Leatherman Surge vs Gerber Armbar Drive

In addition to its weight, the surge suffers from several unfortunate design flaws. When the exterior blades are open, the thin, angular sheet metal on the handle digs into your hand painfully. It's not problem if you're wearing gloves, but on bare hands the ergonomics are honestly awful. This means that if you plan on using a knife a lot, you should carry a secondary folder

It doesn’t have you a bunch of useless tools and I’m never going to need. The weight is good, it feels solid without being cumbersome. I like the prybar feature, I haven’t seen it before and when I read about it in the product description, I was skeptical, but it is well executed and useful. The only thing keeping it from 5 stars is the lack of a lock on the screwdriver

By comparison, the Wave weighs 8-1/2 ounces. In the hand the Surge is much heavier and beefier than the Wave. For the trade-off of those 4 ounces you get an awl and blade exchanger and you give up the small eye-glass screwdriver that is on the Wave. The blade exchanger is nice, you can use any t-shank blade that you can get at any hardware store and that gives you the ability to carry a relatively large saw blade for emergencies

I'm still not happy with the liner lock, which I have to close with my index finger tip instead of my fat thumb. That said, the blade is certainly easier to open than a SAK.

5" handles and longer knives. This is truly a toolbox on your hip, and has the largest selection of tools that Leatherman offers (21). I've carried the Surge for 2+ years after receiving it as a Christmas gift, and I've used it on camping trips, on the work site doing environmental restoration, and also frequently in the theater doing set construction. The tool has held up admirably over the years, without too much wear and tear that would reduce its usability

It's durable, compact, lightweight, very dependable, won't break, stays Sharp, and exceeds in whatever I use it for.

Is the chain link fence made of pipe cleaners? It most likely won't cut it. However, harbor freight sells tiny bolt cutters for cheap. You're probably better off with a specific tool than a multitool in this instance, but if you really wanted to get it done with a multitool you'd need a full sized one. Good candidates include Gerber mp600 or Leatherman Surge

I'd also perfer to have a clip, and it would also be a plus to have pliers, but it's not essential. So far I've looked at the Gerber Armbar/Slim Drive, and the Leatherman Skeletool. * The Armbar seems like it could be perfect, if it had a clip and the bit driver locked, but I've also heard some less than kind things about quality. * The Skeletool is very tempting, but the non-standard bits might be a deal breaker

This is probably going to displace my Leatherman Surge. While I like the one hand opening blades on the Surge, the minor flaws and quality issues are a bit annoying. The Swisstool appears to be better quality for less money.

If they added a lock to the bit driver I would say buy this immediately. At $40 I don't think I'd buy this again as it is, but I found the orange version for $32, and I'm okay with my purchase. I'd gladly pay more if there was a second generation with a clip, better scissors, and a locking bit driver. 8 MONTH UPDATE: I originally rated this 3-stars, but after 8 months of use I'm bumping it up to 4-stars

The second black Surge arrived and it was obviously in new condition. Much better! The handles opened perfectly. Another step up! Unfortunately, the pliers would not engage. I was on the verge of sending this one back and ordering the stainless steel instead

I also really like the pry/hammer portion in the bottom of the handle. I use the multi tools for this all of the time and I am glad someone planned on me doing that.