New to the forum, just bought an SOG Powerlock (over flik, wave, and powerassit)

[Rich N]

I used to have a crappy leatherman clone a while back, after loosing it i never saw the need to replace it with another multi-tool since I have a wide variety of regular tools.  Flash forward, I recently bought a Guppie pocket multi-tool since I really admired the design and figured having a small knife, screw drivers, bottle opener etc on hand would be handy.

So, I really liked the convenience of having the small multitool, but quickly realised its limitations, so I decided to get a beefier multitool to keep in my bag or beltloop if I'm working in the shop. So I started off researching the tools in the $50 range that are out there and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and functions of the tools.  heres the tools that I considered and why I did or didn't like them.

Gerber Flik:
First caught my attention since my house mate has a really nice gerber knife.
Liked:  the slide out pliers were very uniques and a cool feature, the blades looked pretty badass
Dislike:  The philips seems virtually useless, which was the deal breaker

SOG PowerAssist:
Liked: The compound leverage seems awesome,  the accessibility of the two blades on the outside seems convenient
Dislike: It is a multi tool so I didn;t feel like it was worth sacrificing a few tools for the easy access to the blades.

Leatherman Wave:
Liked:  Great assortment of tools,  easy access to blades/saw/file,  seemed to have comfortable surface for plams when using pliers,   very solid all around tool.
Dislike: I almost bought this one acctually had it in my amazon cart for a while, but ended up choosing the power assist for reasons I'll explain below.

SOG Power Lock:
Liked: Great selection of tools which all seem high quality, and ability to customize the tools,  Compound leverage system seems awesome for extra power (as a Senior Mechanical Engineering Major the clever use of gearing appealed to me),  all tools lock, covers for more comfortable grip, very solid and beefy from what I've read, V-cutter seems very useful and unique along with the 1/4" bit driver
Dislike: lack of tool access from outside.



In the end it came down to the Wave and Powerlock.  I decided on the Powerlock since for me, the unique features and design outweighed the lack of tool access from the outside of the tool. 
Sorry about the long winded first post, I spent quite a bit of time yesterday researching and figured I'd share what I learned.  Let me know if you guys have any oppinions on these tools.   

[Shane769]

Welcome welcome to you sir

You seem to have made a very well informed choice there, but I bet being on here will mean you eventually end up with at least one more on that list

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Welcome aboard mate

[WhichDawg]

Rich!

I enjoyed your history and research!

question, why no Victorinox in the list?  

[Gareth]

Hello Rich, welcome to the forum.  Don't worry about long winded posts, we're more than happy to read them.

[Benner]

Welcome  

[Mr. Whippy]

Welcome!  I also like the Guppie as a secondary tool.  Sometimes nothing will do but a wrench.
Personally, I disliked the tool covers on the SOG, but then that's just me.  

[Teofilo]

Welcome, Rich N!

[donvito]

Welcome to the forum WhichDawg I'll second your question. Why Victorinox wasn't considered?

[Rich N]

but I bet being on here will mean you eventually end up with at least one more on that list

I definitely don't doubt that 


As for Victorinox,  that was mostly an over sight on my part.  I just overlooked, since to me it closely resembled the leatherman knockoff I used to own.  After ordering I kept browsing around and noticed that it was the preferred tool of a lot of people.  The Swisstool looks like a very solid tool,  convenient having all of the tools on the outside.  I've heard there is less clumping in this tool then others, and it definitely had a good selection of tool in it.

I think I still would have chosen the SOG had I considered the Victorinox,  but I'll definitely be considering that in the future.  Since the SOG will be my first high end multi-tool (which comes Wednesday  ), I'm sure I'll learn about what I like and dislike about it, giving me a more strict criteria of what I personally need in a multi-tool.

Thanks for the welcomes, and all your info that you've posted through the forum .

[AHB]

Welcome Rich.. 
Remember to post pics..

[DaveK]

Using the rationale you have - I can't see how you can go wrong Rich

For what it's worth, I agree with every point you've made, but would myself have settled with the Wave, as it's smaller and more comfortable in the hand I find. If the wire-cutting power was a big deal for me - I'd agree with you totally!

Oh - I have all four anyway - and you will too - you'll see

[Craig]

Welcome to the forum

[WhichDawg]

I think your going to like your Sog, made good and does the job. and DaveK is right, your gonna get them all LOL!

I have learned (coming here) and research that some companies "clump" tools on purpose and that it's not always
a design flaw.

They do it for fast access to tools (like when you have gloves on) so you can get one tool and the rest "around it" come out,
then you pick what you want and push the others back in, which isn't a bad thing

[nuphoria]

Welcome and thanks for your comprehensive post 

I hope you like your SOG, but don't let that stop you buying several other tools

[Shane769]

Using the rationale you have - I can't see how you can go wrong Rich

For what it's worth, I agree with every point you've made, but would myself have settled with the Wave, as it's smaller and more comfortable in the hand I find. If the wire-cutting power was a big deal for me - I'd agree with you totally!

Oh - I have all four anyway - and you will too - you'll see

It's comments like these, and the one I myself made, that make me feel like a heretic in here I have only 2 MTs, 2 SAKs and a couple cheap folders. I blame to poorness of university life...


... and no credit card

[donvito]

I've heard there is less clumping in this tool then others, and it definitely had a good selection of tool in it.

Zero tool clumping due to strong individual springs --> each tool has its own spring

[Rich N]

Thanks again guys for all the welcomes.

I got my Powerlock today and its pretty awesome.  Feels solid and beefy in hand, opens and closed smoothly.  All the tools lock into place nicely except for the scissors which seem to have a more complex mechanism down there than the others.  I've been back and fourth about weather or not I want to leave the hand cover things on,  I don't think I'll be squeezing the pliers hard enough to need them,  but I like that they give the tool a more solid/complete feel when using the pliers or an individual tool.

I was having some fun with the wire cutter earlier,  cut through a penny and coat hanger with no problems,  then tried a keyring which put a bit of a notch in the cutter (I wouldn't recommend trying this )

I also used the can opener earlier on some tuna,  since it makes it much easier to drain after opening then the regular can opener (one of those new ones that cuts around the outside of the can).  It worked much better then the opener on my old leatherman knock off since its sharper and locked in place.

Lastly I took some crude measurements because I was curious about the exact gear ratio of the 'compound leverage'  and got a ratio of 2.27:1 which is pretty cool.

I'm looking forward to carrying it on my especially around the shop, I have a feeling it's going to be pretty handy

[DaveK]

Sounds as though you've made the right choice then Rich - congratulations!

.... of course it won't be until you've bought a couple more, to compare, before you can be totally sure

[Poncho65]

Welcome to the forum

[Smitty44]

Welcome to the forums Rich N,think you will like it hear,and sounds like a very interesting job you have,I was in aircraft maintenance for over 30yrs.
 &

[Chako]

Welcome aboard. 

[heavy handed]

welcome