Skeletool SX now featured on Leatherman's website

[rdub934]

http://www.leatherman.com/product/Skeletool_SX

Not a big enough of an improvement over the original to entice me.

[enki_ck]

   So they kept the open file design. We'll see how that work out in real like carry.

[jzmtl]

If its snowboard tool it not going to be pocket carry anyway; so the file probably won't hurt ergonomics

[BIG-TARGET]

Still,,,,,,,,Our patience and faith are slowly being rewarded!!

Now!!  All they need are the links to who's selling the SX

[captain spaulding]

I'm less that excited about the Skeletool SX. I'm not sure if they dropped the extra bit either. Real bummer if they did. I'm interested to see how the Diamond File goes over for the people who pocket carry this. Could be a huge mistake or a great idea. 

[Gareth]

I'm not quite sure what a snowboarder is going to be using the file for, but as it doesn't fold out or away from the body, doesn't that mean that there is always something in the way?  Big bottle opener/carabinier at one end, plier pivot at the other.

As I say, I might be missing the point of the file and it's not a problem for the target user.

[Mercury]

Why focus on snowboarders? 

What about dirt bikers?  Or skateboarders, rockclimbers, scuba divers, parachuters, paintballers, sportbike riders, BMX enthusiasts, or any other number of hobbies where one might carry a tool?

Seems to me that someone high up at Leatherman(  ) is into snowboarding and is pushing this stuff through.  At least the Skele SX remotely resembles a tool that a typical LM consumer might buy, unlike the ridiculous Rime and hail.

As far as the SX goes, I think it would do Leatherman good to answer some older requests and put a diamond file back on Rebar-sized tools before throwing a diamond plate on the Skeletool and calling it a "new" design.  But what do I know?

[BIG-TARGET]

Why focus on snowboarders? 

What about dirt bikers?  Or skateboarders, rockclimbers, scuba divers, parachuters, paintballers, sportbike riders, BMX enthusiasts, or any other number of hobbies where one might carry a tool?

Seems to me that someone high up at Leatherman(  ) is into snowboarding and is pushing this stuff through.  At least the Skele SX remotely resembles a tool that a typical LM consumer might buy, unlike the ridiculous Rime and hail.

I think the person is Lee Leatherman(Tim's son).  He happens to be into Snowboarding, surfing and extreme sports.  So, in his defense, at least he's trying to inovate new tools from his point of understanding.  Something tell me to give this guy a chance.  I've had/used the Rime and Hail,and so far they have met expectations(note picture bellow)

[Syph007]

A file is nice to crisp up your edges on the snowboard sometimes.  When I used to go off trail and hit rocks, it makes some nice dings in the metal edges.

But this design where the thing doesnt even move or rotate out?   

[Mercury]

Why focus on snowboarders? 

What about dirt bikers?  Or skateboarders, rockclimbers, scuba divers, parachuters, paintballers, sportbike riders, BMX enthusiasts, or any other number of hobbies where one might carry a tool?

Seems to me that someone high up at Leatherman(  ) is into snowboarding and is pushing this stuff through.  At least the Skele SX remotely resembles a tool that a typical LM consumer might buy, unlike the ridiculous Rime and hail.

I think the person is Lee Leatherman(Tim's son).  He happens to be into Snowboarding, surfing and extreme sports.  So, in his defense, at least he's trying to inovate new tools from his point of understanding.  Something tell me to give this guy a chance.  I've had/used the Rime and Hail,and so far they have met expectations(note picture bellow)

I see your perspective, and respect it.  However, I have personally seen a similar situation evolve into disaster. 

A company I used to work for in the Hospitality industry had a father retire from management, and the eldest son took over.  This company had over 700 employees and we all counted on this family for the right direction. 

This guy was 30 years old, and due to his father's work he never had a real job until he was placed in the CEO position by his father, after a laughable track of patchwork college work resulting in basically an online degree that he didn't really earn. 

