I cannot even count how many times I've used the pliers on a Leatherman tool in the boonies. Here are a few:

• fixing a stuck zipper (several occasions)
• fixing a bicycle that was inoperable
• undoing knots with cold fingers that weren't working right
• fixing a stove
• cutting wire that someone was stuck on (it's never been a dog for me, always a person)
• fishing a drawstring back through a hood so it could be cinched again
• removing fishhooks from people (probably over a dozen times)
• removing fishhooks from fish (significantly less frequently)
• most memorably, getting a seat back on its track in a light airplane after a very rough landing 100 miles from the backside of nowhere -- since the airplane was full, someone would likely have had to sit around for a few hours until it could come back if we hadn't been able to fix it
• EDITED TO ADD: I don't know how I could cook anything in the woods without my Leatherman pot holder

I recognize that some of these are unusual and many of them may not apply to your situation.

With regard to the Sidekick, it's certainly not up to the quality of the Wave, but in my hands its proven to be competent and usable. I bought mine, frankly, on a lark, and it's not one that I would carry or recommend for the wilderness, but my experience with it has been that it provides decent value for its price. I did not hesitate to buy one for my daughter as her first multitool.

Fishing and undoing knots. Of course! Go pliars! LOL!

As others have mentioned, pliers have many uses in the wilderness no matter if you are car camping or hiking way off the beaten path not to be carrying them.

As to the weight concerns, really? I am no weight weenie by any means, but these types of statements make me wonder. How much extra does a pliers equipped multi-tool weigh as compared to a similar equipped SAK or other similar too? I would venture to say a few to 5 ounces at best. And if someone is really that concerned about carrying those few ounces then perhaps it would be better to lose a lb or so of body weight before one goes out hiking...

Wenger's button lock is most definitely not the same as Vic's side lock. It is a real liner lock that you can actuate with the logo/button, look inside with a flashlight and you'll see it very clearly.

I have found pliers quite useful when out and about in wilderness, or near wilderness settings. In fact, the atraction of my first Leatherman was the included pliers, which saved me weight by allowing me to delete the medium pliers I had been carrying regularly. For me, they were absolutely necessary for unjamming locking carabiners (mostly SAR applications) and they were also useful in many of the applications others have listed in this thread. That marked the end of my "SAK era" and the beginning of the "L-tool era." I usually carry a Wave, although it is a little heavier than I really like. Depending upon the trip, I might lighten up by toting my PS4, especially if no climbing will be involved. SAKs are good, and they served me well for many years, but multitools, with pliers, are even better - useful in terrestrial wilderness, and even more critical when on the water, where they can be vital.

I agree the weight differences aren't backbreaking by any stretch and I don't mind the extra weight IF I find the feature is really worthwhile. However, if I go back to my thinking that I started the post with, if the pliers are really not needed then why not save the ounces (and the dollars) and go with a tool without them.

It's the cost/benefit ratio I'm questioning; I can't just fill my pack with a bunch of stuff that might come in handy, I need to be a bit more selective than that.


I am a bit over 30 pounds less than what I weighed in at in the beginning of 2012 so I am working on that front too .

Hee hee. My head may agree, but my knees doth protest.

I never go anywhere without a multi-tool. I have been carrying one so long that I would really feel weird without one. And the most used component is the pliers. Especially here in the desert. Removing cactus from people, clothes, dogs etc happens about 5 times a day.

I am a tool using animal and pliers rank right up there, and perhaps a little above a knife. I can make a knife, pliers are a bit more difficult.

Nomad.

Things left behind by people and things yourself bring in can be altered too useful Items with pliers. Les Stroud uses His Multitools pliers multiple times to turn items left behind by others and items he carrys in himself all the time. One instance of using them to make somthing that can alter your ability to survive in the positive is More then enough to convince me to take um along. This goes without saying other tools such as the philips head screwdriver can come in use as well. You may just need to take a few screws out from something man made you have come across to increase the chance to survive.

If you are so tight in space , well, you are right being picky. But as for myself I won't go anywhere without a plier-based multitool. From tightening/loosening wire ( can be painful or can injure sometimes if done by hand) to lifting a hot pot from fire. Plier uses are endless ( in my case at least).

Actually, I have noticed the pliers get used in the outdoors ( or the garden) more than the screwdrivers. They come second after the knife blade.