Leatherman Juice -- A Tool for the Urban Dweller

I haven't seen much mention of the Leatherman Juice line here, so I thought that I'd put in a plug for my favorite carry everywhere tool. I have the XE6, which is the big enchillada of the Juice line but it's compact, nicely rounded, and fits easily in a pocket, which is essential for a city dweller like me. For comparison, it weighs in at 6.8 ounces, whereas the PST and the Wave are 5 and 8 ounces respectively.

The XE6 comes with: Needlenose Pliers, Straight Knife, Wire Cutters, Hard-Wire Cutters, Extra-Small Screwdriver, Small Screwdriver, Med/Lrg Screwdriver, Phillips Screwdriver, Lanyard Attachment, Can/Bottle Opener, Corkscrew with Assist, Scissors, Saw, Awl, Serrated Knife, and Diamond File. It also has a small set of pull out tweezers (very similar to standard Victorinix), which for some reason Leatherman doesn't list on their website.

Mine has the gun metal gray finish, which has noticably rubbed off in places over the past year and a half, but I guess that's what I get for keeping it in a pocket with keys. It comes standard with a belt sheath which unfortunately has a letterman logo sewed onto it. The sheath is the clip-on kind, something I have no faith in -- it could easily be lifted off a belt going through brush and be lost forever.

The main plus of the Juice line for me is that the tools are shorter and have rounded contours, making them far more comfortable to pocket than the rest of the Leatherman line. (E.g., the XE6 is 3.2in long, compared with the much longer Wave at 4in.) The needlenose portion of the pliers are well designed, open wide, and align perfectly flat when closed, although other reviewers around the web don't always seem to echo this. (The integrated wire cutters, on the other hand, are unfortunately standard Leatherman quality, meaning use them a few times and they're chewed up. Too bad they can't get this right.) Otherwise, the assortment of tools on the XE6 is simply great.

Down sides of the XE6? Nothing locks. I know for many here that's a fatal flaw, but it's one I'm willing to overlook. I spend most of my time in cities and always having a small toolkit in my pocket is far more important to me than having locking blades. If I'm trapped in an elevator in midtown Manhattan, I'll take my Juice with pliers and screwdrivers over a boatload of Sebenzas. Yeah, of course I realize that there are many other alternatives worth considering, e.g, a Wave, but I'm not aware of anything else so compact, functional, and pocket-friendly. Wearing a sheath during the week just doesn't work for many of us and if I can't carry a tool comfortably in my pocket, I'm going to end up leaving it at home. The Juices are great because they're tiny and so easy to carry.

Other issues with the XE6? It needs breaking in. When brand new, getting the screwdrivers out is impossible without prying them out with some other tool. However, after some use and a little WD40, the screwdrivers became far more user friendly. Also, the corkscrew and assist are useless, the assist being so thin it can split bottles just as easily as pulling out the cork. If I were recommending the Juice line, I'd go with the KF4, which skips the corkscrew, adds a ruler, and manages to shave 1.3 ounces off the total weight. Also, the lanyard attachment is difficult to pull out -- it's implemented as a foldout tool -- but I simply leave mine out all the time with a Photon Microlight III attached to it. (Just curious -- does anyone still use a Mini Maglite???)

So, all in all, I'm very happy with my Juice and am very interested in what other people have to say about them. For urbanites, I think they're a very practical alternative to the rest of the Leatherman line.

You sure yours isn't a Juice Pro? I didn't think the XE6 had the tweezers, I thought they were just in the Pro. If they are in the XE6, then I need to get another, being as they don't make the Pro that I lost anymore. <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I mentioned in another thread that I bought an XE6 for an ocean cruise. I used it almost not at all, because the comedy of errors that is security in 2004 contrived to make it relatively easy to carry while on board, but extremely inconvenient to take OFF the ship... so I carried it for a week on board, but did not have it with me for the city, hiking, snorkeling and rafting trips ashore where I might have actually needed it.

In typical paranoid fashion I had to add to it- I found a device that's essentially two split rings joined by a narrow sewn nylon strap, and attached that as a "tail" on the XE6. The strap now sports a watchband compass, and the outboard ring has a tiny aluminum whistle, a BSA HotSpark ferrocerium rod, and a Photon 3. All of which wasn't much needed aboard, of course, except the compass, which came in handy a surprising number of times when I got turned around in the lab-rat maze of the below-decks. This problem might have been aggravated by the ever-present recreational beverages aboard. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I used the Photon a couple of times in the stateroom at night, and to peer under the bed for missing objects. I didn't have to carry my usual key ring, so the whole thing didn't seem to add much to my pocket load, and at least it made me feel a little less helpless.

