I recently purchased a e306x to supplement my LM Charge Ti that is part of my EDC. I am almost exclusively in an urban environment, and have not tested the knife under adverse weather/outdoors situations yet. That said, I just thought I'd make a few observations:

(+) Reasonable price for a 154CM blade. ($80 at Gander Mountain)

(++) It uses the exact same bits as my Charge. Since I have the bit kit and carry it around with me, this is a huge value add for me.

(++) The bit driver works as advertised. Because of the bulk of the handle, it feels very comfortable when using the driver (about the same as a normal screwdriver), better than my Charge.

(neutral) There is no way to remove the built-in bit carrier (holds two extra double-sided bits), adding unnecessary (redundant) bulk. The reason I dont feel this is a completely negative point is that the added bulk makes the handle very comfortable in the hand; the handle is almost round.

(+++) The knife itself is excellent quality. The 154CM really is a great balanced steel. I don't quite understand the choice of a false edge, but it doesnt seem to weaken the knife strength too much vs. a traditional drop point.

(-) The thumb stud is right-hand-friendly only. It seems that LM chose to only put a right-hand thumb stud because of the location of the blade within the handle: It is not centered, because of the bit driver.

(neutral) The handle is partly polished aluminium and partly glass-filled nylon, and uses T8 posts on all sides. Its comfortable in the hand and looks nice. Strangely, it seems to "give" ever so slightly on all its joints. Not enough to be called loose, but its a little unnerving when you're cranking down on a screw and the handle feels a little sloppy. I have not observed any increase in this problem. (edit: Why did they use T8? The bit kit doesnt have this one.)

(neutral) The blade launcher is ambidextrous. It works as advertised most of the time. Occasionally, the blade will not fully deploy and lock in place, making the user complete the task manually. This is a real pain when you're using your left hand.

(-) No lanyard hole.

(++) The clip/bottle opener is super-handy. It folds away easily. I mostly carry the knife in the provided sheath (more on that later), but the few times I didn't have the sheath, the clip worked great.

(--) I was somewhat disappointed with the sheath. Its much larger than the knife. In the back, it has a slot to hold a LM Bit Kit, similar to the Wave and Charge sheaths, which is probably why its so large. The big disappointment is that if you do decide to carry the bit kit (I tried this both ways), you cant easily get the knife in and out of the sheath. The problem is especially aggravated since this is a thick knife and can be uncomfortable to carry in the pocket. This leads me to:

(+) The pocket clip works as advertised. Ordinarily, I would consider the tip-down carry to be a minus, but the placement of the fingers necessary to use the blade launcher makes it easier to deploy when grabbing from the pocket tip-down.

Conclusion: This knife is a solid choice for urban EDC, especially so if you already carry a LM Charge or Wave with a bit kit. Lefties and those more inclined to the great outdoors would probably be better off looking elsewhere, until they make the knife truly ambidextrous and add a lanyard hole.

I personally am eager to see what the next generation of LM knives will look like. Hopefully they iron out some of the quirks about this model.

I have the same blade and thought I would add to your review.

My LM e306x didn't have the "give" in the handle even when using as a screwdriver that yours did. I'm not sure if tightening would help, but it might.

I found the bit storage handle to be somewhat awkward to hold in hand at first, but I've grown accustomed to it. Removing the bits from the storage can be tedious and sometimes damn near impossible (in the cold with gloved hands or when your hands are damp). The included bits are a nice rounded selection of 1/4" and 3/16" straight, 1/8" straight and T15, and the third bit has No.1 and No.2 Philips. They are very useful and probably the most commonly seen heads, though I would have opted for replacing one of the straights with a square.

The driver itself readily accepts and releases the bits quite well... just as it should. It also pushes back into the handle with a little effort... there isn't a lock on it. I like the convenience, but worry about driving hard with it. Much like kfulton, I like that the handle makes it feel like a real screwdriver compared to my New Wave multi.

It is definitely a right handed knife. The thumbstud is so recessed that I found it difficult to open with it and exclusively use the spine opener. This works great and with a small flip will open the blade to locked almost instantly all the time. When it does fail to lock, it's easy enough to then use the stud to open the rest of the way. The spine opening can be done left handed (thankfully). But unlocking it is cumbersome using the left. It CAN all be done left handed (except the nearly useless thumb stud), but it's more awkward and may not be the best choice for an emergency situation using your off-hand and pumping with adrenaline.

I found the fit and finish to be superior. The knife steel is excellent as is the handle body. Other than being a bit of a lint trap, the clip/opener is a fantastic addition and though I doubt it was intentional, the split shape of the clip would allow for a laynyard to be squeezed through its 1/16" gap. As previously mentioned, a full use lanyard hole would have been nice. The clip needs to be depressed to release it's lock. Seems like this would have been a prudent design choice for the driver as well.

I actually found it to carry quite well in the pocket on my left side. It was simply too large to get to my gear in my more often used right pocket, but it wasn't uncomfortable on either side.

There looks like there's room for another tool on the clip-side hinge. Perhaps for lanyard rings, or another short tool.

I EDC this blade for right now and I have to say that it's build quality is excellent (as I have come to expect from LM). I really like the spine blade release both for convenience and speed. The blade itself is excellent, and I've used it on a lot of materials. The tools are functional and sturdy.

