Customer Reviews

Leatherman 830685 Charge TTi with Nylon Sheath

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was a big fan of the L-Man Wave and carried one for several years. I loved the convenience of having the blades, saw & file open from the outside. These components also featured high quality cross-locks similar to the ones on a lot of premium pocket knives. These basic design features are maintained in the Charge TTi.

The quality of these particular items - blades, files and saw - seem to me to be the things that set one multi-tool apart from the other. The quality and design of one screwdriver bit or can opener is pretty much the same as that of another. And the good multi-tools all have "decent" pliers. But it is not so with cutting blades, saws and files. Here there can be a big difference.

The L-Man Charge is NOT the largest multi-tool I own but its two cutting blades (my others have just one) saw and file ARE the largest featured on any of them (no longer true, as I now have a Swisstool X). I believe this is possible because of the fact they are accessed from the outside. Their size need not be limited to make room for the pliers to fold into the handles as with tools whose blades are all accessed from inside.

The saw, file and the blades are not only larger but also of very good quality. The saw cuts as effectively as any I have used with very little clogging or sticking. One side of the file is diamond coated, making it more versatile. There is a serrated sheepsfoot blade with an integral cutting hook (very useful) and best of all the main, straight-edged blade is of premium S30V steel. If you know knives you know this is top quality stuff (and not cheap). Most other companies - even the good ones - don't even publish what they are building their tools from. I get the feeling there is a lot of 440a (or lesser steel) out there.

The "inside" tools on the Charge TTi now have a very smooth and solid locking mechanism which was lacking on the original Wave. This is a definite improvement. And compared to the Wave the Charge TTi has a better look and feel to it.

There are extra niceties. At nearly 9 oz, the Charge TTi is (to my tastes) "slightly too big for comfy pocket carry". And using a sheath doesn't work well for me since I wear sweats a lot. The "pocket" clip is therefore a definite bonus, allowing me to tuck the Charge TTi in my waistband where I hardly notice it. The built-in lanyard attachment is nice, too, and an improvement on the Wave's. (I don't like accidentally dropping and losing my expensive tools - so a good lanyard attachment is a must for me.)

In addition to the original L-man Wave tool, I have used a Gerber Compact Sport 400 (smaller, lighter) and an SOG Powerlock S63 EOD (larger, heavier). These are very respectable tools in their own right and the SOG in particular seems a little better than the L-Man Charge TTi in a couple of respects (see the upcoming review). But on balance I feel that the Charge TTi is the best tool I own and the only one I would rate as high as a 5. And if I could only keep one, this would be it.

Post Script: See my other reviews for a head to head comparison between the TTi and Victorinox's excellent Swisstool X.

The Leatherman Charge TTi replaced my venerable Leatherman New Wave as my every day carry closing in on two years ago. I've loved everything about this gear since I got it. About the only thing I've found is that the titanium really didn't decrease the weight much. It's a near perfect instrument, and for those of us who like to keep a solid multitool handy at all times, this should be the one. I've been carrying a multitool in a sheath (and sometimes clipped in a pocket) for many years now, and I've made it no secret in my other reviews that I've come to appreciate the Leatherman line. I'm going to break down why you should be buying this tool vs. one of the many others on the market:

