I'm surprised no one has mentioned the leatherman juice s2 for carrying in the woods. Only weighs 4 ounces, has pliers, excellent scissor, an assortmant of drivers, a dual purpose opener and a serviceable knife. It's far and away the most popular juice model. What's not to like?

http://www.leatherman.com/product/Juice_S2

And to be honest, the even lighter (2 oz.)squirt models with pliers would cover most of the plier jobs mentioned here.

http://www.leatherman.com/product/Squirt_PS4

Depends on how I'm traveling and what uses I might have for a multitool. We don't have cactus spines up in these parts, and tweezers are more appropriate for the smaller spines and thorns we do have. Also, one is not likely to find much wire laying around in the areas I travel. On the other hand, a leatherman can be handy for field repair of a stove, a ski binding, or a kayak rudder system.

While Im not really a minimalist, I do like to keep things simple, and I don't like carrying stuff I don't use. Bottom line is that I rarely if ever carry a multi when day hiking. When backpacking I sometimes carry a small Leatherman Juice C2. When sea kayaking, where weight is not such an issue, I always carry a small repair kit with a Leatherman Kick.

On the other hand, I often carry the Kick when doing chores around the house. I also do some boating (in addition to sea kayaking), and usually carry the Kick then too. It just seems like in those situations I find more times to use a multi than when I'm out in the woods.

I notice Leatherman has discontinued the Kick. Too bad, in my opinion. It is nice and simple, and has the tools I actually use, and none of the ones that I would rarely if ever use. For example, I don't see much point in a scissors on a multitool, since I can usually manage those jobs with a sharp knife.

I guess I am just a Keep It Simple kind of guy.

I'm no gram counter but I get it, Dennis. A few ounces here and there add up.

I'd suggest that perhaps pilars are one of those things that if you've haven't used them yet, you can probably do without. I wouldn't say the same about a FAK, for example. There are some things worth carrying just in case but you've been out there enough to know whether pilars will come in handy for you. I'll bet there have been times when I would have grabbed my pilars but you reached for somethkkng else and it turned out just fine.

I took a sidekick to Afghanistan. It worked fine for light duty. I didn't trust the Gerber multitool that was issued, as they seemed to break often.

as tomfaranda commented the Juice S2 is pretty small... I carry it... a Streamlight TacPro 1L... and firesteel,tweezers, petroleum/cotton, hacksaw/needle/safety pins in a reasonably small generic multi tool pouch... it's my "metric wrench" for the bicycle...

the pouch is about the size of the flip phone case

I had a Juice S2 once upon a time and it is a good tool, but a more urban-centric one in my mind (no saw). I ultimately replaced it with a Skeletool CX for urban EDC which fit my needs a bit better (larger locking blade, dropped the tools I didn't need, had a pocket clip). For the outdoors, I think the Juice Cs4 would be better since it has the saw. That said, they are small & the blade doesn't lock; in this way the Juice models are a good comparison to the traditional 91 mm SAKs. And, while I mentioned at the outset I was considering the smaller SAKs, I keep being drawn back to the larger lock blade & especially the larger saw the big SAKs have (I really like these saws ).


That's an interesting observation. One of Leatherman's key-chain sized plier tools combined with a Victorinox 111 mm lock-blade might be the best of both worlds. You'd have the large locking blade & saw I find so attractive in the Victorinox's and still have some form of pliers to fall back on if needed.

Actually, that's pretty much how I've set myself up right now - I keep a tiny, no-name tool in my repair kit:



The idea of including it my repair kit is that it could be used to help with minor gear repairs. However, I'd likely ditch it and rework the repair kit if I decided to go with a Leatherman as my backup, otherwise it would likely stay as-is.

That said, going this route is really relegating the pliers to only being a just-in-case tool that is a part of a kit; like shears or scissors in a first aid kit. What I was originally looking for, and got a lot of great feedback on, was on what other uses people here had found for their Leathermans in their travels to see if I should be considering an expanded role for this type of tool.

too many posts to read them all but i take a small set of pliers because i might have to fix my canoe and something to hold the nut while the SAK screw driver is working is better than using your fingers.part of my repair kit has nuts,bolts,screws,epoxy putty and other canoe repair items.
i have just cheap,small rubber handled ones because the Leathermans have that open metal that cuts into you hand when you bear down on them.

I tried taking a bit more of a detailed look at the other full-sized Leathermans and it looks like the additional tools (knife blade, saw, etc) are really on-par size wise with the standard 91 mm SAK tools. Therefore another option, if I was okay with the size of those tools and wanted the larger pliers, would be to simply pair my existing Skeletool with something like the Victorinox Hiker and bring both along.

+1 on what Canoedogs said.I have had to borrow some one elses multitool to do just this very thing.If one is alone,they are out of luck.It's like them cheap hobo knives with spoon,fork and knife that do not come apart.How can you cut your steak and hold it with the fork simultainiously.I think a small pair of regular slipjoint pliers and a SAK works good.Vice Grips in a six inch size is an other option.An easy mod to them is chainging the adjustment screw with an eye bolt.It lends itself to many more uses(pothanger,game processing,etc.)and can be carried on a carabiner.Dave Canterbury has some interesting ideas on multitools and vice grips on his youtube channel.....

BOATMAN
John

I'm kind of surprised by how many don't see a use for them.

Now, in a "pure wilderness" outting, sure there might not be a need. But... how much pure wilderness is there? Or perhaps another question, why did we invent pliers?

I've never needed to pull quills with them as I don't have a dog, but I know several dog owners who have. I have pulled thorns with them in the past year. And cut barbed wire. And grabbed hot stuff. I've used them for grabbing small things when my hands were cold and wet and either too slippery or too dingy to handle things like a needle or wire- glomming onto pliers is big muscle work without a lot of precision. I've used them to pull needles through heavy fabric and leather. I've not recently used them to cut off a fish hook after pushing it through, but I also don't fish that often, nor do I pluck birds, but I've found them quite helpful.

Add in the fine work wood saw, a file, and screw drivers that fit things like snow shoe and ski bindings, laterns, pot handles, pack frames, knives, firearms, traps, boat and small vehicle motors, bicycles... The multi is the tool of the possible.

Yeah, I carry a multi on and off the blacktop. And a Swiss Army Knife, for the scissors and because I think they have better can and bottle openers, and they make better spare knives- I think a multi without a SAK is a lonely tool and vice versa. Carry them both and a light and a few feet of duct tape and a little wire and a needle or two and a spool of dental floss and a few feet of paracord and maybe a couple paperclips, then you can giggle at most problems.

What I would say is avoid the Sidekick/Wingman. I have no idea what is going on at Leatherman, but those and the new snowboarding tools make me think someone isn't quite there. From the current production, I'd say the Rebar is your best balance in size, weight, cost and performance, and partnered with a Compact or a Climber, it's a good combo. So was the original model SuperTool with a Climber or Compact. My first PST rode with a Huntsman for years, and they still live in my truck. My OHT is partnered with another PST. With a Hiker or Outrider, your Pockettool should be a great duo. About my only SAK I don't partner with a multi is a Ranger- that just goes out with a pair of pliers.