He decided that he liked a certain type of hotel(not even close to the type in place at his property) and visited hotels across the globe, coming back and implementing "his" ideas(one's he saw somewhere else and therefor must have come up with on his own).  He flipped this company upside down with his wacky ideas, and we all tried to conform and execute his ideas in order to keep our jobs.

You see, he figured that since he was head of the company, then everything he thought of was gold, and it was going to happen whether it made sense or not.  In the course of 2 years, he either fired or lost more than 150 management personnel from every level of management, including me and my assistant manager.  We had enough and bolted to better jobs.  This CEO is now selling real estate because the Franchise parent company that had it's name on the hotel forced him to resign as CEO, because he was running the company into the ground. 

For all intents and purposes, Leatherman seems to be doing fine.  But if you ask me, the snowboarder market is a tiny part of the world and making tools for them is about as stupid as making an ice skater specific tool.  If you look at their history, they have retired more tools in the last nine years than they even produced pre 2004.  That shows declination of longevity, and it's going to catch up with them.  When you PST's that are over 20 years old and still kicking, it's hard to understand why Skeletools can wear out in 5 years. 

The one piece tool thing is ok, I like piranha tools and atwoods and the like, but a glorified carabiner with a single purpose flathead driver and a spot for earbuds to wrap around is absolutely absurd.  It screams "it's my company and I like snowboards!"


The one comforting fact about the new Skele SX is it at least resembles a Leatherman, and more folks will buy it, even if the diamond file execution is kind of silly. 

I don't mean to offend anyone, and I am certainly not anti Leatherman.  I've been a fan of their tools for 20 years, but I'm not happy with everything they do and I refuse to applaud a tool simply because it's a Leatherman.  I've sent my thoughts to them in emails as well, I'm not talking behind their backs.    The responses are typical PR bull, but at least they tried.

[radiotecha1234]

Did anyone else notice that the description of the Skeletool sx and the hail combo on LM's website is the same. Seems like they are not putting much marketing effort behind this.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[Cupboard]

Given it's not immediately obvious to me that there is a second bit, and if there is what it is, I've asked them on their FB page. We shall soon see I hope!

[BIG-TARGET]

Why focus on snowboarders? 

What about dirt bikers?  Or skateboarders, rockclimbers, scuba divers, parachuters, paintballers, sportbike riders, BMX enthusiasts, or any other number of hobbies where one might carry a tool?

Seems to me that someone high up at Leatherman(  ) is into snowboarding and is pushing this stuff through.  At least the Skele SX remotely resembles a tool that a typical LM consumer might buy, unlike the ridiculous Rime and hail.

I think the person is Lee Leatherman(Tim's son).  He happens to be into Snowboarding, surfing and extreme sports.  So, in his defense, at least he's trying to inovate new tools from his point of understanding.  Something tell me to give this guy a chance.  I've had/used the Rime and Hail,and so far they have met expectations(note picture bellow)

I see your perspective, and respect it.  However, I have personally seen a similar situation evolve into disaster. 

A company I used to work for in the Hospitality industry had a father retire from management, and the eldest son took over.  This company had over 700 employees and we all counted on this family for the right direction. 

This guy was 30 years old, and due to his father's work he never had a real job until he was placed in the CEO position by his father, after a laughable track of patchwork college work resulting in basically an online degree that he didn't really earn. 

He decided that he liked a certain type of hotel(not even close to the type in place at his property) and visited hotels across the globe, coming back and implementing "his" ideas(one's he saw somewhere else and therefor must have come up with on his own).  He flipped this company upside down with his wacky ideas, and we all tried to conform and execute his ideas in order to keep our jobs.

You see, he figured that since he was head of the company, then everything he thought of was gold, and it was going to happen whether it made sense or not.  In the course of 2 years, he either fired or lost more than 150 management personnel from every level of management, including me and my assistant manager.  We had enough and bolted to better jobs.  This CEO is now selling real estate because the Franchise parent company that had it's name on the hotel forced him to resign as CEO, because he was running the company into the ground. 

