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View Full Version : Are Leatherman Tools Junk??



Carl C
05-14-2010, 07:00 AM
I paid big bucks for one because I thought I was investing in a quality tool but the first time I tried to use the pliers it snapped in my hand. I've got $5 China knock-offs that performed better. Now I have to pay shipping and insurance to return it. They say I can't return it to a store. Now I won't trust it and will carry a cheapy for a back-up. :(

motorcity
05-14-2010, 08:10 AM
I have a couple, made by Gerber, they have a little better choice of tools on theirs. I had to have oone repaired once. They had pretty good turn around and returned it with a new belt pouch to boot.

Carl C
05-14-2010, 08:11 AM
I have tool, a pocket tool, and a Wave. The Wave is probably 15+ years old and I have used it in all kinds of situations.
Your Skeleton is one of their newest tools, and it has a 25 year warranty, so you should be fine.
Where did you buy it?

I bought it at Fred Meyer in Eagle River Alaska! Returning it wouldn't be a problem though since I'm going back in July. I know the skeletool is made to be light weight. That's why I bought it for the boat but it looks like a defective design since there is a recessed and weakened spot exactly where it snapped. I was just trying to pull a nail out of a dock and it snapped. Yes, it's guaranteed but that won't do me any good if I need it when off-shore and it breaks!

mrfixxall
05-14-2010, 08:53 AM
most of my tools are snapon along with that funky gadget you showed!1

Carl you cant use a womans tools to do a mans job! :)

Rootsy
05-14-2010, 09:21 AM
poor temper on the heat treat I reckon...

McGary911
05-14-2010, 09:22 AM
I'm on my 2nd leatherman. Had #1 for about 10 years and lost it. I've beaten on them pretty hard. Only think that ever broke was the saw on my old one. Didn't bother to send it in.

Never had a lighter weight one. Forget which one I have now. The first one was just a plain old leatherman supertool. It was back in the day when they only had one model.

MOP
05-14-2010, 04:03 PM
Carl that thing will not pull 60 penny nails:pimp:

Ditto on the Gerber, the locks on the Leatherman have caused me a few drops of blood. I threw one away while in pain and gave one to a guy that thought he knew better!

Cuda
05-14-2010, 09:27 PM
When I lived in Oregon, we called anything from Fred Meyer a Freddy Fall Apart. My aunt worked at Fred Meyers.

Carl C
05-14-2010, 09:51 PM
Carl that thing will not pull 60 penny nails:pimp:

Ditto on the Gerber, the locks on the Leatherman have caused me a few drops of blood. I threw one away while in pain and gave one to a guy that thought he knew better!

When I lived in Oregon, we called anything from Fred Meyer a Freddy Fall Apart. My aunt worked at Fred Meyers.

It was not a huge nail. It was scratching peoples boats up and I tried to pull it out. I've never had pliers break in my hand like that. I like the Alaska Fred Meyer store. You should see the gun department. Lots of big bore hand guns. .44 & .50 magnums seem to be the weapons of choice to carry for bear protection. I always find good deals on clothes there too. Name brand stuff like Converse and Columbia. Anyway it doesn't matter where I bought the tool. I still have to send it to Oregon and I'm disappointed with it.:frown:

Cuda
05-15-2010, 05:51 AM
If you carry a pistol for protection from an Alaskan Brown Bear, they recomend you grind the hammer off it, so it don't hurt so bad when the bear shoves it up you arse!:shocking:

thehow33
05-16-2010, 08:25 AM
I personally have never used one, but my cousin has had one for at least 10yrs and he literally uses it everyday. He said that you have to buy the full sized ones. The slim smaller versions don't last if you use it often.

Carl C
05-16-2010, 09:02 AM
I personally have never used one, but my cousin has had one for at least 10yrs and he literally uses it everyday. He said that you have to buy the full sized ones. The slim smaller versions don't last if you use it often.

I will see how good their customer service is and if the replacement is any better. I wonder why they didn't post my product review on their web site:shocking:.

Cuda, I don't see a grizzly sticking a .50 Magnum up my poop chute! We wear "bear bells" when hiking and none of us carry. The bears are mostly dangerous when you surprise them. Another trick is to sing or talk loud when hiking. So far I've only seen a medium size black bear. He trotted across the trail right in front of me. Very cool.

