One of the reasons I keep picking Gerber over Leatherman ...

[AimlessWanderer]

There is one aspect where (for me) Gerber  keep beating Leatherman, time after time after time ... and that is in ergonomics, specifically comfort in using tools in the pliers mode.

A bit of background first ...

I have average sized hands, but with less than average grip strength. I had an operation on the tendons in my hands as a kid, and I've never had much as strength in my hands as others might have. When doing any kind of physical work, even when just carrying stuff, my hands will generally give out long before my arms will. Add to that the arthrtis that runs through my family history, and that compounds the issue even more. Whilst I might have only just crossed the threshold into my forties, it's very much starting to make itself known in a few finger joints. As such, the comfort of pliers tools (where grip strength is required most) is one of the key attributes of a multitool for me. It can matter on the screwdriver elements too, but probably to a slightly lesser extent.

I tend to have got a rep on here for bashing Leatherman, but I bash other companies' offerings too, and I do give LM praise when I feel it is due. So why does LM get so much critique from me? Well, Leatherman have always been strongest in their larger tool formats. The 4" and particularly 4.1/2" toolsets are where they offer their best engineered tools, and I don't feel (though I am sure others will disagree) that their smaller tools set themselves apart from the crowd as much as their bigger tools. But they have a recurring characteristic which for me personally, ruins my ability to get the most from those tools - splayed handles with a squarish cross section. In short, the ergonomics of Leatherman tools are one of their biggest downsides.

To try and illustrate this point, and show that these aren't just empty comments from a guy with a bee in his bonnet for no good reason, I've tried to take a range of pictures showing a broad range of tools "in action" in pliers mode. All I have done is take a couple of pics of each tool. One showing my grip when the pliers are closed, and another gripping a Clipper lighter in the main gripping section of the tool. For reference the Clipper lighter is approximately 11/16" or 17.5mm in diameter.

To start off with and get some perspective, here is the lighter with one of my lovely modded Gerber's - the MP426 ... a modded MP400 with corkscrew and file instead of knife blade.

(BTW - I'm NOT left handed .... which is why I'm operating the camera with my right hand  )





With this tool I have good control of the pliers, can exert a reasonable amount of force one handed, and the handles themselves are quite comfortable, even with a corkscrew mounted on the outside. The toolset within is perfectly adequate even though the drivers are a little on the short side, but the fact I can use these pliers so comfortably wins them a frequent place in my carry.

Now let's take a look at a "far superior tool" which actually doesn't perform as well for me in pliers mode ... a Swisstool!



Here, with the pliers head closed, my grip on the tool is noticably more open. Once the lighter is being gripped, the grip is flared significantly, I can't exert as much gripping force on the workpiece despite the tool being larger framed (theoretically better leverage), and the highly polished handles are also making my hands want to travel upwards towards the pliers head.

I love the Swisstool. It was my first "proper" multitool after originally getting a Gerber Suspension, and the implements within / walk and talk / lock up / sheath / peripherals ... are all fantastic quality ... but it doesn't get much carry these day as I'd have to use these two handed on some pliers tasks, when I could easily use the MP426 one handed. The Spirit (which I'll show later) has an equally excellent toolset, but with much better ergonomics in pliers mode

There's many more thoughts and pics to share on this topic, but I'll be breaking it all down into a number of posts for convenience of typing and reading  Besides which, it's getting late and I've got work tomorrow 

[AimlessWanderer]

I'll dive straight into the ST300 next. As I eluded to before, arguably one of LM's better built offerings, but again one which actually loses function in my hands due to the ergonomics and impared ability to harness the full potential of the tool.



Here you see that with pliers closed the grip is a little more open than even the Swisstool was, and by the time you are trying to grip the lighter, an average sized hand is put in a position where it is working inefficiently ... disregard my own personal complications with hand strength for a moment, an average sized hand is taken outside of it's maximum efficiency with a grip this splayed. I feel fairly confident I can label that statement as a fact, not just an opinion. Yes, some people have larger hands and for them it will be different, but I'm specifically talking about those that haven't got XL or XXL hand sizes.

This whole topic for me also highlights another anomaly in peoples arguements about tool capability, where they start raving about which tool jaws open more than other tools jaws. Unless you are going to do everything two handed, is there really any benefit in the jaws opening so wide.