For all intents and purposes, Leatherman seems to be doing fine.  But if you ask me, the snowboarder market is a tiny part of the world and making tools for them is about as stupid as making an ice skater specific tool.  If you look at their history, they have retired more tools in the last nine years than they even produced pre 2004.  That shows declination of longevity, and it's going to catch up with them.  When you PST's that are over 20 years old and still kicking, it's hard to understand why Skeletools can wear out in 5 years. 

The one piece tool thing is ok, I like piranha tools and atwoods and the like, but a glorified carabiner with a single purpose flathead driver and a spot for earbuds to wrap around is absolutely absurd.  It screams "it's my company and I like snowboards!"


The one comforting fact about the new Skele SX is it at least resembles a Leatherman, and more folks will buy it, even if the diamond file execution is kind of silly. 

I don't mean to offend anyone, and I am certainly not anti Leatherman.  I've been a fan of their tools for 20 years, but I'm not happy with everything they do and I refuse to applaud a tool simply because it's a Leatherman.  I've sent my thoughts to them in emails as well, I'm not talking behind their backs.    The responses are typical PR bull, but at least they tried.

Points Valid.  And I won't deny the fact that I had my doubts too.  Snowboarding isn't big in Jersey.  And if I picture myself on a snowboard.  It will be of me going off a cliff, and plummetting to my death(look for the big red "splat").
Still, lets give it a chance.  I think we might be pleasantly wrong about this.

[sawman]

I hate it    The file will undoubtedly wear out my pocket and it looks like they removed the extra bit holder which was one of my favorite features.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[Mercury]

I hate it    The file will undoubtedly wear out my pocket and it looks like they removed the extra bit holder which was one of my favorite features.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

[jzmtl]

Well just a skier not a snowboarder, but I can say the diamond file is pretty much pointless.

1. Nobody would freehand sharpen their ski/board metal edge, because even 2 or 3 degrees can make a lot of difference in performance (the edge angle difference between a first day newbie and world class racer is only 5° max), and no one is that precise, plus pocket sized guided sharpeners are available everywhere.

2. the metal edge on ski/board are soft enough a metal file will work, in fact I've used one on my powerlock to deburr mine after a retard snowboarder badly damaged them. Even for this purpose a file that folds out is superior to one that attached to the body because rivets and screws prevent the file being laid flat.

[AimlessWanderer]

More negative vibes from me.

Ugly, pointless and a waste of R&D /tooling money on a very limited market. I'm not a skeletool fan anyway, and for me this just makes it worse not better. I'd pretty much echo everything Mercury has said about "Daddy's Company" too

In marks out of 10, I'd give it a 

[enki_ck]

Yes, +1 on everything Sean said.

[Cupboard]

from Leatherman on bit storage, which I don't think was clear from their website seeing as both the SX and the others claimed to have two bits:

That's a great question! Unlike the Skeletool and Skeletool CX, the Skeletool SX comes with one 2-sided bit (#1-2 & #3 Phillips). The reason for this is that there wasn't room behind the new diamond coated file for a bit holder space, like on the previous two models. Let us know if you have additional questions!

I guess #3 Phillips must be a common snowboardy size then? Still, no flat bits make it a bit limiting.

[Mercury]

I really hate to criticize, I really do.  And as BT said, I should give this one a chance, and I will.  I might even try one out myself to see if I could use the file at work as I must EDC a file being a machinist. 

But as for the Rime and Hail, I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass.  Like, walk around the other side of the mountain to avoid them-type-of-pass. 

I know, it's devastating!  Mercury won't by the tool, what're we gonna do!! 

  

[Mr. Whippy]

Hmm...

I have a different take on this tool.  They mention  a Mountaineer.  For sharpening ice tools or crampons, that arrangement would work fine AND could be used with gloves on.  I will probably get one and I save final judgement, depending on how big the file is. (long is more important that wide really).

Honestly, this addresses the only reason I take a Charge/Wave for ice climbing instead of my Skeletool.  To me, carabiner carry is how this one is optimally designed.

[enki_ck]

Hmm...

I have a different take on this tool.  They mention  a Mountaineer. For sharpening ice tools or crampons, that arrangement would work fine AND could be used with gloves on.  I will probably get one and I save final judgement, depending on how big the file is. (long is more important that wide really).