Yet, it has it's shortcomings in it's design. If the thumbstud was a tad less shallow and had some grip, if the bits were a little easier to pull out of the handle, and if the lock mechanism were ambidextrous and the blade were a bit bigger (length, height and thickness), I would have absolutely zero problem recommending this as a full-time emergency knife. As it is, I still highly recommend it for EDC in an urban environment. It looks a bit like a multi, seems less threatening (as long as you open with the stud or manually), and isn't so obvious with it's 2 1/2" blade.

Hopefully Leatherman is reading this (though that seems very presumptuous). With a few small modifications this could be a real winner. These were among the first LM knife releases, so I look forward to the next crop! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'll try tightening it with a T8. That might help.

I had thought about the possibilty of using the gap in the clip for a lanyard, but completely forgot to mention it in the original post. Thanks for the good suggestion! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Regarding the bits being difficult to get to: I've found if you push from the opposite end, they'll both move up and make it a lot easier to grab, as opposed to trying to push it from the center hole. (Easier to do than describe)

I fully agree that the next-generation LM knives are very likely going to be real winners. Its just the little points that bother me at this point, its a great overall EDC.

Great thread. It's funny, not half an hour before seeing this thread I was going to post a thread about opinions of the e306x. I've been looking at the e306x and e307x online over and over since before they were available. I too EDC a Charge (though I have an XTi, not a Ti). I recently switched from carrying it in the pouch to using the pocket clip, which I now prefer. Of course the side effect was that I don't carry the bit holder that I had previously in the back of the sheath. The XTi does have an extra bit holder (double-ended slotted in one, and double-ended phillips in the other), which makes it better in the screwdriving department, but still, I can't be without a T-10 bit when someone needs one, 'know what I mean? I was just thinking that the e306x would be a nice complementary knife because I could carry three more double-ended bits in it. I wish it were more ambidextrous, though, because I would prefer to carry the knife in my left front pocket and the Charge in the right.

About the T-8... I made a suggestion to Leatherman that they should offer more small torx sizes. I've used sizes smaller than 10 more than anything else myself (although I do work in electronics). Since releasing the Charge and the new Wave Leatherman has used the same bit driver on the Surge and three of their knife models. If definitely would help them to expand their selection of bits, and at the same time allow ordering of individual bits! I don't know about the rest of you, but I've never needed pozidrive in my life. I'd much rather just buy the bits I'm going to actually use instead of one large set with some I'll use and some I won't. If you feel the same way, the best thing you can do is let them know. If they get enough requests, they'll surely implement such a system.

One more thing... leatherman.com lists the blade length of the e306x as 2.8"... someone here stated that it was 2.5". Can someone confirm which is correct?

My girlfriend was just chastizing me for buying too many knives and multi-tools just last night, too. I know, I'm obsessed. I can't help myself!

Okay, just looked. From the most forward part of the handle, it's 6.7cm That works out to 2.64" Measured from the bottom of the handle (it curves back a little) it's 7.1cm or 2.8"

So I guess that's where Leatherman was measuring from. I put 2.5" because that's about what it looked like to me eyeballing (I was using the top as my guideline and I was .15" off. :-) But still, I'm sorry for any confusion.

I agree about the bits. I also own their bit kit... it's not cheap, but you get a good assortment of bits. They need to sell them individually as replacements and maybe even in smaller packs of commonly used bits. I wouldn't mind a few security bits as well, but some might not be practicle given their form factor.

I carry the wave (in pouch on belt) with one "card" of bits from the 2-card bit pack mentioned above. I keep my most commonly used bits on that card. It fits in the pouch... everything is snug, but it fits. I can see that if you went to clip carry for your charge/wave that a few more bits on this knife as complimentary carry. If you get that pack (I think it's like $12-15?) you could organize by what you need.

I carry the wave on my right (primary) side and the knife in my left pocket. I don't find that I use a knife that often, so it's not inconvenient to carry on my secondary side. It isn't that hard to open left handed if need be, but I generally have both hands available. Folding it back is really the only drawback. It *can* be done lefty, but it's a bit more dangerous. So, I EDC just the way you are describing and find no issues with it. But if you use your knife a lot, this might not be as convenient.

I should say that I really like and enjoy this knife. It's certainly one of the better ones I own, and that's with a $250 benchmade that I keep with my guns... so it's no slouch. The thumbstud is pretty worthless IMHO so if you are a thumby kinda guy, you might want to pass. But the spine assist opening is really nice. It's lightnight quick (almost as fast as spring loaded), it's sharp and holds it's edge, and it's really solidly built. If you have the money to get one, and appreciate that it carries 3 more LM style bits, it's a great knife. It's stylish and doesn't scare folks in an urban carry situation as long as you don't fire it open (looks almost like a switchblade when you do).

I think I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Maybe 4.5. I think they went with a "low profile" stud, and it *does* work. I'm probably being too harsh. It feels and carries comfortably in pants as long as they aren't skin tight... and I think the stud is meant to prevent catching on clothes. Since it's really the secondary method of opening, this doesn't bother me (but it's definitely right handed. I think maybe a slightly higher swept blade and a cutout (spyderco style) might improve the ambidextrous use. If they could make the lock ambi-d, then this thing would get 5* for sure. It's a nice value (the steel is just fantastic) and if you are aware of and don't care about the drawbacks, then why not? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sold yet? LOL