Leatherman Skeletool RX for Police

[Rico-2]

The new light-weight Leatherman Skeletool RX may be appropriate for police officers to carry on their body permanently.

The RX looks amazing, but that should not influence my verdict. Tax-payers'money should not be be spend to please the officers eye, but to serve the public efficiently. And the most handsome job-applicant is not alway the best staff-member.

The RX seems ergonomic, and is not easily lost in high grass, because of its bright orange color.

It has a replaceable glass breaker. It can be attached to a utility vest with its carbiner for quick deployment. This carbiner also extends the grip for better ergonomics and retention. This may be useful in frost and stress situations, when fine motor skills are lost.

The RX can also be attached with a lanyard to the body for extra retention, when the multi-tool can fall in water or depth.

At first sight the Skeletool RX seems to have not many functions, But officers can carry many different flat Leatherman screw-bits that fit in the RX. And the Skeletool RX also supports the Leatherman Bit Driver Extender with regular 1/4 inch hex screw-bits.

http://www.leatherman.com/bit-driver-extender-131.html#start=2

The Skeletool RX could be carried together with several separate additional mini-tools like a micro wood-saw, fine-tipped pliers, small rescue scissors, etc. They need not be mounted to the multi-tool.

For complicate emergencies and disasters, there should be two more extensive and heavy multi-tools in every patrol-car.
 
The blade of the RX can be opened with one hand, which is good. The warranty lasts 25 years, explaining its high price.

Video: Leatherman Skeletool RX and More: SHOT Show 2016



Skeletool RX specs:
http://www.leatherman.com/skeletool-rx-464.html#q=rx&start=1

[Rico-2]

RX posing in the nude:

[Alan K.]

Road patrol officers wouldn't want too many things hanging off of them or attached by lanyards because everything that is attached to you by lanyard is something else that can be grabbed by the bad guy in a scuffle to pull you off balance. Nothing wrong with pocket carry and the Skeletool has an excellent blade so it replaces a basic single blade knife.

[NKlamerus]

So what happened to LEO's needing a Mini-Surge?

Again, personally I don't see the need in a Body Carry MT for an Officer. Anything they carry; is more weight. Regardless of what it is, they will be lighter if its left in a patrol car or bag.

[Rico-2]

Road patrol officers wouldn't want too many things hanging off of them or attached by lanyards because everything that is attached to you by lanyard is something else that can be grabbed by the bad guy in a scuffle to pull you off balance.

I agree. And weapon retention is crucial. Police officers should only hang the RX with its carbiner during a rescue operation. And a thin lanyard can be carried inside the multi-tool-pouch on a utility-vest or duty-belt.

[jerseydevil]

So what happened to LEO's needing a Mini-Surge?

Again, personally I don't see the need in a Body Carry MT for an Officer. Anything they carry; is more weight. Regardless of what it is, they will be lighter if its left in a patrol car or bag.

I have to agree.  My stepfather was a police officer for about 10 years. His duty belt had enough stuff on it. If tools would be needed, that's what the patrol car was for. Around here you don't have "beat" cops, walking patrols. The car is used for getting around.

[Rico-2]

So what happened to LEO's needing a Mini-Surge?

That is still a good idea. But Leatherman did not respond in that topic, so it is fully uncertain if it will ever be made. And in the mean-time, officers need to carry multi-tools

Again, personally I don't see the need in a Body Carry MT for an Officer. Anything they carry; is more weight. Regardless of what it is, they will be lighter if its left in a patrol car or bag.

If an officer finds a multi-tool to heavy, he or she should carry at least a very small one, like the Leatherman Squirt PS4. And preferably give its blade a few serrations, using a very small round iron file.

[jerseydevil]

Why? the car is right there. If tools are needed, just go grab them!  I did EMS for years in both rural and suburban areas, and NEVER needed an MT on me. If something was needed, I had both a bag with me, and a friggin' ambulance right there too!

[NKlamerus]

.

[Rico-2]

Why? the car is right there. If tools are needed, just go grab them!  I did EMS for years in both rural and suburban areas, and NEVER needed an MT on me. If something was needed, I had both a bag with me, and a friggin' ambulance right there too!

Officers cannot always stay close to their car. For example in search & rescue in a forest, pursuit on foot, searching a large factory, entering a sky-scraper, patroling on an event or in a chool, staying at a road-block, riot control, etc.

And they often cannot wear a bag, to keep their running speed.  So carrying a small multi-tool in their vest, saves some time. 

[yud]

So what happened to LEO's needing a Mini-Surge?

That is still a good idea. But Leatherman did not respond in that topic, so it is fully uncertain if it will ever be made. And in the mean-time, officers need to carry multi-tools

Where you really expecting that they would?  The only way to really know that they even saw it would be to email the.

Also the RX has no saw what are those flood victims going to do.

