Buck X-tract Essental Vs Leatherman C33t

[Cupboard]

A couple of months ago I found myself preferring to carry my Leatherman Rebar over my Wave because it was smaller, lighter and fitted better in to my hand, among other advantages. The thing I really missed, however, was the outside accessible one hand opening knife blade. I work on a farm, primarily in the office. I use my knife quite a lot, there's a certain amount of box bashing but heavier use too and not having the OHO knife was a pain and slowed me down.

Earlier in 2013 I'd got a Buck X-tract Essential, and much earlier in the year I'd got an SRM 710. I tried carrying the SRM in addition to the Rebar but I don't find it that easy to OHO as it's too thin and I wanted a general pokey/levery/screwdrivey tool easily accessible. Enter the Buck and the Crater. I carried the Buck for a while but found it lacking. I then bought the Crater from the US, it's cheaper than buying it in the UK even when you factor in Royal Mail slapping an £8 surcharge for delivering it. smurfs. The duty owed was dwarfed by the RM delivery tax.



Both these knives have knives - a good start! They both open easily and lock up solidly. I find the Buck's thumb stud easier to use, I think because the blade isn't held in to the handle so firmly as the Leatherman. The Buck's lock is also easier to release though that isn't to say that the Leatherman's isn't. I can do them both left handed (I'm a righty).

I get a much better grip on the Leatherman though the handle is noticeably smaller in my hand. The Buck has worse hot-spots in the grip. Leatherman gets points for its flipper thing, though I don't know how I'll get on with it in the long term.









They all have screwdrivers, IMO good for giving you an option that doesn't involve mucking up the knife. Sorry about the pictures - I thought I'd lined them up better than that 

Anyway, what the dodgy pictures show you is that the Leatherman's drivers have much better reach. No contest. They're also much sturdier despite not locking. I've had a bit of moment with the Buck's driver on a relatively tight screw where the shank twisted a bit. I finally undid that screw with the Rebar so it wasn't *that* tight.

Where the Buck wins is that the drivers are one hand opening. TBH, I'm happy to swap one hand opening for something that's much sturdier and I feel I could do a bit of prying with despite the Leatherman "only" have a SAK like backspring.









The drivers bear a resemblance to "normal" Leatherman MT drivers but they are definitely different. Usable length up to the nail nick is about the same, but the MT drivers to have the section beyond the nail nick which is potentially useful if you can get that in the hole in question. What I think is quite interesting is the grind on the flat driver. On the Crater it's a symmetric hollow grind which a slight bulge behind the grind, on the Rebar/MT it's a flat chisel grind. The tip on the Crater is slightly narrower.

Anyway, to conclude my ramblings...
To me the Leatherman feels lighter than the Buck but is sturdier. The Leatherman is also smaller but the drivers are stronger with better reach. The Buck has a larger blade which doesn't make a huge amount of difference to me. The Buck has scissors which are too flimsy to cut much more than paper, but are *extremely* got for it. The Leatherman has a bottle opener. Excuse me whilst I try to contain my excitement 



I will be carrying the Leatherman for the foreseeable future and recommending it. I can't say I will be with the Buck.

[bmot]

Actually, the Phillips screwdriver on the LM is perfectly one hand openable


I got the C33t as well, and I love it, quite a lot even Nice and minimalist, but has everything I like to have with me. Might have to file a bit off the knife retention stud on the liner, though, so it opens a smoother.


Nice review! 

[Cupboard]

Actually, the Phillips screwdriver on the LM is perfectly one hand openable

Yes, you're right of course
It's not quite so explicitly OHO as the Buck. The Leatherman's flat driver is a bit stiff on mine.

[SolomonKane79]

Great review/comparison, Cupboard! I too own one Buck X-tract, the one with the small led light and the pliers, which are quite filmsy, yes. I own a couple of those craters too, but i find them to be too small for me, i prefer the expanse or the old bigger series. 

[kirk13]

That was a good little read Tom,thanks!

One question though,did you consider a OHO 111mm SAK at any point?

[Cupboard]

That was a good little read Tom,thanks!

One question though,did you consider a OHO 111mm SAK at any point?

Thanks

Yes.
I played with one on the meetup and struggled opening it. Maybe with practice I'd get it. The thing is they come with a lot of things I don't want, like the saw and can opener, and compromised on other things like the Phillips. I'll probably end up picking one up at some point but I'm in no hurry.

Edit: That said, I do rather like the concept of the liner locking screwdriver.

[kirk13]

Nice to know I'm not the only one who struggled with them

[bmot]

That was a good little read Tom,thanks!

One question though,did you consider a OHO 111mm SAK at any point?

Thanks

Yes.
I played with one on the meetup and struggled opening it. Maybe with practice I'd get it. The thing is they come with a lot of things I don't want, like the saw and can opener, and compromised on other things like the Phillips. I'll probably end up picking one up at some point but I'm in no hurry.

Edit: That said, I do rather like the concept of the liner locking screwdriver.

Also, they're quite a bit bigger than the C33, and (most) don't have a clip...

[rdub934]

I didn't realize how thin the Buck is. I always assumed it was a fatty because I had never seen a picture of it showing thickness.

At any rate, thanks for all the pictures. I would like to get a C33T at some point. I find that I don't always need pliers, but I get a lot more use from the screwdrivers and knife. A crater would be a perfect fit for those days (I carry a Skeletool for that, now)

[rdub934]

Does the extender/bit kit work with the Crater? The LM site doesn't list the Crater as a compatible tool, but just looking at the Philips it seems pretty similar to the Philips on the rebar/blast

[Cupboard]

I couldn't say for definitely but I'd be extremely surprised if it didn't.