Pros:
1. Pound-for-pound, I've found no other gear that packs so many high quality tools in such a clean and comfortable design. Much attention was given to the layout and ease of use. It's solid when doing any task and still feels comfortable and "beefy" in your hands. Its definitely not cheap feeling in any way.
2. The S30V steel blade is one of the highest quality knives out there, and better than most dedicated knives I've used. Many manufacturers skimp on the steel quality when it comes to where it's needed the most: the knife. But this has great shape, steel, and sharpness.
3. The pliers deliver a lot of functionality in one nicely performing package: soft wire cutter, hard wire cutter, standard pliers, crimper, and needle nose pliers. I'm sure anyone could successfully argue that a dedicated tool for each of those jobs would perform better and have more surface area for the job. But, this is a multitool and I've used every one of these and they did the work I needed, and it's all together.
4. All of the tools lock out, and the locks are all solid.
5. The knife, file, serrated knife/gut hook, and saw are all accessible without opening the pliers. This makes the most frequent tools convenient.
6. The grip is nicely knurled, and I've never felt once that I was going to drop the pliers. In fact, I've used it quite often one handed, opening and closing the pliers as well as most of the tools when the job demanded it.
7. The tools themselves are all well designed and deliver on craftsmanship. The steel seems to be of good quality all around.
8. There's a lot of tools here: Crimper, pliers, needle nose, soft/hard wire cutters, wire stripper/bottle & can opener, the Leatherman bit interchangeable screw driver, scissors, mini screw driver (for eye glasses or small electronics), dedicated flat head screw driver, knife, 3-suface (wood, metal, diamond) file, saw (as good as any saw I've used) serrated knife with gut hook, & metric/imperial rulers. They all open fairly easily and have all proven very useful in my time with it. The gut-hook works well to cut cordage. There's also a permanent lanyard ring (though you have to take apart the handles to release it) but the quick-release lanyard ring that comes with it may prove more useful.
9. The nylon sheath has room on the sides for a penlight, pen, or other tube-like item. Over the years, I've carried a Mini-gel pen, arc light (AAA battery), mini sharpie permanent marker, and a tube lighter. There is a slot in the back to put in a set of the Leatherman bits. Two fit, but I find that carrying one pack of carefully selected bits works very well. I've yet to need the other bits, but YMMV.

Cons:
1. Not made in the U.S.A. Although I think they source parts from all over and assemble in various places (including the U.S.), I'd like to see at least their higher end models being manufactured and assembled locally.
2. I think, based on the name, that some of these tools should have been made in titanium. I don't see why a few couldn't have been. And the frame itself should have been all Titanium instead of using steel inserts. The TTi is a bit misleading here as only the exterior of the handles is Titanium as far as I can tell. They could certainly cut off a bit of weight by doing this, but Titanium is expensive, so there would be a tradeoff. Maybe someday they'll have a special edition version.
3. The file could have had a release mechanism so it could be used to sharpen the main knife in a pinch.
4. They used secure torx screws to put it together. And while I have YET to see anything come loose after near-daily use for 2 years, this was probably a mistake. Not that you would need to get into it often (see number 3 in cons and 8 in pros), but not everyone has secure driver bits handy like I do.

I couldn't be happier with my selection. It's an improvement over my LM New Wave in many ways, but most especially the much better knife. I still carry a dedicated knife, but this one is fantastic. The fact that it's part of a multi is significant. Most multis come with cheap steel knives and they aren't exactly bragging about it. If they had made more of it from Titanium, the cost would be more, but it would have shaved off some of the weight.

Without hesitation, I give this a 5. The cons are seriously nitpicking to find flaws. I have yet to need to return a tool to Leatherman, but from most postings I've read on many sites, they are prompt and courteous when it comes to replacing or repairing their hardware. I've even left feedback on design in the past. I understand the need to lower costs to compete, and that's why everything gets outsourced. Perhaps that decision could be rethought, at least for a more "professional" tool such as this. Even so, my hat is off to them. I absolutely never leave home without it unless I have to fly. I would recommend this over every multi-tool I've ever used and owned, from Gerber to SOG to Victorinox.