BTW - Leatherman is far from the worst here. Just take a look at the SOG Powerlock ...



Two words .... BLOODY RIDICULOUS!!! 

Yes, the SOG offers compound leverage, but due to the handles opening at approximately twice the rate of the jaws, it's not long before the benefit of the compound leverage is totally outweighed by the inability to get any purchase on the pliers one handed.

OK, now we've covered the extremes there - I can start looking at a few other tools in the spectrum and explaining how the gripping characteristics of the various handles vary across a range of manufacturers. I hope to cover a range of tools with this, so it's not just a Gerber vs LM showdown, but hopefully a good reflection of a wider range of tools.

[AimlessWanderer]

The Leatherman Kick and Fuse are a couple of 4" framed tools which don't work too badly in my hands. The grip is still a little more splayed than the MP400 frame as shown in the OP, but I can still get a reasonable amount of purchase on these. Add to that their ease of modding the toolset to suit my requirements, and you can see why these have a place on my array and win carry time.




The Rebar (shown here with cap crimper pliers - a mod in progress) is pretty similar to the Kick and Fuse, but having the rolled edges isn't quite as comfortable for me as the zytel edge on the older models.



The tool is OK for a quick job, but liable to lead to hand fatigue a little quicker than the Fuse/Kick. I also seem to get more hotspots off the lock and butt end of the handles than I do from it's predecessors. Good enough to get them a place in the cycling bag for back up use, but not good enough for frequent carry in my opinion. I'm not shooting down the tool as unusable for pocket carry for the masses, far from it, I just have many other options that will be better for frequent usage.

If anything the Spirit may have a slightly more flared grip with the lighter in the jaws.



However, the curvature of the handles, the smooth full palm contact rather than rolled edges, and the lack of hotspots from the locks and handle ends, all mean that this tool is far more likely to win pocket time than the Rebar. I could definitely use this tool for more prolongued timeframes than I could with the Rebar, and I personally think the toolset within is superior too (both in terms of diversity and quality)

A quick side note here ...

I'll acknowledge at this point that the Spirit's pliers are not as good as the Rebars for cutting stranded wire. No arguement from me on that. Although there is another issue. Someone here (can't remember who) started a thread recently about how the indexable cutters in the Rebar head take more cutting force to cut certain items than non-indexable pliers heads. Me and Lobster Boy both agreed that this is due to the cutting geometry of the cutters ... but couple that with the reduced comfort level compared with other tools, and you reduce the times the task can be repeated before fatigue sets in.

Last one for this post ... the Charge AL



Again, this is another tool I really like. The diversity and quality of the tools here is superb. The grip isn't too splayed, though it's kind of approaching the limit for me, but the exterior of the handles is quite angular which again can be a factor in the frequency the tool can be used before your hands start tiring. The Wave suffers this to a slightly lesser extent and has a slightly slimmer profile. Both can however be a little pinchy if your hand rides up the handles a bit and the pliers slip off what you are gripping.

[AimlessWanderer]

OK, now lets have a look at why I like Gerbers for a minute. Some people deride them for stumpy drivers, others because the build quality isn't quite as smooth as they like (even though they can be at a lower price point), and others simply don't like them because it doesn't say Leatherman on the handles ... however I think there are still benefits to be had which are not present on other tools.

First up, Gerber Octane.



Not the strongerst pliers in the world. Exert some force on these and you are going to feel some flex and might even hear a creak or two. Look at the difference in the grip though. Even though the handles are quite slim so there is not a lot of palm/finger contact to spread the load, I can really bear down on these pliers, moreso than with some of the other models I carry. This means that (ironically) I can sometimes get a better grip with the weaker pliers than I can with the stronger ones. Assuming you are not putting pipes on the handles, using the tools with both hands, or standing on them to put your entire body weight into it, with MOST pliers tools on the market I think it's fair to say the pliers are stronger than the gripping strength of one hand (J-sews will testify to this NOT being the case with current Schrade offerings). So if the pliers are stronger than the force you can exert, they are strong enough - even if they are not as strong as the next pair (assuming of course you are not amplifying the force somehow)

The Balance is another favourite of mine.



