Victorinox Spirit or Leatherman Wave Multi Tool?
Recently, an article about the new Leatherman Wave caught my eye and the more I read, the more often I said "I gotta get me one of these." If you've never seen one, they look like a menacing, beefed up version of the old Swiss army knife.
So I started doing my research, which includes product comparisons, and it was mind boggling to see how many different brands, styles, models, and price ranges there are to choose from. I ended up comparing the Leatherman Wave to the Victorinox Spirit Multi-Tool because I, like everybody else, owned Swiss army knives as a kid.
There's a lot of information to get your arms around, but after reading a couple hundred reviews, the main factor influencing the buying decision more than any other was brand loyalty.
As I read the reviews one intriguing fact became more and more obvious. The owners of the Leatherman and Victorinox multi tools appear to fall into two distinct camps.
People in the trades, maintenance personnel, and believe it or not, IT techs seem to prefer the Leatherman, while police, armed forces personnel, and outdoorsy, adventurous folks purchase the Victorinox more often.
By the way, the most frequent life saving action performed with either knife is cutting seat belts away from injured motorists.
Both multi tools offer a combination of around 20 different 100% stainless steel tools. While the Victorinox 23 tools outnumber the Leatherman's 18, some tools like the slotted screwdriver are simply repeated in different sizes. Exterior accessible, locking tools are also offered by both makers but only the Leatherman offers one handed opening for the knife blades.
(View Leatherman Wave image) [http://blog.worldvillage.com/home/Leatherman%20Wave%20Multi%20Tool.html] Leatherman Wave Features - 830039
Needlenose pliers - Regular pliers - Wire cutters - Hard-wire cutters - Clip-point knife - Serrated knife - Saw - Scissors - Wood/metal file - Diamond-coated file - Large bit driver - Small bit driver - Large screwdriver - Ruler (8 inches) - Bottle/can opener - Wire stripper - Lanyard attachment - Two double-ended bits - Leather sheath included.
(View Spirit Multi Tool image) [http://blog.worldvillage.com/home/swisstool.html]Victorinox SwissTool Spirit Multi-Tool Features - 53800 Needle Nose Pliers - Screwdriver (2 mm) - Screwdriver (3 mm) - Wire Cutter (for wire up to a hardness Of 40 hrc) - Screwdriver (6 mm) - Bottle Opener - Crate opener - Combi-edge Blade - Scissors - Metal Saw - Wood Saw - Reamer - Phillips Screwdriver - Chisel-Scraper - Isolation length cutter - Wire Bender - Wire Stripper - Wire Scraper-Round cutter - Multi-Purpose Hook - Can Opener - Hard Wire Cutter - Lanyard Hole - Ten Individual Springs - Lock Release - Leather Case Included.
Another improvement to the Wave is the new heavy duty needle nose pliers. This must be important to a lot of users because the biggest complaint against the Swiss multi tool was the blunt nose/needle nose hybrid shape of the pliers.
But the one characteristic that surprisingly divided opinions more than anything else was weight. The 8.5 ounce Wave, compared to the 5.75 ounce Swiss multi tool, is considered too heavy to be comfortably carried in their pocket.
On the other hand, the folks who own the Wave equate heft with quality and prefer wearing it on their belt anyway.
When I finally pieced it all together, I quickly discovered the Wave and the Swiss Tool have a lot more in common than not. Each is well made, incredibly useful, priced in the mid $50 range, and has a devoted group of followers.
So which one did I buy? (The answer is below)
So I started doing my research, which includes product comparisons, and it was mind boggling to see how many different brands, styles, models, and price ranges there are to choose from. I ended up comparing the Leatherman Wave to the Victorinox Spirit Multi-Tool because I, like everybody else, owned Swiss army knives as a kid.
There's a lot of information to get your arms around, but after reading a couple hundred reviews, the main factor influencing the buying decision more than any other was brand loyalty.
As I read the reviews one intriguing fact became more and more obvious. The owners of the Leatherman and Victorinox multi tools appear to fall into two distinct camps.
People in the trades, maintenance personnel, and believe it or not, IT techs seem to prefer the Leatherman, while police, armed forces personnel, and outdoorsy, adventurous folks purchase the Victorinox more often.
By the way, the most frequent life saving action performed with either knife is cutting seat belts away from injured motorists.
Both multi tools offer a combination of around 20 different 100% stainless steel tools. While the Victorinox 23 tools outnumber the Leatherman's 18, some tools like the slotted screwdriver are simply repeated in different sizes. Exterior accessible, locking tools are also offered by both makers but only the Leatherman offers one handed opening for the knife blades.
(View Leatherman Wave image) [http://blog.worldvillage.com/home/Leatherman%20Wave%20Multi%20Tool.html] Leatherman Wave Features - 830039
Needlenose pliers - Regular pliers - Wire cutters - Hard-wire cutters - Clip-point knife - Serrated knife - Saw - Scissors - Wood/metal file - Diamond-coated file - Large bit driver - Small bit driver - Large screwdriver - Ruler (8 inches) - Bottle/can opener - Wire stripper - Lanyard attachment - Two double-ended bits - Leather sheath included.
(View Spirit Multi Tool image) [http://blog.worldvillage.com/home/swisstool.html]Victorinox SwissTool Spirit Multi-Tool Features - 53800 Needle Nose Pliers - Screwdriver (2 mm) - Screwdriver (3 mm) - Wire Cutter (for wire up to a hardness Of 40 hrc) - Screwdriver (6 mm) - Bottle Opener - Crate opener - Combi-edge Blade - Scissors - Metal Saw - Wood Saw - Reamer - Phillips Screwdriver - Chisel-Scraper - Isolation length cutter - Wire Bender - Wire Stripper - Wire Scraper-Round cutter - Multi-Purpose Hook - Can Opener - Hard Wire Cutter - Lanyard Hole - Ten Individual Springs - Lock Release - Leather Case Included.
Another improvement to the Wave is the new heavy duty needle nose pliers. This must be important to a lot of users because the biggest complaint against the Swiss multi tool was the blunt nose/needle nose hybrid shape of the pliers.
But the one characteristic that surprisingly divided opinions more than anything else was weight. The 8.5 ounce Wave, compared to the 5.75 ounce Swiss multi tool, is considered too heavy to be comfortably carried in their pocket.
On the other hand, the folks who own the Wave equate heft with quality and prefer wearing it on their belt anyway.
When I finally pieced it all together, I quickly discovered the Wave and the Swiss Tool have a lot more in common than not. Each is well made, incredibly useful, priced in the mid $50 range, and has a devoted group of followers.
So which one did I buy? (The answer is below)