Leatherman OHT

[Beerplumber]

Can't remember if this is old news but I see the OHT in the Cabelas catalogue. 2012 fall edition IIRC. I'm no fanboy but for some reason I think I need one!   Not likely going to be a group buy on this one eh? I know, I know to me :p


Stay multi my friends

If there's enough interest I don't see why not.  We don't do group buys based on what I personally like or not.  If you want one, and this goes for anyone who would like one, send Travis a message about it.

Def

Wondering if I may be the only one in the group


Stay multi my friends

[Syph007]

Can't remember if this is old news but I see the OHT in the Cabelas catalogue. 2012 fall edition IIRC. I'm no fanboy but for some reason I think I need one!   Not likely going to be a group buy on this one eh? I know, I know to me :p


Stay multi my friends

If there's enough interest I don't see why not.  We don't do group buys based on what I personally like or not.  If you want one, and this goes for anyone who would like one, send Travis a message about it.

Def

Wondering if I may be the only one in the group


Stay multi my friends

I'm going to wait for more user feedback first.  The last two leathermans I bought just cuz they were the new MT coming out, I had lukewarm feelings about (wingman didnt get to stay and was sold, rebar is better but i havent made up my mind yet if its a permanant addition) so I'll wait a bit on this one. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

It would be two of us at least- as little as I like the thing, it's my duty as a multitool collector to have (at least) one.

Def

[Outback in Idaho]

Wouldn't mind having one to try out and dink-around with but don't see myself purchasing one.

[rdub934]

I wasn't interested in this tool at first, but I am looking forward to it more and more. I have been through two deployments with my Gerber MP400 and I love how easy the pliers are to get to (plus I like to fidget), but hate having to open the pliers just to get at the implements inside the tool. I almost never use the thing because of it. I think one of the slot-screw drivers could take a hike to make room for a 3 inch plus blade, but that is my personal preference. Maybe it will not be a difficult mod to drop a Surge blade into the OHT...

[Metropolicity]

It would be two of us at least- as little as I like the thing, it's my duty as a multitool collector to have (at least) one.

Def

Anything that comes in Black from Leatherman....it's mine.

[Continent]

I worked in theater for several years (1990-1997)and Gerbers were standard among the techs. Typically, much of the work is done on ladders and catwalks so one handed pliers were a must.  Gerber was especially cutting edge because they were comfortabe to use and you could customize them if you had extra parts. Plus, Gerber was the first to use an interchangable tool driver for sawblades and replacable wire cutters. I think they were also the first to incorporate scissors as a standard feature. So there is something to be said for them (my wife still swears by hers which she also discovered during theater work).  That said, the OHT is just hideous.
I sincerely hope that the company which produced the Wave, whose elegance is matched only by its utility has not forgotten that while a tool's function may make it popular, its form can make it legendary.

[kd8fre]

It would be two of us at least- as little as I like the thing, it's my duty as a multitool collector to have (at least) one.

Def

Anything that comes in Black from Leatherman....it's mine.

I'd be in for one too, but I'm impatient, so if we can get it going as soon as we have prices, I'd appreciate it.   

[radiotecha1234]

Can someone explain to me what makes this hideous?

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[Grant Lamontagne]

It's bulky, it has very few functions and teeny weeny pliers.

Def

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[Ashley]

It's bulky, it has very few functions and teeny weeny pliers.

Def

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Don't judge teeny weeny things Def. I'm sure your wife loves you.

I actually really want to try one these myself.

Sent from Ash forum mobile

[J-sews]

It does seem like the blades and pliers are pretty puny in relation to the bulky size of the handles.






OHT alongside a Leatherman Charge:

[Continent]

OK, perhaps I should qualify "hideous".  The handles can't lock together to form a steamlined, compact package and they aren't even parallel when in the closed position.  There's a further lack of symmetry in the scales, which appear almost free-form, as do the pictograms etched on them.  The plier heads look lik a crow's beak (actually this is one of its less offensive aspects). The tools, with their gaping thumb holes appear almost flimsy. The whole package seems blocky, unwieldy and awkward.  I've never held or used one, though, so take my comments with a grain of salt.  I'm commenting on it from a purely aesthetic standpoint.  It may work like a champ.

[Outback in Idaho]

IF only them teeny weeny pliers could somehow migrate over to a Charge model...

 

[Scott86]

The problem with the OHT is it has so much wasted space..
Quick and dirty image to show(light blue = wasted space):


They should have put the outside accessible tools on the inside of the bottom(Like a wave or charge) and either extended the the outside accessible tools, or beefed up the pliers... Because of the sliding pliers, you dont get nearly as much space on the inside, but it still would be adequate for the tools they have at the top(except the philips, that would have had to be shortened)

[AimlessWanderer]

For me the biggest improvement they could make is ... start again from scratch.

