch's are rediculously expensive)