I got my Charge TTi for Christmas. It is great, I find more and more uses for it wherever I go. However, it wasn't great when I got it. The main straight blade didn't lock when opened and the inside accessories on one side wouldn't budge by hand - had to PRY THEM OPEN with another screwdriver. I sent it to Leatherman for repair after calling them first and describing my problem. I also included a note with specific instructions that, whether the tool is repaired or replaced, I want it checked for being 100% operational before being shipped back to me. I received a replacement tool with all blades locking properly, but the inside accessories (this time on the other side) were still COMPLETELY JAMMED! The tool also had some cosmetic blemishes (scratches, the big flat head was chipped), so I guess my brand new item was replaced with a returned one... I decided not to send it back again, purchased a set of tamper proof bits (if anyone is interested, Charge TTi is put together using male Torx T-10 tamper proof bit), and loosened/adjusted the tool myself.

It is great now, and I am very happy with it. In the end I would give the tool a perfect 5 stars (if it was in 100% condition when delivered), but the company only 1 star. Hence, 3 star rating. If you're lucky, you'll get a great unit first time around. However, most likely you'll need to "finish it by yourself". Then again, if you're buying this, you're probably a DIY type, so that shouldn't be a problem!

Pros
- sturdy, good looking, good feeling, and overall excellent design (especially the scissors!)
- S30V steel blade is the "cream of the cream"
- all blades and accessories lock safely! (or at least are supposed to)

Cons
- common poor finish out-of-the-box, needs return/warranty attention/DIY to achieve 100% operational status
- the bits the tool comes with are pretty much useless (unless you work with hex a lot), need to purchase accessory bits to get some useful drivers

Good tool, problem Phillips bit, mediocre customer service. I chose to purchase this tool because it fit my needs better than other Leatherman models or the competition. By and large it is a good tool with enough options to keep me from climbing off of a ladder and running to the tool box/pouch so much. The first big problem I noticed with it is the stock combination #1 - #2 Phillips / slotted blade screwdriver tip. The combination Phillips end on mine would not grip a screw head without pushing the tool into the head so hard as to create a risk of slipping. I called Leatherman and told them that the design of the tip was no good and the woman at customer service told me "Well, sir, that's your opinion." Yes, that is my opinion after 36 years of using tools professionally. At any rate, I found out that I could order Phillips bits for the Charge that were dedicated sizes rather than combination so I thought I would give it a try. I ordered the set of replacement bits for $5., and to my surprise there was a redesigned combination bit in it that works just fine! Grrrrrr. I sent an e-mail to Leatherman grousing about this point and still haven't heard back.

While I was ordering replacement bits I also ordered the extension bit that will hold the flat Leatherman bits and standard hex bits. It's a real winner.

They still haven't addressed the "thumb pinch" issue if the pliers slip off of whatever you are gripping and your thumb is close to the pliers joint. Just don't choke up on the handles and you will be OK.

Bottom line: It's worth buying. If yours comes with a combination Phillips bit that has rounded milling on the business end rather than a nice sharp square cut you have a problem bit that they may have corrected by now. (My tool has a Dec. 06 manufacturing date inside of it.)

First, I've been a Leatherman customer all my life. I've owned many of the tools Leatherman has made. Recently, a heavily-used Supertool gave up the ghost, and I decided that I'd get myself a TTi as a replacement. I ordered a nylon sheath TTi with Gift Tin direct from Amazon. And, because of the "frequently bought together" box on the site, I ordered the clip and lanyard loop, thinking it was a bit chintzy that they didn't come with it in the first place.

The TTi arrived in scratched, lightly used condition. That was a little disappointing, but I didn't really care, as it was intended for use and would get scratched anyway. If I'd been intending to collect it, or if it had actually been intended as a gift, I would have been upset, but in any case, a new tool really should be new, not a return or refurb. Then, I found that the clip and lanyard are included in the box already. It's asinine that these appear in the "frequently bought together" box on Amazon. So far, I was displeased with Amazon.

Now, part of the reason I bought the more expensive TTi over a Wave is because of the S30V blade. Imagine my surprise when I opened that blade and found it to be garbage. It looked like a drunken monkey had put the finishing grind on the edge with an 80 grit angle grinder. It was very coarse, very uneven, wobbly, and fugly. I have never seen such a poorly ground blade outside of high school shop class. Even a $5 flea market special from China will have a smooth, even, regular grind. Why in the world an expensive American made tool would look like this is beyond me. And totally unacceptable.

