Customer Reviews

Leatherman 67010103H Wave

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm using multi tools since the day they were invented. And if they haven't been invented I would have to do it my self so thank you Mr. Leatherman. I never liked Leatherman products because plier's handles were pinching my hands (original tool). For a while I wondered of and bought into Gerber family than Shrade and Swiss Army. After multiple failures I decided to give Leatherman Wave a try and I'm not disappointed. So here we go:

Strengths:
- Comfortable handles even if using pliers to tight down the nastiest nuts and bolts.
- One hand operation for knife use. Life saver in many situations.
- Locking saw, file and serrated/regular knife blades. Not for nothing but it will save you fingers.
- Wide choice of tools at your finger tips. Can opener/bottle opener is there!!!! I can't believe that some of the tools come without it.
- Strong pliers and good wire cutters.
- Spring loaded scissors.
- Screwdriver tool attachment
- Blade stays sharp.

Weaknesses:
- Tools are not secured in place. The lock is spring loaded (the same one as blades on regular Swiss army knife) there is a danger of a tool folding down on you. Not a problem for regular everyday jobs but if you have a tight/rusty screw watch out.
- Not rust proof. I use it on the river and if it wasn't for regular maintenance and WD40 my tool would be a history.
- Wire cutters even if sharp are made out of soft steel so when faced with tough wire they will become dull or even bend.

Ok so why 5 stars? Just because it's the best tool made so far. There is nothing better made out there. Yes it has its problems and some design flows but in comparison to hundreds of similar products available out there this one really stands out. My Wave was stolen in Africa and while looking for replacement I tested multiple tools of similar shape and purposes but guess what? I'm back with the Wave again.

I got the original leatherman in the summer of 1994 when I was planning to do a lot of camping. Then I upgraded to the Wave as a present for myself around Xmas 98 (the original went in my fishing tackle box). I have worn it every day on my belt, most days accompanied by a compact tape measure as well. I get a lot of teasing for it from my friends, but it doesn't matter. The Wave is indespensable, I like to say it's not always the right tool, but it's always the "right there" tool. I use it for work as an engineer, on home repair projects, whenever the need arises. I use it least once a day, if not more. A perfect gift for any mechanically inclined person on your shopping list. Hands down the best multi-tool around.

Drawbacks? When I first got it, I cut my thumb a couple of times trying to one-hand open the external blades. The scissors and the serrated blade have gotten a little dull and I am not sure how to sharpen them. There are too many flat screwdrivers (4 in all). I would get rid of one of them in favor of something else.

I ended up getting the Leatherman Wave for its one-hand opening blades, good needlenose pliers and compact size.

Pros go first:
Compact in size - really important for me as a EDC (every day carry) tool. If it weren't a EDC, I probably would get a SwissTool, which is...cheaper now at amazon.com.

Solid - All tools have solid feel (except the scissors). Blades are locked positively. Pliers are strong. So are the rest.

Here come the Cons:
All tools are stiff to open - Only the serrated sheepfoot blade is relatively easy to open. Lubrication doesn't help. Break-in may eventually help. It's not user servicable as it uses tamper-proof torx-plus screws all over. Send it back to the factory for any adjustments.

Too many flat screwdrivers (4) - I'd rather replace one flat screwdriver with something else.

Handles wobble in closed position - No play in deployed position but has < 1/8" play when closed. It's very noticable when you open blade using one hand. It's not mentioned in web reviews but talked a lot in newsgroups. Every Wave does that and it doens't seem to hurt the durability. Just doesn't match the overall quality of the tool and yes, annoying.

Poor scissors - Scissors wobble. The pivot rivet is not tight (probably for a reason because scissor blades are slightly curved for better shearing). When handle is fully depressed, blade points cross each other by 1/8" which is really annoying for fine cutting. However, I don't expect to use it very often. Scissors on SwissTool or Gerber multi-tool (no wonder, it's a Fiskars company that makes excellent scissors) are much better.

Fit and Finish - It's good but you won't be happy if you are a Swiss knife owner. Handle, bolsters and pliers are finished smoothly. All other tools have clear signs of machining. Random nicks, marks on handles and pliers. I went to a local store to check out all Leatherman Wave (8 of them) in plastic package and they all have nicks or marks. I guess workers just toss the products into the bins in the factory. I'd rather put the sign of heavy use by myself.

A combination of Wave and SwissTool will be great. It doesn't exist for now and I chose Wave.

Ok, so I look like a bit of a nerd. With a cell phone hanging off one side of my belt, my PDA off the other side (and sometimes a 2nd PDA), and my Leatherman Wave hanging on the back, I am starting to feel like Batman. But if I needed to divest myself of something, it wouldn't be the Leatherman.

I have always carried a pocket knife of one type or another. My favorite was my Swiss Army Craftsman knife. The biggest problems I have with knives is the lack of pliers and the fragility of the tools and their mountings. With the Leatherman, this is cured.

There are four tools that can open from the outside, rather than having to part the handles to get anything out. It is handier than snot to be able to whip out the knife and pop open the knife blade with one hand, particularly when you already have hold of what you want to cut in the other hand. I wouldn't do without that feature now. It's even pretty easy to open the pliers up with one hand.

The assortment of screwdriver blades is more than adequate for my needs, and in particular I love the small, narrow, straight screwdriver blade. The tool is comfortable to hold, even when you are trying to crank down on a bolt or a nut with the pliers. I haven't found any occassion when this tool has not proved its worth.

Is it perfect? Heck no, but it sure beats the pants off of most other multi-purpose tools I have tried. If you want to complain, let's talk about the little holes in the exterior blades used by your thumb to pull out the tool. (You have to see it to understand.) The eges on those holes are darn sharp! I peeled off more than one layer of skin on those before I finally broke out the sandpaper and eased the edges of the holes. It didn't affect the function, but made it a lot more comfortable to use.