[Rico-2]

Also the RX has no saw what are those flood victims going to do.

I have not yet decided what the best multi-tool is for police officers to carry. It is a tough decision regarding current market supplies, weight, options, needs, scenarios and probabilities.
 
Let's not blow that extreme flood example out of proportion. There are millions of situations possible in which an officer needs tools.

[Etherealicer]

Officers cannot always stay close to their car. For example in search & rescue in a forest, pursuit on foot, searching a large factory, entering a sky-scraper, patroling on an event or in a chool, staying at a road-block, riot control, etc.

search & rescue in a forest: I also recommend a bottle of water for this (before an MT), clearly this is not something you run into, you plan it and it takes only seconds to grab an MT (also in the forest it is highly unlikely that you need a screwdriver).
pursuit on foot: You won't need an MT for that. Communication is key to that.
searching a large factory, entering a sky-scraper: What are you planning on doing? Fixing a power outlet?
patrolling on an event or a school, staying at a road-block, riot control: Shouldn't the policemen focus on their job? They are not janitors!

Having an MT at hand is awesome, even if you use it only on the rarest occasion. But if you are already overloaded you will need to make a compromise. Also, I think you are trying to pack for the whole career of the police officer and not just the occasion.

I think you need to order your concept and re-think what you want.
Where does the cop work (city / suburbs / countryside...)
What are his functions (patrolling / traffic control / mall cop...)

[Toolslinger]

Officers cannot always stay close to their car. For example in search & rescue in a forest, pursuit on foot, searching a large factory, entering a sky-scraper, patroling on an event or in a chool, staying at a road-block, riot control, etc.

search & rescue in a forest: I also recommend a bottle of water for this (before an MT), clearly this is not something you run into, you plan it and it takes only seconds to grab an MT (also in the forest it is highly unlikely that you need a screwdriver).
pursuit on foot: You won't need an MT for that. Communication is key to that.
searching a large factory, entering a sky-scraper: What are you planning on doing? Fixing a power outlet?
patrolling on an event or a school, staying at a road-block, riot control: Shouldn't the policemen focus on their job? They are not janitors!

Having an MT at hand is awesome, even if you use it only on the rarest occasion. But if you are already overloaded you will need to make a compromise. Also, I think you are trying to pack for the whole career of the police officer and not just the occasion.

I think you need to order your concept and re-think what you want.
Where does the cop work (city / suburbs / countryside...)
What are his functions (patrolling / traffic control / mall cop...)

I see what you did there...

 

[Humppa]

To the TO:

I realised that you are rather interessted if this or that tool is good for police or carry or not. Well, may I ask you why every thread seems to be police related? Are you a cop on your own or just interessted in the gear they carry? An MT for me a helper during the day and nothing with any tactical aspect.

I don´t want to offend, I´m just interessted.

[Rico-2]

Having an MT at hand is awesome, even if you use it only on the rarest occasion. But if you are already overloaded you will need to make a compromise. Also, I think you are trying to pack for the whole career of the police officer and not just the occasion. I think you need to order your concept and re-think what you want. Where does the cop work (city / suburbs / countryside...) What are his functions (patrolling / traffic control / mall cop...)

I agree. There probably should be different types and sizes of multi-tools available for different police tasks and police-missions and locations. And smaller police officers often need a smaller multi-tool than taller officers. Maybe each officer should have different multi-tools to choose from, each mission.

But this organisation should not take too much time, and also money is a limiting factor. So police multi-tool policy is not easy.

[Rico-2]

Well, may I ask you why every thread seems to be police related? Are you a cop on your own or just interessted in the gear they carry?

I am sorry. I prefer not to aswer these questions.

[derekmac]

I really don't think any police organization anywhere in the world is going to come here to figure out if they should carry an MT, or what one they should carry.

I appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in what officers should carry, but I just don't think it's something that anyone one person can influence. 

You also can't focus on the 1% that might happen.  Police seem to be doing fairly well dealing with the 99% common things they do encounter.

Ground SAR isn't something that's just rushed into either.  There's planning involved, and it generally involves SAR techs of some sort.  Even if there are no SAR techs, officers will asses the situation, and take with them what they feel they might need.

[Rico-2]

I really don't think any police organization anywhere in the world is going to come here to figure out if they should carry an MT, or what one they should carry. I appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in what officers should carry, but I just don't think it's something that anyone one person can influence. 

I disagree. IMO police agencies often lack sufficient expertise on multi-tools, and market supplies are ever changing. Like the new Leatherman Skeletool RX. So it is well possible that police decision makers in several countries will google: "police multi-tool", and find the police topics on this MTO-forum.

You also can't focus on the 1% that might happen.  Police seem to be doing fairly well dealing with the 99% common things they do encounter.