Next, I played with the sheath a bit. It has a nice feature that allows you to holster the tool in the open position rather than folding it up every time. That's a great idea: you're doing some task that forces you to use the pliers, then use both hands for something else, then use the pliers, etc. So you can just stick the pliers back in the sheath, tip down, and grab them again when you need them. Great. Except that when you stick them in the sheath, if you use just a bit too much force, the pliers poke too far through the hole and get stuck. REALLY stuck. There are razor-sharp hooks on the back edges of the pliers, and they grab the edges of the hole, rendering the tool non-removable without much prying and swearing. If it's on your belt at the time, good luck getting the tool out. When you finally do manage to remove the tool, it cuts the edges of the hole, shredding the sheath and making it easier for it to get stuck next time. When I showed my wife what was going on, she burst out laughing at the stupidity of the design. "Return it, honey," she said, "It's junk."
It would be easy to fix this problem; just put a hard plastic grommet in the hole. Or make the hole a bit smaller. Or grind a radius where the razor edge hook is on the tool. Why would Leatherman sell something so poorly made? Don't they care anymore?

I emailed Leatherman, and got a rather dismissive and defensive email telling me that nobody else had ever had a problem with it, etc, and if I wasn't happy, I should return it to the seller. I would have thought Leatherman would want to figure out where their QC problem came from, but okay, whatever. I returned the tool to Amazon and ordered one with a leather sheath, although in general I prefer nylon.

Got the second tool. Happily, it was actually new, and unscratched. Unhappily, the vaunted S30V blade on the second unit looked almost as bad as the first one, being very coarsely ground, uneven, and wonky. The leather sheath did not suffer from the same problem as the nylon sheath. The hole on the leather sheath is much smaller, and does not allow the tool to get stuck. However, when the tool is inserted in the leather sheath in the open position, the stiff leather flap of the sheath sticks three inches straight out sideways, totally in the way if it's on your belt. I showed my wife. She walked away, laughing.

I emailed Leatherman. The rep said that there's no way to have the sheath close in both positions, which is terminally stupid; any half-conscious person should be able to think of ten ways. The idea that Leatherman, essentially a design company, cannot think through a two-mode sheath is absurd. I can see at least ten ways to make it work that wouldn't cost any more or be any harder to manufacture. I offered my services to Leatherman as a designer, since they are obviously so desperately in need of one. No answer.

They are sending me a return envelope, and I am giving it one more chance. They can send me a TTi with a well-made blade, and a working sheath, or I will return this overpriced tool, buy a couple used Supertools off ebay, and refuse to purchase anything new from Leatherman again. I am disappointed and disgusted. Leatherman used to make great stuff, and I really hope they get back in the game. The cheap plastic crap they've been making lately is bad enough, but when their top of the line tool has issues like this, something has gone very wrong. Maybe if enough people return their Leatherman tools and don't accept garbage in place of quality, Leatherman will pay attention. I hope so.