Also, like most multi-funtion tools, a hard, twisting motion with the pliers makes the Leatherman rack disconcertingly, so I try to not do that. I haven't had a problem with it, yet, just don't think it's a good thing to do.

And, if I am nit-picking, some of the interior tools are a little tough to pull out. Not sure if there is a way around this. Sometimes I pull them all out and then put back the tools I don't want to use.

Unlike other reviewers, I personally have had no problem with rust, but I don't usually use it in moist places or around salt water.

Even with these faults, I rate this a "5." There aren't too many places I go without it on my belt.

As a photographer, I wanted a smallish multi-tool to carry in my camera bag that would help me out with those little equipment failures and creative gerry-rigging in the field. I looked at Swiss Army, Spyderco, Gerber, and Leatherman multi-tools before choosing the Wave. I chose it because it has the largest number of tools that would be useful to me. And I've been happy with my choice.

The Wave has four tools that you can access without opening the entire tool. These four tools lock, as well: a serrated blade, a file, a straight blade, and a saw. These blades are about 2 3/4 inches long and are easy to pull out.

These additional tools can be accessed only when the Wave is open: a bottle opener, a phillips screwdriver, four sizes of flat screwdrivers, a lanyard hole, and scissors. These tools can be difficult to pull out. I frequently have to pull out a bunch of them and stuff the ones I don't want back in. The scissors will cut paper and cardboard easily, if slowly. These tools don't lock, but they stay in place pretty well.

The pliers open 1 1/2 inches wide. The wire cutter works decently. I've used sharper, but these cut wire in a few tries if not on the first try.

The Leatherman Wave is 6 1/4 inches long when open and 4 inches long when closed. It is reasonably comfortable to use although I think my hands would ache if I had to use it for a long time.

All in all, the Wave is compact, useful and an excellent addition to the gadget bag of any photographer. If you need a really sharp knife, I have a Spyderco that is much sharper. For heavy duty work that requires a lot of torque, you'll need real screwdrivers. Jacks-of-all-trades are masters of none, as they say. But for light work and emergencies in the field, the Wave fills the bill quite nicely. If you have equipment that requires an allen wrench or hex tips, consider getting the Tool Adapter for the Wave also.

I have both the swiss tool x and the leatherman wave. They both are great tools but I perfer my wave for some simple reasons.
1.) SIZE: the wave is considerably smaller than the swiss tool in every dimension and since I carry mine on my belt at all times size is a factor. The wave seems to be lighter too but I don't know by how much.
2.) LINEAR LOCK BLADES: I don't like the locking mechanism on the swiss tool, it seems like it will give out one day. The linear locks on the wave are rock solid.
3.) GREAT KNIVES: I perfer the knives on the wave to the swiss tool. I use the knives more than any other part of the tool and being able to open them one-handed is a must for me. The knives on the wave seem stronger than the swiss tool as well and are thicker.
4.) DESIGN: It isn't a big factor but the truth is that the wave looks so much better than the clunky swiss tool (especially the 20th anniversary, which I own.) It is more comfortable to hold due to the smooth contour.

Like I said before the swiss tool is a great tool as well and I use mine all the time, but for a tool to keep on my belt at all times I go with the wave.

I own two of these magnificent Leatherman Wave tools. You can do some research and discover the many blades, scissors, a file, etc., it features.

The three top considerations in this purchase is: 1) Top quality steel construction, 2) Locking blades and 3) a very generous unconditional 25-year warranty.

The torx screws holding my Wave together began to loosen about 5-years after I purchased it. Of course I had long-ago since lost the receipt. I wrote the factory and asked for directives as to where I could send it to have it cleaned and repaired.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover the factory would take care of it - FREE. No need for the receipt, no questions ask.

I recall a time when many companies operated in such a manner. Not many these days. This is a tool you won't regret purchasing and you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.

I have done the following with my Wave:

1. Sliced open human-proofed, shrink-wrapped plastic packaging

2. Snipped through thick-gauge, bundled wiring with ease

3. Trimmed tree branches away from my porch with the wood saw

4. Used the tiny scissors almost daily for tiny tasks

5. Looked like a geek/terrorist by toting it around on my belt.

At the ~$50 sale price, this is an offer you can't refuse. Ba da BING.

I bought my original Leatherman tool 15 years ago, and it's served me well. Since then, as one of my quests in life is for the ultimate multitool, I've bought at least a couple of dozen other multitools by various makers, most of which I don't even use since I still prefer my trusty old Leatherman most of the time. But when I saw a good price on this one, I jumped at it. I figured what the hell, you can't have too many tools in your life that you don't use, so I bought it. But I'm happy to say this is probably my favorite multitool, as far as ease of use, versatility, and overal design and qualty of construction is concerned, such as the convenient one-handed opening on the blades. Since then Tim Leatherman has come out with the Leatherman Flair and the Crunch, or locking plier, but I think I prefer this one to those too. I also have his Supertool, which is great, although a little bit too big to carry all the time, but those big regular and serrated blades are pretty impressive. But I think the Wave edges out even the Supertool. So overall, a great tool and well worth the price.

I just recieved mine and thought that I would write a review. This is the best multitool that I have ever owned. It is very good looking and has a finish that will not scratch. There are four blades when closed (knife, file, 2 saw). When it is open there are needle nose pliars with a good wire cutter. The scisors come out and then open into scisors, this is pretty cool. There is also 3 straight and 1 philips head screwdrivers. The best part is that all the blades lock, you have to press a button to release them.

Comes with a great leather belt holder.