Again sometimes derided for it's reduced strength compared to other tools, this is another item I get put some grunt behind and achieve what is required from it. Not only is the grip within the efficient range of the hand, but the handles are oh so comfortable compared to many of it's competitors. The main competitor for this tool is in my mind the Juice



As much as I berate many of the features within the handles of the Juice line, I have always said that the pliers are very good on these tools. Here though is another example of what I was saying earlier of the wide capacity of pliers being negated by other factors. Whilst I can still get a good grip with the pliers at this span, take a look at the angle of the handles compared with the Balance pics shown above. Force is lost travelling up the pliers heads, and is not transmitted as effectively as with the Balance, as the force is not being exerted tangentially to the pivot action  ... OK, sorry, big babbly words there ... but the Balance transmits the force from my hands to what I am gripping more efficiently than the Juice does. The Juice pliers are still very very good, but the handle angles do detract slightly from the efficiency of the tool.

[AimlessWanderer]

Sorry guys, running out of time here, I'll try to finish this tomorrow evening 

[Syncop8r]

Maybe it's the angle of the photo, but to me it looks like the Swisstool is open wider than the ST300?

[detron]

I do not own one to check with,  but the OHT might be closer to the gerber when it comes to handle seperation.  (since they basically used Gerber's design concepts)

[AimlessWanderer]

Maybe it's the angle of the photo, but to me it looks like the Swisstool is open wider than the ST300?

Possibly the angle of the pic. Look at where my fingers sit as that might be a clearer indication of the grip I can get

[AimlessWanderer]

I do not own one to check with,  but the OHT might be closer to the gerber when it comes to handle seperation.  (since they basically used Gerber's design concepts)

Unfortunately I don't have one for comparison, but I have tried the OHT and I found it very hand filling in the closed position. That said, there seems to be more at play with many of these tools than just where the handles sit at the open and closed positions. Some tools splay more than other depending on the aperture of the main gripping section, and how far forwards of the pivot that area is. Without putting the same diameter item within the pliers and doing a side by side comparison with the other stuff like I'm doing here, I can't really offer anything definitive as to the OHT "in use"

[parnass]

Excellent series of posts, 50ft-trad.  I concur with several points concerning the ease of using Gerber vs. non-Gerber pliers, but I think the majority of your analysis addresses gripping larger objects.

For me, the Gerber MP400 and MP600 series don't do as well as the competition when gripping small objects.  In that case, I find their handles are too close together.  They are so close together that it's difficult to keep a finger in between, a technique I use to better control the gripping action of smaller objects.  Perhaps spring loading the pliers would help there.

While most people sing the praises of the Leatherman Wave, the sharp top edges of the handles and tools chafe my palms when using the pliers.  Plus, the knife spine can pinch my palm sometimes when using the pliers.   I had the same chafing problem with the Surge (and it was just too big and heavy).

The Skeletool pliers has drawbacks, too.  The asymmetric handles restrict you to holding them in only one position instead of two, and the curvature of the bottom handle forces my hand to slide towards the plier head.

I had a bad pinching experience with the original Gerber Multi Pliers several years ago.  That led to using a long succession of Leatherman multitools with a few Victorinox and Shrades thrown in.  More recently, I've acquired current versions of the Gerber MP400, MP600, and MP800 and have been pleasantly surprised in many respects.

My most comfortable multitool pliers at the moment are the Crescent ToolZall (aka/Bear Jaws), Super Bear Jaws, and Victorinox Spirit.   The Gerber M600 blunt nose seems pretty good, too, but I've not had sufficient experience with it yet.

[AimlessWanderer]

Thanks parnass 

Yes, I can see your point on the smaller diameter stuff. In fact whilst my ramblings focus of one perspective of tool use, conversely they might be of benefit for opposite reasons. It might be for example that someone may look at the Octane and decide that grip is way too small for them, and therefore they would find a more splayed grip more efficient for their use. I'm certainly not trying to impose an X is better than Y perspective, but rather trying to highlight a factor which doesn't seem to have gotten much coverage before, an which may help folks get a different perspective (good or bad) on tools they haven't necessarily spent time with before

[kmanct3]

I do not own one to check with,  but the OHT might be closer to the gerber when it comes to handle seperation.  (since they basically used Gerber's design concepts)

I checked, you are right about that

[Grant Lamontagne]

This is an amazingly well thought out post, and I tend to agree with you.

