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#248298 - 07/11/12 12:48 AM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
Nomad Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/04/02
Posts: 493
Loc: Just wandering around.
I am a long time leatherman user. Bought a Rebar about 2 months ago. Like it a lot.

It is light enough so that I always carry it. It has the tools I need. Mostly the pliers, cutters, file, plain & straight blade knives and phillips. Actually I use all the tools,but those in particular are a must have for me.

It takes two hands to open. Well if you are determined you can probably do it with one, but it ain't gonna be easy. No scissors, I would like those but I can live without them.

I like the replaceable wire cutter surfaces. They seem sharper and harder than the other (several) leatheran tools I have had.

I don't like the un-locking tabs. They stick out a bit and make it difficult to insert in a tight sheath. The provided sheath is OK, but I prefer a tougher material and stronger belt loop. The velcro flap twists up around the edge and catches on stuff. I preferred my old heavy nylon one that I used on my original (now over 30 years old??) leatherman.

So far so good though.

The lanyard attachment is not to my liking. I keep a small lanyard on all my small tools (knives, multi-tools etc) but this one just does not work well for me. It folds inside and if I keep a loop lanyard in it when folded, it cuts the lanyard. If I extend the lanyard device, it sticks out the end of the tool and makes the tool longer in the sheath.

The locking system is very good (minus my comments about the release method). It is very secure and easy to release.

Unless they take custom orders, this will have to do for me. All the others are either too heavy, bulky, expensive or have some other fault that excludes them from my EDC.

Nomad
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...........From Nomad.........Been "on the road" since '97

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#248300 - 07/11/12 01:49 AM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
Byrd_Huntr Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 01/28/10
Posts: 1174
Loc: MN, Land O' Lakes & Rivers ...
I'm a LM fan, and carry an older Wave, but I have considered (as others have mentioned) just using real tools. A Channellock pliers and a Victorinox Huntsman will do about anything a multi- tool would do.


Attachments
channellock.jpg

huntsman4.jpg


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The man got the powr but the byrd got the wyng

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#248301 - 07/11/12 02:16 AM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
UTAlumnus Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/08/03
Posts: 1019
Loc: East Tennessee near Bristol
+1 on the Victorinox. I EDC the original SwissTool. Its built like a tank. The Spirit is a little lighter and has a different selection of tools. I've got both in the collection along with several Gerbers that slide out.

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#248307 - 07/11/12 04:24 AM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
Denis Offline
Addict

Registered: 01/09/09
Posts: 631
Loc: Calgary, AB
Originally Posted By: haertig
I starting thinking about standard tools instead of a new multi-tool when I began analyzing what I have actually used on my current Wave to help decide what I might want on a new model. Pliers, yes. Screwdrivers, yes. The plain edge knife, yes (only if my pocket knife wasn't readily available - very rare). But that's it.

That's why I love my Skeletool and carry it alone; it has the few extra tools I need and has a blade as good as a dedicated folder.
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Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck. Roald Amundsen

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#248311 - 07/11/12 06:01 AM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Amongst my collection of Leathermans, I have a Blast and quite like it. It packs the tools I use, including scissors for first-aidy stuff, in a reasonably strong and reasonably light package. I happen to prefer the dedicated screwdrivers (as opposed to the bit holder on the WaveII). Paired with a stout folder, a Blast would be my current choice for backpacking.

I'm really interested in the Rebar, though, for everyday use and kits. Very well priced, and inexpensive enough that I won't cry if something happens to it. Up here, MEC sells it for $41 CAD.


Edited by dougwalkabout (07/11/12 06:05 AM)

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#248314 - 07/11/12 02:01 PM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: Byrd_Huntr]
Mark_F Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 06/24/09
Posts: 714
Loc: Kentucky
I am also a leatherman fan, but my only experience so far has been with an old style supertool and the wave (both the old and the new style). My current job doesn't require me to carry such a tool on my belt, so I EDC a victorinox boyscout huntsman (essentially the same as the one pictured above except it replaces the corkscrew with a phillips-head screwdriver - I am wondering which would be more useful in an emergency, the corkscrew or the screwdriver) with a swiss-tech mini-pliers attached to it. I have carried the SAK for about 15 + years now and am VERY familiar with it. Which leads me to another observation and something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Do you really want your BOB to contain tools you are not extremely familiar with or comfortable using? I mean this in general as I know your plan is to put in your wave tool that you ARE familiar with now, but what about in another year? or two? or five? In an emergency, I would want a tool I am intimately familiar with. I'll have enough to worry about without having to remember how the tools open and close, where a tool is located, etc. So I'd suggest whichever one you get, get two, one for the BOB, and one to use daily so when the SHTF you'll be using a tool you use every day.
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#248317 - 07/11/12 02:17 PM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
MoBOB Offline
Veteran

Registered: 09/17/07
Posts: 1219
Loc: here
I, too, have thought about carrying standard tools in a BOB. I think it is a good idea. Sometimes the finesse or brute force required is not easily obtained with a multi-tool. There may times when you need a tool in each hand. Also, if you are in BOB-mode it may be beneficial to have the standard tools. All-in-all, having the four to six or so standard tools in a BOB would be worth the weight.

My $.02
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"Its not a matter of being ready as it is being prepared" -- B. E. J. Taylor

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#248346 - 07/11/12 08:38 PM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
Nomad Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/04/02
Posts: 493
Loc: Just wandering around.
I carry a multi-tool. see my comments about rebar above. However if I am stepping out of the normal routine, I also carry dedicated tools. My favorite is a small channel lock plier. Guess it is about 5" or a bit smaller. Very light weight, sort of like ignition pliers. but stronger.

I put several tools in a small belt pouch. Which tools depends on the situation. I do a lot of electronics works so my tools are not useful to others. But the small channel lock is great. It is not the 6" one. Smaller, hard to find.
_________________________
...........From Nomad.........Been "on the road" since '97

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#248349 - 07/11/12 09:19 PM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: haertig]
LesSnyder Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 07/11/10
Posts: 1680
Loc: New Port Richey, Fla
Nomad... you are showing your age with "ignition pliers"...the slightly larger Proto set I carried for many years was my original multi tool (I ground a small flat screwdriver bit on one handle, and triangular filed a Phillips on the other)...had a toothache so bad one day, I contemplated pulling it... would have if I hadn't thought I'd pass out and bleed to death...

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#248352 - 07/11/12 09:40 PM Re: Requesting opinions: Leatherman Blast multi-tool [Re: dougwalkabout]
Teslinhiker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
Originally Posted By: dougwalkabout
I'm really interested in the Rebar, though, for everyday use and kits. Very well priced, and inexpensive enough that I won't cry if something happens to it. Up here, MEC sells it for $41 CAD.


I was at the new MEC store last night and had a chance to eyeball the Rebar and several other nice tools but my SO was not cooperating financially wise...
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Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

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