I wasn't sure a compass would work properly aboard what is essentially a huge piece of steel floating in salt water, but to my surprise it did fine. I also tried the one on my Suunto Yachtsman watch.. might have been a few degrees off, but it seemed to work fine as well.

My overall impression is that the Juice is a better engineered tool than any of my other Leathermans, including my Wave. The sub-3-inch length of the knife blades makes it less conspicuous and alarming in an urban/suburban setting, and makes it legal to carry in some places that the larger tools are not.

Though I may not have used it much, I'd be very surprised after a week if it had a pair of tweezers in there somewhere. I wasn't aware that there was a "Pro" line, and actually find that sort of annoying- I like having the tweezers when I carry a SAK, miss having them with the Juice, and I had THOUGHT I had researched the purchase. It shouldn't be so hard to find out what's available from Leatherman.

It seems that, as of tomorrow, I'm again facing a subway commute through a major metropolitan area, which will place me some 40 miles or so away from my vehicle during the working day. Unless I decide to sell the XE6 and upgrade to a "pro", it seems a natural to carry with me.

Paul, you're right. My Juice is the Pro model, but I always assumed this was just an XE6 in disguise because the Pro isn't listed on Leatherman's website. So I stand corrected, but nonetheless, I'd still go with the KF4 if I were getting a new one.

By the way, I owned it for over a week before I realized there were tweezers in it... <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Apparently the Pro also sports a "foil cutting blade", which the XE6 does not. Since I'm one of those that actually uses the corkscrew etc. for their intended purposes, I'm definitely going to have to upgrade. Anyone want to buy a very-little used XE6? <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

However, not only is it missing from the Leatherman site, but it seems to be missing from all the dealers I've checked as well, although there are reviews of it... where'd you get yours?

Yeah, come to think of it, there is an attachment you might call a "foil cutting blade," but to tell you the truth, even though I'm no Schwarzenegger, I've always found that I could tear foil with my bare hands... <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My Pro came from CostCo, which always seems to have a single Leatherman model bundled with accessories on display.

The "foil" they're referring to is the tinfoil (real tin, not aluminum) "capsule" that encloses the cork end of most wine bottles. There are such blades on most waiter's style corkscrews- so it goes hand-in-hand with the corkscrew. It's not that hard to remove the foil without a tool, but it's a convenience. Ironically, it's one of the few places where a dull edge makes more sense than a sharp one. A dull edge still cuts the foil fine, and, since you're bearing down on glass in cutting the foil, a fine edge will be dull very quickly anyway.

I did notice that on my XE6, one of the handles is just a bit thicker than the other. I think the XE6 has every blade that any of the others in the "Juice" line have, and I'll bet the "Pro" came from speculation on what they could include that wouild just take up enough room to make the two handles the same thickness.. so it wouldn't add to the overall dimensions at all.


Haven't been in Costco in ages. I used to, but in this area the checkout lines threaten to become a lifestyle.

Ah, that foil -- I should have guessed. Truth be told, I prefer to use my rabbit corkscrew to open bottles and it comes with a wrap-around, instant foil cutter. (Unfortunately though, the rabbit doesn't quite fit in a pocket unless you're a kangaroo.)

I wonder why Leatherman discontinued the Pro. Now that I'm hearing it's a collectors item, it makes me love mine even more... <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I must admit I don't. I have a couple. I have the Mini and the Solitaire, but for me, other lights are better.

My current EDC lights are: Princeton Tec Blast and CMG Ultra in trouser pockets, Arc AAA on neck lanyard, SureFire E1 and Princeton Tec Attitude in jacket pockets, and SureFire E2 in my Podzilla.

Here's another overall positive review, at epinions.com:
Leatherman Juice XE6 Thunder Multi-Tool

I still have 2 AA mini Maglite and use them. They meet my requirements and run on my standard cell size. So they see more action than my other flashlights. My keychain for the bike has a solitaire. I have a couple of photon II as backup and a surefire as really bright light.
My AAA mini Maglite didn´t see too much action lately. I´ll probably give it away to my niece.

I still have some around, I keep them because they hold up so well. I keep them in the tool box, trauma bag and BOBs. There always seem to be good deals on them, espeacially around the holidays and at the large chain stores. I replaced the AA maglite for EDC with a SureFire Nitrolon and keep a Photon on my keyring. There is always a Mini Mag somewhere close by both at home and in the vehicles.

I used a Juice C2, for a while, only because :
- it's smaller than the PST (easier to fit in my belt pack)
- it has a corkscrew (so I didn't have to keep a knife + corkscrew set)


As soon as I receive my new combo sheath (PST + Surefire 6P), I will keep the Juice in some other pack. And I will again EDC a nice gentleman folder with corkscrew (and keep the more aggressive looking folding rescue knife out of sight).