I don't aim at 100% capability of police multi-tools, but I try to find compromises between multi-tool options and weight-reduction for running-speed. Carrying an appropriate multi-tool can IMO probably enhance the efficiency and safety of police work in serving the public and reducing crime.

Ground SAR isn't something that's just rushed into either.  There's planning involved, and it generally involves SAR techs of some sort.  Even if there are no SAR techs, officers will asses the situation, and take with them what they feel they might need.

Officers on patrol are frequently deployed for immediate small scale search missions, without prior returning to their police office. For example, when a child or Alzheimer patient is missing in a residential area, immediate action may be needed.

[Etherealicer]

I really don't think any police organization anywhere in the world is going to come here to figure out if they should carry an MT, or what one they should carry.

I'm not saying they would, all I know is this. During his military service my brother had to translate articles from US gun magazines

[SteveC]

Well, may I ask you why every thread seems to be police related? Are you a cop on your own or just interessted in the gear they carry?

I am sorry. I prefer not to answer these questions.

That is your choice but I think you would be taken a little more seriously here and might be received a little better if you would let us know why your specific interest in the Police angle. It all seems a little odd otherwise to be so obsessed with this specific application of MT's.

[Rico-2]

That is your choice but I think you would be taken a little more seriously here and might be received a little better if you would let us know why your specific interest in the Police angle. It all seems a little odd otherwise to be so obsessed with this specific application of MT's.

Thanks for your good advise.

[Rico-2]

Also the RX has no saw what are those flood victims going to do.

If someone is trapped in his house for whatever reason, he will have to wait, till the needed rescue-equipment arrives, like an axe or chain-saw. Unless he has his own exit tools available. Like an extensive multi-tool or axe.

The deeply serrated blade of the Skeletool RX can do some light sawing in soft-wood, like I guess 2 inch branches. If branches of that thickness are alive, they cannot easily be broken. The Skeletool can however be carried with a separate micro folding-saw, for a little more sawing capacity. 

[yud]

Also the RX has no saw what are those flood victims going to do.

If someone is trapped in his house for whatever reason, he will have to wait, till the needed rescue-equipment arrives, like an axe or chain-saw. Unless he has his own exit tools available. Like an extensive multi-tool or axe.

The deeply serrated blade of the Skeletool RX can do some light sawing in soft-wood, like I guess 2 inch branches. If branches of that thickness are alive, they cannot easily be broken. The Skeletool can however be carried with a separate micro folding-saw, for a little more sawing capacity.

That point was gnawingat you wasn't it?

[yud]

To the TO:

I realised that you are rather interessted if this or that tool is good for police or carry or not. Well, may I ask you why every thread seems to be police related? Are you a cop on your own or just interessted in the gear they carry? An MT for me a helper during the day and nothing with any tactical aspect.

I don´t want to offend, I´m just interessted.

I am guessing North Koreain spy looking to steal our mutlitool secrets.

[ironraven]

Just about every cop, firefighter and EMT I've ever known had a pocket knife on him, and since the late 90s, that is knife and/or multitool. And for the same reasons everyone else carries one- life is that thing that happens when you make other plans, and if you aren't prepared to adapt, you are prepared to be roadkill.

Well, may I ask you why every thread seems to be police related? Are you a cop on your own or just interessted in the gear they carry?

I am sorry. I prefer not to aswer these questions.

Wow. Just wow.

[Etherealicer]

Well, maybe it is time to move this experiment from the hypothetical to more practical.

Get half a dozen of each of your candidates and what has been suggested (Skeletool RX, Reactor, KF4, Wave, Surge, Rebar, Spirit...). Have some policemen field test it for a month. And if they don't carry it... I guess that is an answer too.

[hellsing]

these police multitool threads become annoying. Most of the forum users tell you there is no need for a multitool in a daily officer job (and i agree with it).
I suggest you to concentrate on one thread instead of making dozen of them.

[Fortytwo]

these police multitool threads become annoying. Most of the forum users tell you there is no need for a multitool in a daily officer job (and i agree with it).
I suggest you to concentrate on one thread instead of making dozen of them.

While I might agree that it might keep the discussion ordered (lot's of cross referencing going on right now) I don't see this as that much different than having four copies (General, SOG, Leatherman & SAK) of the "Show your [multitool] outdoors/indoors/with coffee/etc." threads. Rico has obviously got an interest in the topic and so he's got a general topic about it and when he finds a seemingly good candidate he makes a topic for discussing it's pros and cons. If this doesn't interest you maybe the answer is to just ignore it? I probably skip more than half of the current running discussions here since there's no way I could keep up with the flow.

[Chako]

I am a big fan of not curtailing threads and their topics. Variety is the spice of life...and as with forums, I like to have free input and discussions on a variety of topics.

If we start nay-saying others, then what will be left of this forum?