Pliers are too narrow to inspire confidence, and too long to allow use of central space at the bottom when stowed (ala Flik/Freehand). Tools deployed at the pliers end give an 80's shoulder pad look  and force the plier heads to be narrow. Long plus narrow = not as strong as shorter or wider. Knife blades and saw are too stumpy. Oh look, three flathead drivers  Talking of which, all those drivers look like they are going to be WAY off centre so using them will likely be tedious. Tool looks WAY too heavy and bulky for the features it encompasses. I'm glad I'm not trying to review this for the main site ... picking three pros would be very tricky 

This just smacks of trying to reverse engineer a design to fit a military purchase specification rather than making something that people actually want to buy or use. I'm not saying people won't buy it - they will - because it has that magical name on the box  Looks like that's the indexable cutters, the flicky pliers AND Gerber's prior ability to let "novelty" get in the way of function that they've "recruited" from their neighbour ...

 

I'm wondering if they managed to secure any military contracts from blueprints/prototypes before they invested in production tooling. Surely they didn't think this would be a big hit on the civilian market did they?



Edit:
  Brief afterthought: (spoof Obi-Wan Kenobi quote ...)

"Which is more foolish, the tool, or the tool that buys it" 

[Beerplumber]

Well I'm not buying two for a pass around so everybody better start saving! :p


Stay multi my friends

[Grant Lamontagne]

Al- people will buy it because it says Leatherman, and others will buy it because it's Mil Spec.  Others who actually know about and use tools will opt for something else and wonder why anyone would buy this one.

And of course collectors will buy one.  At least.  In each color.

Sadly this is a design that I think Leatherman phoned in.  It's not their greatest work, but it will be successful because it has the right element- the name and the Mil Spec badge.  Sadly in a lot of cases actual usefulness and function are taking a back seat to what is going to fly off the shelves at Wal Mart.

Next thing you know, Ferrari is going to mass produce a hybrid subcompact in India that produces about 17 horsepower and gets 130 miles per gallon.  Sure it won't be a Ferarri as we know it, but they'll sell a billion of them... and what's in a name that can't be in your wallet too?

 

Def

[Syph007]

Hmm the only thing I really like about the concept (not the execution) is that you dont have to open the pliers to get to the tools.  Other than that I think it could use some redesign to slim down the bulk.  Or even opt for shorter blunt nose pliers to help reduce the old style call with tail fins like length.

[AimlessWanderer]

Al- people will buy it because it says Leatherman, and others will buy it because it's Mil Spec.  Others who actually know about and use tools will opt for something else and wonder why anyone would buy this one.

And of course collectors will buy one.  At least.  In each color.

Sadly this is a design that I think Leatherman phoned in.  It's not their greatest work, but it will be successful because it has the right element- the name and the Mil Spec badge.  Sadly in a lot of cases actual usefulness and function are taking a back seat to what is going to fly off the shelves at Wal Mart.

Next thing you know, Ferrari is going to mass produce a hybrid subcompact in India that produces about 17 horsepower and gets 130 miles per gallon.  Sure it won't be a Ferarri as we know it, but they'll sell a billion of them... and what's in a name that can't be in your wallet too?

 

Def

Yeah, I'm pretty sure we're on the same wavelength, but it still seems a little off field if they haven't already secured an "in" with a military client. With the Sidekick and Wingman I could see the market, and whether I like them or not you can see how the tool has been designed and produced accordingly - I'm sure they're flying off the shelves in stores everywhere, and I'm sure you're average user is over the moon with them. MUT I would suggest is the same thing. A little more speSmurfpillsed, and again not to everyone's taste but there is a specific market out there, and I'm sure in it's niche it's doing very well.

The OHT though ... just seems a little lost. I suppose the nearest parallel I can draw is, would Leatherman produce a GAK "style" tool unless they got the official order? Doubt it. The MP600 is a very "accessible" tool to a wide percentage of the global populous, and you only need to see how long it's been running and the number of variations. The OHT (to me) doesn't seem to have that "general" marketability. Collectors are purely incidental from a commercial perspective when it comes to introducing a whole new tool with no common parts.

Leatherman must have spent a shed load of money tooling up for this. With the exception of the cutters, everything else appears new and specific to this tool alone. You don't fork out that kind of money unless you are very confident you're in for a good return. My money is on a supply contract already having been secured, which they will then let the general public top up the output on

I may well be wrong though, and have been many many times before 

[zoidberg]

The problem with the OHT is it has so much wasted space..
Quick and dirty image to show(light blue = wasted space):
(Image removed from quote.)