SOG also is able to be used in the closed position,  with the handles and head pointed the same way, but I feel the same way about it in that configuration- the handles just open too wide to be of much use.

Def

Sent from my smurfing hunk of techno sorcery

[Syncop8r]

I can better appreciate the shape of the Spirit/Swisstool (and normal pliers) now - to prevent hands slipping towards the plier heads. Spring loaded pliers would also help solve this.
I find the Skeletool usable both ways around but a spring would improve it a lot IMO.

Are you going to compare with a Wave? I imagine it would be similar to the Surge which I find very comfortable.

[parnass]

Adjustable arc joint and slip joint pliers overcome the problem of having the handles too close or too far apart when gripping an item.  That's why I often carry a Knipex Cobra pliers.

Incorporating that into a reasonably sized multitool which also has a wire cutter would be interesting.

[av8r1]

This is my main complaint about the Wingman.  The plier handles are wider open than the Wave's by a significant margin so the tool feels too big in the hands during use.  That coupled with the spring action and the smooth steel grips means the tool slides backward in your hands during use.  None of my other Leathermans seem to suffer that problem.

I must express a dissenting opinion regarding small tools, though.  Compare a Squirt to a Dime.  The Squirt is a better tool by far.  The pliers are much grippier, the wire cutters work, the blade holds an edge, and the bottle opener isn't anywhere near as obnoxious.  Only thing I liked about the Dime better was the paint.  The Squirt's anodized coating feels much easier to scratch off.  They're about equal in scissors; I don't really like the leaf spring design.  Maybe if it worked more like a Wingman in that spring tension is removed when the tool is closed, but meh.

[SteveC]

Great post and interesting comparisons  !

[Etherealicer]

Thanks for the insight. Honestly, it didn't occur to me to look at that aspect of a MT. I am a very light plier user and mostly its smaller stuff (bending sheet metal on a server housing and such).
Having hands fitting into glove size M I can say I have medium sized hands too (maybe leaning towards the small). So this is definitively something that would affect me coming a day where I need the pliers a lot.

It also explains to me the benefit of sliding pliers. I was wondering about that and could primarily see the drawbacks.
Also, up till now, I was wondering why not everybody would copy SOGs power pliers never seeing any disadvantage apart from the added complexity for manufacturing. Maybe I'm not as smart as I thought .


Excellent observation, thanks for sharing.

[AimlessWanderer]

Thank you all, I really appreciate the comments. 

This evening, I will continue where I left off and complete the series of posts as originally planned. After that, I'll address your comments as best I can, and look at taking/uploading additional pics as necessary - including a Wichard multitool with slip joint pliers. I hadn't originally photographed the Wave or Wingman either, so I'll look at those too 

[Chako]

 Great work there.

[magentus]

Excellent article 50ft, I look forward to reading the next bit. Thanks for putting the time and effort into this.

 

[Kampfer]

Very informative, I can see some of your reasons now. thanks.

[ToolJoe]

  I am going a different route and carry a pair Channel Lock slipjoint pliers with a Crater knife or SAK.

[Monrogue]

Excellent thread Al   I'm in the same boat as you with the average hand size.  I hadn't really paid it much attention for the most part until a few months ago.  I don't use pliers a lot anyway, and most times, it's not for anything large enough to require a wider grip. 

It does seem LM is guilty of this quite a bit, with the OHT being the exception from what I've experienced.  SOG is horrible with this.  That was a big negative for me with the PPP I have.  Even though I don't have big hands and don't normally have to grip anything that large, it still felt odd how the handles just continued to splay out with no stop. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Continuing on ... 

Leatherman's handles haven't alwys been as splayed as shown in several of the pics above. In fact when their tools were first introduced, the grip size was a lot friendlier to the more modest hand size than today's offerings. Here is the PST undergoing the same regime.



Of course these were rather uncomfortable tools to bear down on due to the lack of any rolled edges, zytel, or any other handle architecture to spread the load on the hands. That said, even wrapping the handle with a buff, or bandand, or even a shirt sleeve to add some padding, the grip is still more controlable and within the efficiency range for an average sized hand. This is one of the reasons why the older PSTs and Sideclip have crept back into my carry options. I feel the Pulse may be similar in the splay of the handles, but adds the rolled edges for increased comfort. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get on with the locks on that thing at all.  In a way Leatherman tools have gradually become less ergonomic as time has passed.

