As I’ve been sick for the past couple of days and can’t really talk much and I’ve also been quite bored, I decided to make a written comparison of two tools
So, don’t be critical, I’m doing this mostly for fun and because I’m bored. And I’m also quite tired to look up specs online, so you’ll see lots of “about” and “around”, less “exactness” and far from excellent pictures (I’m doing this in bed)
So, let’s have a look at the similarities between the Leatherman Wave and the Leatherman Juice xE6. They fall in two different categories, the Wave being a full-size tool and the Xe6 – pocket size tool. However, they have more in common than one might think. Their almost identical sets of tools let aside, they’re also just 50gr apart in weight – it was quite difficult to me to tell the difference, holding both in my hand, so I had to look it up
Both tools have sheaths/sheaths can be bought for them. My Wave came with one, the Juice came without, but I’m using the one from the S2. The Juice’s sheath in my opinion is more convenient, because due to its clip, you can remove the whole tool and sheath from your belt unlike the Waves.
The Juice is the “fatty” here, while the Wave is about half a layer slimmer, but almost 2cm taller.
My Juice was brand new, but it came quite loose from the box. Something which I actually like in comparison to the Wave, which I bought used, but it’s still quite tight.
Of course they both have… pliers. I may not be able to show it, but in comparison to all my Leathermans, whose plier tips were more than perfectly done, the tips of the Waves needlenose pliers are slightly “moved” that is, they don’t meet perfectly. Which is not important for me, really. But I found it weird.
Both tools have an almost equal number of screwdrivers that is, three flat heads and one phillips for the Juice and three flat heads and two phillips for the Wave (because of its bits).
Most of the Juice tools are on the outside, so let’s see what we have on the outside in both multitools. Some of the tools are actually “combined” in the same way- on the Wave we have the plain blade and the saw on the same side “horizontally”, on the Juice we have the blade and the saw again on the same side, but “vertically”.
Then we have the serrated blade and the file on the other side again “together”.
Now we have perhaps my favourite tool, the scissors. They’re quite different in size and structure, but I can’t say which one’s better here. I dare say the tiny scissors on my Wave are better. But maybe that’s because the scissors of the Juice were quite loose out of the box. The scissors of the Juice are accessible on the outside, though, while the Wave’s are hidden inside.
Speaking of the hidden stuff, don’t get me on the Wave’s lanyard ring which took me hours to find. And I did thanks to one YT video
. The Juice’s lanyard ring is a lot easier to find. The lanyard ring on the Wave looks a bit more… subtle, though, despite its size. Or maybe it’s just me. Both are equally difficult to get out – I need tools to do this.
Now as for the openers – tools that I’ve never ever needed- the Wave has got a bottle/can opener, the Juice has got a bottle opener that combines the weird thingie helping the corkscrew do its job.
That’s for the likeness between the tools. Now, as I mentioned the corkscrew, let’s quickly go through the few different tools that either Leatherman offers. As you saw in the previous picture, the Juice has a corkscrew and the Wave does not. The Wave has a can opener, which the Juice does not. The Juice also offers and awl and the Wave does not. On the other hand, the Wave offers an awesome ruler ( I have a thing for rulers
) and the short and stubby Juice does not.
The Wave's tools all lock, the Juice’s do not.
You can adjust the tightness of the Wave and it’s… open to modding, I assume, though I haven’t done it, you can’t do that with the Juice.
So, in the end, the main difference is the tool “toughness” and what you’re going to use the tools for. Both are equally versatile.