Are they in your pocket right now, ready for immediate use? I doubt it. What do those six tools weigh in total, 6 or 8 pounds? That's about a third of my entire hiking pack weight for a 1 or 1.5 day hike. Visualize yourself being separated from all the juicy gear in your vehicle. What tools are available to you now? I'll bet it's not a bowsaw, two folding saws, two tomahawks, and a machete.

The key to multi-tool utility is to EDC them. That way when you need a basic tool it is right there with you, not over in your car 10 yards or 10 miles away.

Sure, you can name a dedicated tool that will outperform the one on a multi-tool: Bowie knife, bow saw, shears, fullsize pliers, etc. But can you name a tool that provides the vast majority of those tools' utility, weighs about 8oz and rides easily on your belt? I can, it's called my L-e-a-t-h-e-r-m-a-n.

Regarding uses & other criticisms:

- the scissors are excellent for shaping tape & moleskin for treating hotspots & blisters. Also priceless for trimming toenails, which is more important on long hikes than you might think.

- the needlenose pliers are perfect for working with wire, which is so useful that Doug Ritter includes it in his PSK. Ditto the wirecutters. I also find the Leatherman needlenose pliers very useful for picking up small items like screws that I dropped into places I can't reach with my fingertips.

- the little saw is great for fine whittling work like fig-4 triggers & such, along with making clean cuts on wood up to 2" or so. Combined with a quality BCB wire saw you are covered... for a whole lot less weight and bulk than your bowsaw and two folding saws. The Leatherman saw is also great for cutting the softer plastics/polymers that would just be torn up by a big knife blade.

- handles on the newer Leathermans are very comfortable. If these rounded handles bother you then you need to develop some calluses.

- a Phillips head screwdriver is eternally useful, but do you carry one in your pocket every day? I don't. Wait, I do: it's on my Leatherman. Same with the 8" ruler; it's commonly useful when I say "what size is that blah blah blah". I don't carry a tapemeasure each day.

- the knife blade on my Leatherman Charge Ti is a decent 154CM steel and is a fine backup to my EDC Ritter RSK Mk1.

- the Leatherman can opener and bottle opener are the same tool, so the bottle opener is not costing you anything.

It all boils down to what you value.



While on an EMS call at o'dark-thirty we had to break in to the house because the patient couldn't get up. The door was extremely solid and we didn't want to destroy it. I found a window near the garage and was able to pry away to outer casing with my Leatherman pliers, open the window and get it that way.

If you are in a situation where you need to improvise with available materials, it is really helpful to have a basic knife, pliers, wirecutters, saw, and screwdrivers on hand... right there on your belt at all times.