Some would consider these older LM tools to be a more moderate duty plier, and I would consider these next two from Gerber to be moderate duty too.





The MP700 and much maligned BG Strata are much more hand filling than the PST and offer a greatly increased handle comfort. The smooth rounded aluminium scales on the 700 and textured polymer on the Strata offer a very comfortable and secure grip, and in theory should be capable of allowing the user to exert full force against the handles with no discomfort whatsoever .... but there is a problem. If the user starts using these tools for heavy duty applications, the tool itself will suffer for it faster than most.

The reason for this is that both these tools have a hollow plier head which is fitted with a spring return. For delicate tasks the sprung pliers can be a real benefit, and the spring tension is well matched for the size of the tool. It is by no means underwhelming or overbearing, and offers a steady return to the open position, but still allows a good working feel of what you are gripping. Unfortunately, this hollow handle also concentrates the forces onto a smaller area on the main plier pivot itself, and this increases internal wear and reduces the life of the plier. My first MP700 was very smooth to start with, but after some extended usage and a few heavy applications, the pliers developed a bit of slop. This didn't impede the use too much other than the tool wouldn't fully close as the slack that developed in the plier head allowed the handles to come away from each other a bit when the tool was closed. Had these got gone back for warranty on another issue, I could see this increased wear becoming a factor and possibly even taking the tool to failure in time.

The BG Strata gets more of a kicking than it deserves in fairness, purely due to the celebrity branding/endorsement by the guy everyone seem to love to kick. I have used the tool for doing proper work when I had the boat, and the tool did absolutely everything I asked of it with no problems at all. That said, I would say that both these tools are suitable for moderate use on a regular basis, but are capable of the occasional heavier duty use when needed. Just don't use them for heavy duty all the time or you'll seriously reduce the working life of the tool.

Back on the subject of ergonomics though, if you are using these for moderate use, you can use these pliers all day long without the cumulative strain on your hands that you would experience from many other pliers based tools. That again means they are winners in my book. The pliers may take some injury from over exertion or prolongued usage, but your hands won't .... and you can't send your hands off for warranty like you can with these tools. Two very underrated tools for people who don't have to push their pliers to the limit.

[Top-Gear-24]

Excellent thread Al   I'm in the same boat as you with the average hand size.  I hadn't really paid it much attention for the most part until a few months ago.  I don't use pliers a lot anyway, and most times, it's not for anything large enough to require a wider grip. 

It does seem LM is guilty of this quite a bit, with the OHT being the exception from what I've experienced.  SOG is horrible with this.  That was a big negative for me with the PPP I have.  Even though I don't have big hands and don't normally have to grip anything that large, it still felt odd how the handles just continued to splay out with no stop.

Even though we all suspected it, I still think it's quite brave of you to talk so openly about it  .

[derekmac]

Excellent thread Al   I'm in the same boat as you with the average hand size.  I hadn't really paid it much attention for the most part until a few months ago.  I don't use pliers a lot anyway, and most times, it's not for anything large enough to require a wider grip. 

It does seem LM is guilty of this quite a bit, with the OHT being the exception from what I've experienced.  SOG is horrible with this.  That was a big negative for me with the PPP I have.  Even though I don't have big hands and don't normally have to grip anything that large, it still felt odd how the handles just continued to splay out with no stop.

Even though we all suspected it, I still think it's quite brave of you to talk so openly about it  .

[dks]

            

[AimlessWanderer]

 

[Monrogue]

Excellent thread Al   I'm in the same boat as you with the average hand size.  I hadn't really paid it much attention for the most part until a few months ago.  I don't use pliers a lot anyway, and most times, it's not for anything large enough to require a wider grip. 

It does seem LM is guilty of this quite a bit, with the OHT being the exception from what I've experienced.  SOG is horrible with this.  That was a big negative for me with the PPP I have.  Even though I don't have big hands and don't normally have to grip anything that large, it still felt odd how the handles just continued to splay out with no stop.

Even though we all suspected it, I still think it's quite brave of you to talk so openly about it  .

 
Oh man, I really set myself up for that one huh?  I didn't even realize it either