Cuda
05-16-2010, 12:00 PM
I will see how good their customer service is and if the replacement is any better. I wonder why they didn't post my product review on their web site:shocking:.

Cuda, I don't see a grizzly sticking a .50 Magnum up my poop chute! We wear "bear bells" when hiking and none of us carry. The bears are mostly dangerous when you surprise them. Another trick is to sing or talk loud when hiking. So far I've only seen a medium size black bear. He trotted across the trail right in front of me. Very cool.
You can wear bear bells and pepper. Brown bear crap has bells in it, and smells like pepper.
A black bear will run from you, unless it's a sow with cubs. We have a huge black bear running around in our neighborhood. One neighbor who saw it said it was over 600 lbs.

A black bear doesn't look at you as food. A grizzly does (Alaskan Brown Bears are big grizzlies from eating salmon). I'm willing to bet you can't stop a brown bear with a 50 mag. They are huge! I have a friend who lives in Alaska. He hunts or fishes all the time. He's killed a moose everyear for about 30 years, and brown bears scare him. You might want to rethink the whole bell rig.

Carl C
05-16-2010, 12:27 PM
I do wish my brother-in-law would buy a piece but he doesn't own any guns. We just do what they tell you to do and NEVER run from a bear. They tell you to wave your arms and yell if confronted, if attacked you are supposed to cover your head and play dead and pray if you are into praying! Yeah, it's a joke up there to look for bear bells in their poop!

Cuda
05-16-2010, 03:01 PM
I do wish my brother-in-law would buy a piece but he doesn't own any guns. We just do what they tell you to do and NEVER run from a bear. They tell you to wave your arms and yell if confronted, if attacked you are supposed to cover your head and play dead and pray if you are into praying! Yeah, it's a joke up there to look for bear bells in their poop!
That will work on a Black Bear, but a Griz will think you are advertizing lunch.
If you play dead, a griz will eat you. So will a polar bear.
I'd have a 375 H&H minimum for brownies.

Walt. H.
05-16-2010, 09:48 PM
most of my tools are snapon along with that funky gadget you showed!1

Carl you can't use a womans tools to do a mans job! :)
I like Fix's phrase, and i'll add just carry a knife and a mini pair of vise grips in your pocket and that cover you for everything from opening imported beer bottle caps to pulling nails etc.:kingme:

zelatore
05-18-2010, 12:55 PM
FWIW, I'm on my third Leatherman in about 15 years. My first one was a basic multi-tool. It never failed me, but I wanted something with easier to deploy knife blades since that's the piece that gets used most often. I bought a Wave and carry it EVERY day, work and home. It's more than paid for itself. Heck, one year I bought them for all my staff as Christmas gifts. (ah yes, the days when I had a staff....) I did eventually break the tip off the knife as well as the large flat blade screwdriver, but I did both of them on the same prying job - not something they were meant to do. I eventually replaced that Wave with another one and have no complaints. I even have the extra bit set for the thing and get a lot of use out of it.

Is it a serious 'tool'? No. But many times it's come in handy on the boat or bike for a quick fix.

Since I also carry it when camping/hiking, I looked at getting one of the light-weight Skela-tools to replace the Wave, but it just looked too light and flimsy. Judging from your experience with it Carl, looks like I made the right choice.

McGary911
05-19-2010, 10:39 AM
This is one of the item per day sites i check from time to time. What popped up today?

Leatherman Wave for 54.99. Seems to beat other web prices by about 10 bux or so.

So, if you've decided these aren't crap, may be a good time to click BUY.

http://www.tooliday.com/

Carl C
05-19-2010, 11:37 AM
This is one of the item per day sites i check from time to time. What popped up today?

Leatherman Wave for 54.99. Seems to beat other web prices by about 10 bux or so.

So, if you've decided these aren't crap, may be a good time to click BUY.

http://www.tooliday.com/

They will have to win me back over. I picked up this Husky tool for under $20. It's SS and a lot beefier than my Skeletool. I'll carry this one on the boat now I guess.