They should have put the outside accessible tools on the inside of the bottom(Like a wave or charge) and either extended the the outside accessible tools, or beefed up the pliers... Because of the sliding pliers, you dont get nearly as much space on the inside, but it still would be adequate for the tools they have at the top(except the philips, that would have had to be shortened)

Yeah I think the tool on the right is upside down, so maybe no wasted space.

[turnsouth]

...but it still seems a little off field if they haven't already secured an "in" with a military client... would Leatherman produce a GAK "style" tool unless they got the official order? Doubt it...Leatherman must have spent a shed load of money tooling up for this...

Three valid points that really make me think that they are building this "to order" for someone.
We do know that they have recently been prototyping for the Indian Army...

[Snipe315]

I read somewhere it has to do with a common statement from deployed soldiers, goes something like this:

"Yea, I'd like to use a Leatherman, but I need pliers that flick..."

Funny, I can "flick" my Leatherman Charge Pliers just fine.

[turnsouth]

I read somewhere it has to do with a common statement from deployed soldiers, goes something like this:

"Yea, I'd like to use a Leatherman, but I need pliers that flick..."

Funny, I can "flick" my Leatherman Charge Pliers just fine.

I think the point is being able to do it without opening the tool...

[Gryffin]

The problem with the OHT is it has so much wasted space..
Quick and dirty image to show(light blue = wasted space):
(Image removed from quote.)

That "wasted space" is occupied by the plier head when it's slid down into the handle.

That type of mechanism takes up a lot of room. That's why Gerber tools typically have stubby little implements, too.

[Syph007]

...but it still seems a little off field if they haven't already secured an "in" with a military client... would Leatherman produce a GAK "style" tool unless they got the official order? Doubt it...Leatherman must have spent a shed load of money tooling up for this...

Three valid points that really make me think that they are building this "to order" for someone.
We do know that they have recently been prototyping for the Indian Army...

For sure, since most of the pix and catalog images are all the BO version too.  That hints military to me.

[Scott86]

That "wasted space" is occupied by the plier head when it's slid down into the handle.

That type of mechanism takes up a lot of room. That's why Gerber tools typically have stubby little implements, too.

The red above the blue is where i *assumed* the pliers sat when they were retracted(like where the 600/diesel/flik/whatever ones sit in gerbers)
If it slides all the way down to the bottom, than i dont see why you're clever use of quotes is necessary, since it TRULY is wasted space. You yourself say its where gerbers stubby tools would go, but if the OHT slides that low there would be no way to fit anything in there.

[Gryffin]

The red above the blue is where i *assumed* the pliers sat when they were retracted(like where the 600/diesel/flik/whatever ones sit in gerbers)

The red is where the base of the plier head sit when extended. Like I said, that sort of mechanism takes up a lot of room; besides the plier jaws themselves, there's the pivot and the "base" that provides support and leverage, as well as the latch mechanism that locks the sliding mechanism into the deployed and stowed positions.

If it slides all the way down to the bottom, than i dont see why you're clever use of quotes is necessary, since it TRULY is wasted space. You yourself say its where gerbers stubby tools would go, but if the OHT slides that low there would be no way to fit anything in there.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here, just stating the obvious. If you look at the right-hand view in your photo, you can see the cut-out in the slot the plier head travels down: it's all the way at the bottom. There is no room for implements in the center channel.

In that respect, the original Gerber Multi-Plier design is a bit more space efficient, since the plier head doesn't retract as far, so there's room for a few stubby implements in that channel, along with a couple longer ones to either side.

[Gryffin]

Funny, I can "flick" my Leatherman Charge Pliers just fine.

I've yet to find a multitool that I couldn't deploy with one hand. The only challenging one was the LM Crunch, which took a bit of practice, but it can be done.

For most, all you need to do is catch the end of one handle on a pants seam, the edge of a pocket, whatever, and separate the handles. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

[Gareth]

Funny, I can "flick" my Leatherman Charge Pliers just fine.

I've yet to find a multitool that I couldn't deploy with one hand. The only challenging one was the LM Crunch, which took a bit of practice, but it can be done.

For most, all you need to do is catch the end of one handle on a pants seam, the edge of a pocket, whatever, and separate the handles. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I take your point, I have yet to find a MT that I couldn't open with one hand either.  However I will say that the out-the-front system is much quicker and more convient in my experience.

I am not wild about the looks of the OHT myself but I will not write it off until someone actually has had a chance to put it through it's paces in the real world.