Not sure why, but I have more trouble with batteries corroding in Mag Lites than any other flashlight. I try to keep an eye on them, but I have lost 2 of the 3-4 battery lights to battery corrosion. Something to do with the aluminium case?

I used to love Maglites. We still keep solitaires by the bed and have two of the monster multi-d cell Mags for walking the dog, blackouts, etc. Like everyone else though, I've been moving to LEDs for their power frugality if not their brightness and I'd never take an incandescent bulb camping again. (And I think the SOS beacon on the Microlight III is a hoot -- too bad the Armed Forces don't teach morse code anymore.)

However, after reading about the new ultra-LEDs, I think it's time to replace the monster Maglites with something like the Elektro Lumens FT-3C (reviewed here), which throws off more than enough light, i.e, 72 lumens, for 12 hours. It's $60, which is still on the higher end of the spectrum for a flashlight, but will easily pay for itself in battery savings quickly enough.

I still use maglites. They are not bad lights even if there are newer designs out there. Just because a woodworker has routers and saws and such doesn't mean they can't use a hand plane or sandpaper for certain jobs, i.e. there is nothing wrong with older tech just because its older, if it gets the job done then use it. For outdoors atuff I haven't found leds to shine as far as a plain old mag. But if you want there are plenty of led upgrade modules for mags.

Nope. My Princeton Tec collection and Surfire collection has them beat. However, in my truck, it's still a big 'ol "D" Cell Maglight I use.

I still have a AAA Mini Maglite I catty when camping, but I don't use it much. Too easy to have the photo at hand for a little light. BTW, I recall a thread about converting a AA Maglite to an LED. Is there a link for AAA conversions? Thanks

the juice line of lm very nice i have the xe6, and out of that realm i just got the crunch both are very handy i think the crunch vice grip idea was a smart move by lm

Very interesting comment, Skater, because I just lost a AA Mini-Mag (nearly unused one just for emergency purposes) recently. I actually forgot it was sitting in a sock drawer. :-)

I have a bunch of Mini Mags... one in my room, one in the library (office whatever), one in the car, and one in the parents' room (that's the one that corroded though). Have two 3D cells. Love the toughness of Mag-Lites and am extremely impressed with their reliability, durability, and brightness. Seeing as it is that there are other, better, LEDs out there, is there
1) any one company's LED lights that are simply amazing?
2) any reason why incandescant lamps are still more popular than LED flashlights?

I'm very impressed with my Mini Mag AA... carry it just about everything. But I'm all up for learning about new technology.

Xing

I can't tie the corrosion to any particular environment. I have had one go bad stored in a box in a pantry and one go bad while hanging in a wall fixutre. Friends have lost them as well.
I do check the batteries on a regular basis and replace any that are suspicious.
Perhaps it is that when a battery starts to leak inside an aluminum tube, the aluminum itself speeds the corrosion process up.

There is something about the heft of a Mag Lite that makes you feel safe.

In answer to your first question there are few excellent companies producing LED flashlights and like many things it depends upon your intended use and available funds. ARC, Streamlight, Surefire, INOVA and number of other companies are at the top of my list. I would have suggested ARC, but there are some productions issues right now on their popular AAA & AA sized lights. Here is a link to a forum on all types of lights that might help you.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com//ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=

Both Target and Wal-Mart are carrying a number of lower priced LED flashlights that will meet the needs of many.

As to your second question, I would have to respectfully disagree. With the exception of perhaps law enforcement, the general move is towards LED lights as the light of choice. Pete

I used to carry maglites but I've found the bulbs to be incredibly unreliable. At the moment I am carrying an Arc AAA and an Inova X5. They're both great.

Yes and No!

I have 3 of them, well okay actually 2, because my girlfriend has one of them. I don't seem to have many problems with them, other than over time the O-rings have become stiff from age. I have actually replaced 2 O-rings on one flashlight alone. I keep these around simply because they are small, somewhat lightweight and easily packed. I also have a Mag Solitaire and it has become part of my EDC kit. The nice thing is, I found 2 of them and the third was a gift with the Solitaire. No, I do not carry the Mini-Mags everyday.

Well, If we are talking about Mag lights I have a bunch. Mag light used to be one of my fathers tenants out in Cali so ever since I was young I have been drawn to them. I must have had about 50 in 10 years. There is something about them that makes me throw a few in vehicles, closets, just wherever a flashlight could be usefull. <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the replys to my question, guys. Much appreciated... I'll look into it more carefully after AP testing.

Xing