I have both a Legend 800 and a Wave and I carry my wave more often. Both are excellent tools, however for my uses the wave seems to work better. The pliers on the wave are a bit more needlenose like then the legend which has come in handy for me. I have dropped small nuts/bolts/screws ect I could not reach with my fingers, nor could the legends pliers/handle probibly fit. Another thing I don't like is the half serrated blade, even though I carry a seperate benchmade or custom folder I always prefer plain over half. Now if I need a knife for cutting seatbelt, rope, webbing, ect the leatherman has a one handed opening non pointed fully serrated blade, this is neccisary for rescue, yet the legend has nothing of the sort (unless you find a saw blade that would work like a serrated knife blade.) I also prefer the waves liner lock to the slide lock on the legend, I find it easier to use, especially one handed or bloody. Another thing I prefer is the waves philips screwdriver to the legends.

Both are excellent tools, but for the survival/rescue purpose the wave has a bit of an edge, while for the construction worker or "average joe" who needs a tough tool the legend has the advantage with replacable cutters and saw blades (which are commonly used in that kind of work), also because it is a bit beefier a tool the legend would be better suited to construction type work or an enviroment where the pliers see heavy duty work .

For survival I feel the wave is a bit better and if you want a beefier survival tool the Swisstool or Supertool may be better options, though both are lacking compared to the wave and are in pretty much the same position as the legend. Now, if Gerber could put scissors and a saw blade adapter in the 600 Needlenose I would carry that as much as, if not more then, I carry my wave. The only thing it wouldn't have is one handed opening blades, but if they could make atleast the non-pointed serrated blade one handed opening it would be equel too, if not better then the wave in my mind.

Recently I have been carrying the Leatherman Juice pro and I like its size, abundance of tools, and "PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. friendly" look, however it isn't meant to be as tough as the Wave and is definately not as tough as the Legend/Supertool/Swiss tool, also it doesn't have locking blades. I have been carrying this as my everyday non-work tool where a corkscrew, scissors, bottle opener, basically abundance of everyday style tools comes in handy. The wave is for when I go out in the woods or going places where a corkscrew isn't really neccisary. If I need something tougher then that then I go get the real pliers out of the truck. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Now, maybe Mr. Ritters review was a bit harsh, but you have to remember that his reviews are done with survival and medical thoughts in mind and for those purposes the wave is a better suited tool, now hand someone who works with Snap On tools all day he may find the Legend to be the better tool and feel the wave as being weak and useless in certain aspects. Remember reviews are all in the eye of the user and their purpose.