thoughts on juice xe6

[jim guy]

since i dont  have any of the juice series i traded for one of these. Whats the general thoughts about them?

[Crouton]

The Juice line is, dare I say it? inspired by Swiss multi-tools.  The major distinction being that the Juice line has a great medium duty plier yet opens and closes like a butterfly multi-tool.  Most of the tools have a polished finish.

They are well made, well designed tools, but not as heavy duty as a full-sized multi-tool.

[Poncho65]

Very well made med duty MT I have a Kf4 and a Pro and they are both very nice tools with quite a compliment of tools I would push them right at about the same rate I would push my Skeley

[David]

The Juice line is, dare I say it? inspired by Swiss multi-tools.  The major distinction being that the Juice line has a great medium duty plier yet opens and closes like a butterfly multi-tool.  Most of the tools have a polished finish.

They are well made, well designed tools, but not as heavy duty as a full-sized multi-tool.

You can say it but I`ve yet to be convinced its true.

[DaveK]

The Juice line is, dare I say it? inspired by Swiss multi-tools.  The major distinction being that the Juice line has a great medium duty plier yet opens and closes like a butterfly multi-tool.  Most of the tools have a polished finish.

They are well made, well designed tools, but not as heavy duty as a full-sized multi-tool.

You can say it but I`ve yet to be convinced its true.

I have speculated about this in the past. I think at least that the Juice may have been intended to compete with the SAK market, ven if the Juice wasn't supposed to be direct SAK replacement. It makes good business sense really if you look at where Vic and LM were positioned when the Juice was first released in 2001.

Traditionally (if LM can be considered a tradition having only been around since 1983), Vic did small folding pocket tools, LM did plier-based multitools. Then, Vic produced the Swisstool, and the two companies were in direct competition for the first time, so it's highly feasible I would say that the design guys at LM were thinking about the SAK market with the Juice.

I actually did a crude comparison of the Juice Pro and the Swisschamp a while back, and I was quite surprised just how similar the tools were.

As I say, pure speculation on my part, but it does seem feasible.

since i dont  have any of the juice series i traded for one of these. Whats the general thoughts about them?

I think the Juice series has it's role to play in the MT world, and quality-wise they are great. Personally I think the XE6 is a bit too big for EDC, or at least if you are going to carry something of that size and weight, you may as well carry a Wave for example. The smaller Juice tools (like my favourite KF4) seem a bit more viable to me.

They do have some benefits over the Wave however, having 3" slip-jointed blades, for example, makes them UK legal (like an SAK)!

[Chako]

For comparison.



The XE6 is the second from the right. The same thickness as the PRO. The KF4 is the yellow one in the middle.

The Juice series is definitely different from the rest of their lineup other then the smaller Squirts. I know you will like it as long as you don’t mind the heft.

[David]

The Juice line is, dare I say it? inspired by Swiss multi-tools.  The major distinction being that the Juice line has a great medium duty plier yet opens and closes like a butterfly multi-tool.  Most of the tools have a polished finish.

They are well made, well designed tools, but not as heavy duty as a full-sized multi-tool.

You can say it but I`ve yet to be convinced its true.

I have speculated about this in the past. I think at least that the Juice may have been intended to compete with the SAK market, ven if the Juice wasn't supposed to be direct SAK replacement. It makes good business sense really if you look at where Vic and LM were positioned when the Juice was first released in 2001.

Dave I can see where the Juice series may have been intended to compete with the SAK market but inspired means a much different thing to me.   

[David]

Nice comparsion shot Chako. That XE6 and Pro sure is a wide load

[DaveK]

You think the Juice was conceived separately then? I mean, I don't know and you could be right of course...

It just seems unlikely that when they sat down to start designing the Juice, they didn't look to the existing SAKs for what people liked or didn't like. I'm sure LM wouldn't admit it, but I can imagine a designer thinking "the corkscrew seems popular, we should include that" for example.

Pure speculation though for sure.

[David]

Dave you bring up some good points to consider. I always tend to forget about the corkscrew as none of my Juices have one. I`m proably wrong its just that inspired was just to big of a jump for me to make at the moment.

[DaveK]

Well you could be right of course!

[Crouton]

The Juice line is, dare I say it? inspired by Swiss multi-tools.  The major distinction being that the Juice line has a great medium duty plier yet opens and closes like a butterfly multi-tool.  Most of the tools have a polished finish.

They are well made, well designed tools, but not as heavy duty as a full-sized multi-tool.

You can say it but I`ve yet to be convinced its true.

I have speculated about this in the past. I think at least that the Juice may have been intended to compete with the SAK market, ven if the Juice wasn't supposed to be direct SAK replacement. It makes good business sense really if you look at where Vic and LM were positioned when the Juice was first released in 2001.

Dave I can see where the Juice series may have been intended to compete with the SAK market but inspired means a much different thing to me.  

How can the Juice line not be "inspired" by the SAKs that came before it?  The market was well dominated by Swiss makers before and after the release of the Juice line.  Leatherman had to have seen a potential market that was going unexploited by them.  It's not like Leatherman made a copy of a SAK, they took the market demographic and built a product with an entirely new slant.  In this context "inspired by"  simply is the way of things, all companies do it, and we the consumers benefit from it.

[DaveK]

I think David just had a different interpretation of "inspired by".

Anyhoo,  I see from the "What do we have on the way" thread that you've taken the plunge jim guy - so congrats. It'll be interesting to see if you if you share my thoughts on the XE6. I.e. a great tool, has the same "gadget factor" as the Swisschamp which means you probably won't part with it - but ultimately find it a little big to EDC.

But maybe you'll disagree and find it to be perfect

[jim guy]

how big and thick is it? Is it about the same size as a swiss champ?

[DaveK]

This is actually the Juice Pro - but they're the same size:

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,7114.0.html

I included some dimensions and weight IIRC.

[umberto00]

I have an xe6. Nice tool. I usually carry the charge TTi on me, with the juice in my bag. The interesting thing about the juice is that it actually has MORE tools than the full-sized leathermans!

[DaveK]

All this talk of Juices has me thinking.

KF4 or "the naked XE6" tomorrow I reckon 

[Craig]

I have an xe6. Nice tool. I usually carry the charge TTi on me, with the juice in my bag. The interesting thing about the juice is that it actually has MORE tools than the full-sized leathermans!

Good point When you consider how many tools it has the xe6/Pro can be forgiven for being a bulky IMHO. I find it a good choice if you don't need to do anything too heavy duty.

[cerbera147]

Excuse my ignorance but what is a Juice Pro? 

Had a quick look online; from what I can see it is a retired tool and is very similiar to the XE6 but better.

Can anyone shed anymore light? Is there any chance of getting one?

[jim guy]

it is pretty much the same, the pro has a small foil cutting blade. I have one for trade.

[Sazabi]

it is pretty much the same, the pro has a small foil cutting blade. I have one for trade.

Don't forget the tweezers.   Beyond those two tools, they're the same, though. ^^;

[jim guy]

I guess I havnt found those yet.

[cerbera147]

it is pretty much the same, the pro has a small foil cutting blade. I have one for trade.

Thanks for the info Jim 

Unfortunately I have nothing to trade  I am just beginning my addiction 

Ideally I would like something from the Juice line my for next multitool