Honestly, this addresses the only reason I take a Charge/Wave for ice climbing instead of my Skeletool.  To me, carabiner carry is how this one is optimally designed.

Using it as a sharpening block/stone was my first thought when I saw the pic. The Sport part just didn't fit though. I never thought about mountaineering as an option. Well if Wenger can make a Ranger for it, why couldn't LM make a Skele.

I just don't understand why they are opting for a phillips only bit. wouldn't a phillips/flat head bit like on the Wave make more sense?

[Cupboard]

given that the other snowboard tools all have a No 3 Phillips, I'd guess that must be a key size for snowboards.

[Mr. Whippy]

Hmm...

I have a different take on this tool.  They mention  a Mountaineer. For sharpening ice tools or crampons, that arrangement would work fine AND could be used with gloves on.  I will probably get one and I save final judgement, depending on how big the file is. (long is more important that wide really).

Honestly, this addresses the only reason I take a Charge/Wave for ice climbing instead of my Skeletool.  To me, carabiner carry is how this one is optimally designed.

Using it as a sharpening block/stone was my first thought when I saw the pic. The Sport part just didn't fit though. I never thought about mountaineering as an option. Well if Wenger can make a Ranger for it, why couldn't LM make a Skele.

I just don't understand why they are opting for a phillips only bit. wouldn't a phillips/flat head bit like on the Wave make more sense?

The Phillips would be gone in a nanosecond. All my Grivel, Petzl, Black Diamond gear use 4 and 5 mm Allan heads.

[nervium]

i am happy with my cx, i do not need a damond file, but i believe that more skeletool types will come.

[jzmtl]

Hmm...

I have a different take on this tool.  They mention  a Mountaineer.  For sharpening ice tools or crampons, that arrangement would work fine AND could be used with gloves on.  I will probably get one and I save final judgement, depending on how big the file is. (long is more important that wide really).

Honestly, this addresses the only reason I take a Charge/Wave for ice climbing instead of my Skeletool.  To me, carabiner carry is how this one is optimally designed.

If a diamond file is what you are looking for, wouldn't have a DMT diafold (coupled with regular skeletool) be easier? More functional and still very light.

[Mr. Whippy]

Hmm...

I have a different take on this tool.  They mention  a Mountaineer.  For sharpening ice tools or crampons, that arrangement would work fine AND could be used with gloves on.  I will probably get one and I save final judgement, depending on how big the file is. (long is more important that wide really).

Honestly, this addresses the only reason I take a Charge/Wave for ice climbing instead of my Skeletool.  To me, carabiner carry is how this one is optimally designed.

If a diamond file is what you are looking for, wouldn't have a DMT diafold (coupled with regular skeletool) be easier? More functional and still very light.

It's a good point.  Generally, climbing/mountaineering is a balance beteween weight, convenience and function.

If a run an ice screw into rock, (Worst case scenario) I want a series of files so that I can get the tips resharpened to the correct angle and pitch.  That's just not practical when climbing, so the next best thing is a file that will get the tips sharp.

For crampons and ice tools, the precision is less critical and any file will work to put an edge on them (similar to sharpening a hoe or shovel).

So aside from ice screws, I prefer something I can grab off my harness and use without removing my gloves.  That's what a Wave/Charge does and possibly what this variant would do too, but with less weight than a Charge.

[jzmtl]

I'm sure you can figure out a way to attach a DMT to harness with that fancy workshop of yours. 

[BIG-TARGET]

i am happy with my cx, i do not need a damond file, but i believe that more skeletool types will come.

I must concure on that theory.  The SX,and to an exstent the MUT are merely the beginning

[AimlessWanderer]

i am happy with my cx, i do not need a damond file, but i believe that more skeletool types will come.

Well lets hope they bring one out with better ergonomics on the pliers, and on the drivers too for that matter. A deeper pocket clip and a fully 3D Phillips would be nice too. Possibly even a couple extra tools tucked away too ...

Maybe something like THIS.....