I own both Gerber and Leatherman equipment. I also own quite a few Fiskars items as well (they now own Gerber). Based on fairly extensive use of various knives and tools, I would say Leatherman "wins" for me. I think if you compare two similar Gerber and Leatherman items side by side, you'll see better LM build quality and metal. That's not saying there might be exceptions and certainly there are plenty of tools on both sides that have no comparable item from the other manufacturer. And you'll find that as the price goes up so does the quality of build and materials for both manufacturers.

But the Gerber Shortcut is made in china and looks like it. Just the milling of the metal looks kinda half-a$$ed to me. I've read other reviews about how cheaply it's put together, not including the ones here. Gerber makes some decent items, but their quality has gone down and they have outsourced most if not all of their new tools to China and the change shows.

Anyway, make up your own mind... you may get a nicely built Shortcut, but my Micra has been through the ringer. I've used every tool on it many times, and some of them quite extensively. It looks the same as it did the day I took it from the package despite EDC with other metal items in my pocket and heavy use.

I carry the LM Micra and New Wave and e307x on an EDC basis. I used to carry a small Gerber knife and multiplier, and they were both good. But, I didn't like the "looseness" of the pliers, nor the fact that you had to open it completely to take out any other tool. I'm not saying I couldn't be swung back by a killer design and quality, but for now, and the forseable future, LM is it for me. I've used other tools from SOG and a few other manufacturers, but I've either not liked their design, their weight-to-tool ratio, or their quality.

Let us know your experience once you make a decision. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Oh, and if you saw some stuff about LM and made in the USA, this helps clear it up: http://www.leatherman.com/news/press-releases/article.asp?section=2&articleID=207