I got a surge also, and I love it for duty and around the farm. Kinda big but fits me (kinda big also <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />)

Soon as I find a store with one in stock I want to check out the "new" WAVE. I love my Super Tool, but would like to be able to open a blade without unfolding the whole thing. I really thought that the Surge would work for me, but after getting the new nylon pouch for it (I didn't really like the leather one that came with it), the thing stuck out from my side well over two inches...

Boacrow I live in Utah where there are 5 National Parks within a 4 hr drive of me and I can think of no better tool to have with me than a Leatherman, I now carry the 301/ Blast combo that I got just before Christmas (gave my old Leatherman to my son) If I am rockhounding or rock camping I know that my Leatherman (and other well placed tools) can just about get me out of any situation <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Mike

I don't leave home without my Leatherman Wave, the list of things I have used it for in the wilderness is endless. But from a survival point of view, I have used my leatherman to repair my packand other gear, build a shelter, fix a radio, pull cactus out of my shoe, and leg, sharpen an axe... the list goes on but I think everyone gets the point.

My Leatherman is not a replacement for my single, locking blade knife (a RSK Mk I in my case) but the extra tools that a Leatherman offers make them an excelent survival tool.

Excellent point.

Pulled into a gas station just after the recent ice storm. Tried to fill up with gas, found 2+ inches of ice coating my rear quarter panels including the gas cap lid. Standing there holding the gas nozzel with a dumb look on my face. Cannot pump gas into car. Unopened Leatherman made a fine hammer to break off ice and enable a fill up. Other motorists in the same fix borrowed it. I had my BRKT Kephart fixed blade with Osage scales, would have been real tough on the knife handle or blade.

Jon Davis

I have used the awl on my Supertool as an icepick several times (but on store bought ice, I try to avoid places that provide ice free of charge), it works pretty well (and is worthless as an "awl" anyway)...

I've gotten a lot of use from my Leatherman over the years, sometimes in unexpected ways. I get the most use out of the pliers, wirecutters, and file. Opened, it makes a great doorstop or splitting wedge. I've hammered a lot of small nails with it.

I love my Wave. The uses are many and varied. Lets see........

Camping - Used pliers for lifting hot pots off the stove, pushing or pulling needles through web gear for repairs, pulling zip ties really tight (again for gear repair), getting a good grip on small split rings, getting more leverage on a stuck zipper, pulling nails. Used small screwdriver for glasses. Used other screwdrivers for stove repair. Knife is self explanitory.

Home - Always on hip when not at work. Use all screwdrivers at one time or another to tighten or loosen without having to run to the basement or garage for a regular screwdriver. Love the pliers. So many tasks can get completed without running after a regular tool.

Cons - Screwdrivers can only transmit so much torque. If something is really stuck, I need to run after a regular tool.

Boacrow,

I understand where you are coming from, but I think the reason many of us carry multi-tools is because they are convenient. Sure, you have all those dedicated tools and combined they may very well serve you better than a single multi-tool, but are you going or even able to carry them with you everywhere you go? I don't mean in your vehicle or even in a backpack... I mean in your pants pockets. My leatherman tools can't do everything, but they are sufficient to get the job done the majority of them time I need a tool, and for me that's a great thing and well worth the price, especially when I am able to help others with them. I haven't saved any lives, but one time while biking I came upon a guy whose bike was broken down. Some of his spokes somehow became bent and they were tangled in the frame. I was able to free them quickly using the pliers. It might have been possible to untangle them by hand but the pliers definitely made the job easier (and much safer). There are many other times the multi-tools have come in handy as well. There have been plenty nails and metal filed, things cut, and screws driven with my Leatherman tools...

Not only that, I carry a different one at work (a Core). I'm an electronics maintenance technician and instead of carrying a large, heavy tool bag every time I'm on a call, I carry a much smaller utility pouch that is centered around the Leatherman tool. I also have a sharpie, adjustable wrench, insulated screwdriver, multimeter, flashlight, and some tape in there, but the pliers can be used to turn bolt heads if needed and with this alone I would say it covers my tool needs at least 80% of the time. If I know I will need dedicated tools or they they would make the job considerably easier I can always carry just those with me. Beats having to carry around the entire toolbag...

Multi-tools are freakin' awesome.