*Edit to add:* I sent the second tool back and got a third straight from Leatherman, along with a nylon sheath as requested. This tool was in new condition, and had an evenly and properly ground main blade, although I must say that it still wasn't any beauty queen. Good enough for a working tool, though. I got out my Spyderco Sharpmaker and put a shaving sharp edge on it, which took some doing, as that S30V is hard stuff. Hopefully that means it'll really hold an edge, but so far I haven't cut much with it.
Unfortunately, the serrated blade is one of the worst I've seen. The angle of the grind is very obtuse, the serrations are shallow, and it's ground only on one side, which makes it cut at an angle. I've worked on the serrated blade with stones quite a bit, and haven't been able to get a real edge on it yet. It begs to be reground. In real life, I always use my Spyderco for serrated cutting duties, but it would be nice if this tool had a usable serrated blade. It would be ideal if it had a Spyderedge blade, licensed from or produced by Spyderco!
As others have said elsewhere, these tools need some break-in. I lubed it up with some Mobil-1 and worked the blades open and closed, and did the same with the pliers, while watching a movie. For over two hours: open, close, open close... OCD, anyone? That helped a lot, and it started to smooth out and loosen up.
Back to the nylon sheath, and the ridiculous issue of the tool becoming seriously stuck therein: First I made a ghetto gasket out of some gaff tape, which reduced the size of the hole so that the tool couldn't drop too far in. That worked, but looked pretty stupid, so ten minutes later I got out the files and rounded off the sharp hooks on the backside of the pliers into nice smooth curves. An hour later, problem solved! Now I can stick the tool all the way into the sheath, and get it back out again, too! I know, that's a lot to ask for out of a premium tool... LOL! IMO, Leatherman really, really needs to do this at the factory, in the first place.
I installed the pocket clip. But then I couldn't open or close the file without interference. Ground off the tip of the file to fix that issue.
On a roll, I went at the pliers jaws with file and stone to get them to mate up properly- the pliers wouldn't close fully out of the box. They still stick closed when force is applied, but I am choosing to see this as a hemostat-like feature rather than as a bug.
Deburred the scissors, which had a large nick in one blade. Sharpened the can opener, just because.
Whew! Finally, the tool was worthy of being carried. And valuing my labor at $50 per hour, I now have several hundred dollars invested in this tool.

So, don't expect perfection or even precision. Insist on a halfway respectable specimen for a starting point, and be prepared to do some work making it right if you want it to work just exactly right. With those large caveats aside, go buy one, if you're interested and if you're a titanium fetishist like me.
Finally, I am in no way trying to slam Leatherman, and I don't know that any other multitool is better, or even as good. I have high standards, and it is my opinion that this tool should be a bit better designed and manufactured for the price. As always, Caveat Emptor! It is only by holding companies' feet to the fire that we as "consumers" will enjoy any privileges at all.

Did anyone happen to read the two star review on here from the overly-critical "apophasis"? At least, that was my impression of him when I read his review, before I bought the Charge TTi myself. I have to say - my initial impressions of the tool were the same as his.

Out of the box, my TTi felt clunky and difficult to open. There was an obvious "catch" to each side where the handle pivoted over the pliers, which was simply annoying upon opening. But then to close the tool, this excessive sticking becomes more evident, as it means pinching your fingers against the head of the pliers in order to push them fully shut. Quite disheartening.

Next, I pulled out the blade. I was sure he'd had a lemon. But no, I could see plainly at arm's length how poor the grind on the blade was. In fact, I hadn't even bought the TTi for its blade, as I've always been the sort of person not to think of a multi-tool blade as a "real" knife, but to see a piece of S30V that hasn't even been given a fair chance at performing to its potential... as a knife enthusiast, I was disappointed.

Finding his two main gripes to prove true, I set about testing the functionality of the tool-open-put-into-sheath business. Just as he said, if you cram the pliers in deep enough, they don't come out. The back edges of the pliers are sharp enough to cut yourself on if you catch them right and they definitely don't like to let go of that nylon.

At this point, I would've been at about three stars instead of five.

I really wanted this tool to work for me, though, so I set about solving my problems. Rather than loosening the Torx bolts that hold the pliers in place, which would degrade the sturdy lockup of the inner tools, I decided to see what was sticking up the opening of the pliers. Upon close inspection it was plain to see where the pliers pivot on the outside of the handles there was a coarse patch of metal on either side. With a small file, I removed a small amount of metal from both sides. Then, I used a buffing wheel with some polishing compound to smooth out the surface. Finally, I spread the polishing compound inside the pivot point, and worked the pliers open/closed repeatedly for an hour or so, taking care to notice which side offered more resistance and work that side more. Then of course I cleaned the tool out, oiled it, and cleaned again the excess.

After that, I set about sharpening the blade (also with my Spyderco Sharpmaker, oddly enough).

Now, I can open my TTi one-handed. There is enough resistance in the pivot points that the tool won't open inadvertently, but nowhere near the crunchy, awkward, sticking feeling it had when it came out of the box. It feels smooth and convenient. The blade, which now shaves hair with hardly noticeable pressure on the skin, I like the shape and ease of deploy so much that I have replaced my previous EDC knife entirely by this unit.

And the pliers sticking in the sheath when open? That I knew the solution to before I bought the tool. Don't do that. You know what you do with a multi-tool when you want to use both hands and you don't want to fold it up to put it away? You slip one handle of the tool in your pocket and let the other hang out. Problem solved. This is easier to coordinate than stuffing the thing into a sheath on your belt, and I am surprised any of the mechanically inclined folk who buy these would pay any attention to the feature. That feature of the sheath probably looked nice as a bullet point on a package somewhere, but that part of it is a novelty. Unless of course you happen to be multi-tooling in the nude and have no pockets, in which you have no place wearing a belt either.

To summarize: I love this tool. It saves me time and frustration daily. I wish I had upgraded to a full-sized one years ago. But, Leatherman really should put more attention to the fit and finish on these things - if only for their higher end tools such as these. For paying over a hundred bucks, I would expect a tool to be sharpened properly and operate as if it doesn't have grit in it, and if I didn't know how to work a knife sharpener and a Dremel I would still be at three stars instead of five.

This tool could've been great, but they could not even grind the stop on the blade properly. And the proprietary driver bits... Nice touch, but breaking one would suck - need to get the replacement from Leatherman only. They are having the GM syndrome - too many products and lowering attention to detail. Original Wave tool was way more inspiring.

I am a post graduate mechanical/industrial engineer and a huge fan of precision engineered products. I do a lot of research, check out stuff personally, talk to peeple, then only make the buy decision. I owned a Leather Wave for the past 9 years. After checking out the Charge TTi, could'nt resist buying it. And Boy, am I happy!

The tool is an engineering masterpiece. Absolutely solid feel, precision movements/click stops, very sharp and strong tools. It could'nt get better. When compared to the Victorinox Swisstool Spirit plus, this is many times better. The swisstool does not have good strong knives like the leatherman. It looks mute and wimpy. But the leatherman tool's knives and hexbit drivers, etc. look, feel and work aggressively.

Don't miss out on the Hexbit extender. It is worth every penny. It not only accommodates the Leatherman proprietary flattened hexbits, it also accepts regular hexbits - this means, you have access to use the innumerable regular market hexbits, which is indispensable.

If you are looking for the Rolls Royce in multitools, this is it. Don't do anymore research. Buy the Leatherman Charge TTi, hexbit extender, and 40 bit kit. Happiness guaranteed!

Ok, i admit it, i'm a tool/toy junkie. And this was just perfect for me. It was a lot heavier than I expected, mostly because i was coming from a dinky little Swiss-knife (genuine). And for some reason, I expected this to be entirely titanium, but instead it's just the other shell. But the weight of this only adds to the feeling of quality of this tool. It feels SOLID.

The amount of tools in this multi-tool is amazing, especially for the size it folds up to. And all the tools slid in and out easily, and the locking mechanism is just ingenious.

But what was a really good surprised, was the main blade. This is a REAL blade, and incredibly sharp.

My only disappointment of this was that i had this less than a week before losing it. Now i just need to decide whether i want to shell out the money for another so soon.

As other reviews have stated mine came used. There were tips missing. The tips in the unit were wore. The knife looked like a teenager tried to sharpen it. The tip was blue from getting too hot. I have carried a Surge for many years(don't leave home without it) and wanted to try the Charge. I expect better from both Amazon and Leatherman.