Have Leatherman forsaken us? Is it time to move on?

[shark_za]

The question is not really being covered by anyone and its turned into a Gerber v Leatherman discussion.

Are we being forsaken?  Who is we?
The general MT user or a bunch of enthusiasts who take it a little further in the search of "perfection"

The general user is so well covered by Leatherman you are mad to think otherwise. Sure costs are up but they have refined the product to be dominant in multiple price brackets. 
What are we looking for that we feel betrayed? Something better than a Wave? Something new or different every year?

Move on from Leatherman? when its the standby tool in the car, the tool that lives in the camping kit, in the drawer at home.
How does one move on when you have a product and its working in a role or function?

When the next maker invents something that make the Wave seem a bad choice, then we will move on.

[leatherman-shop.de]

Here are for reference the dealer prices for LM in Europe (Multiply by 1.23 to get the dollar price)  - they are actually cheaper now, compared to a couple of years ago.


http://survivalbuddies.com/special/leatherman

Spending $150 on a new LM is the norm.

I can get a Ganzo, Cima, Bahco, B&D, Stanley  (possibly all made by the same people)  for around $25

The prices are not typical for Europe - compare it with the german http://www.leatherman-shop.de. Example: WAVE costs on survivalbuddies 149,50 Euro, the recommended retail price is about 139,00, the actual price on leatherman-shop is 89,90 Euro.
But you are still right, MTs are cheaper than years ago.

I think Leatherman has to handle with a wide range of customers - Collectors, experts and occasional user. I like the new models and ideas, but the old ones coexist legitimately. It is like a bicycle - some designs have just prove their's worth.

[ddogu]

When the next maker invents something that make the Wave seem a bad choice, then we will move on.

 

I personally do not see anything wrong with LM's late products (eventhough I definitely think the Tread is a silly and useless product but it is just one product they manufacture), YMMV. I see here in MTo some folks who think we're witnessing LM's demise, which to me is an exaggeration.

Things come and go, they rise, go down and then rise again... Even if LM's design and/or quality's going down the sinus curve lately (and this is subjective and not objective, of course), it'll climb up eventually.

I'd say, just sit and enjoy the ride   LM's not dying, nor is there any need to abandon the sinking ship immediately...

[dks]

Here are for reference the dealer prices for LM in Europe (Multiply by 1.23 to get the dollar price)  - they are actually cheaper now, compared to a couple of years ago.


http://survivalbuddies.com/special/leatherman

Spending $150 on a new LM is the norm.

I can get a Ganzo, Cima, Bahco, B&D, Stanley  (possibly all made by the same people)  for around $25

The prices are not typical for Europe - compare it with the german http://www.leatherman-shop.de. Example: WAVE costs on survivalbuddies 149,50 Euro, the recommended retail price is about 139,00, the actual price on leatherman-shop is 89,90 Euro.
But you are still right, MTs are cheaper than years ago.

I think Leatherman has to handle with a wide range of customers - Collectors, experts and occasional user. I like the new models and ideas, but the old ones coexist legitimately. It is like a bicycle - some designs have just prove their's worth.

Lucky Germans
It is very rare to see anything below MRSP here.  so I usually buy online or from other EU countries.

[tosh]

My final say on the topic so I'll be blunt

Leatherman currently do not offer a single multitool that I feel warrants edc for me.

Not just leatherman, all MT manufacturers as well.
I'm not prepared to compromise, so I'll go without until such a tool emerges that I think "yes, that looks damn useful"

[Etherealicer]

Does Leatherman bite into Swiss Army Knife sales and territory? Yep. And I'm fine with that. That's what gave Victorinox A$$-pucker factor enough to buy Bear Jaws and use the patent to create the Swiss tools. Notice they didn't create something all new. Well, neither did Tim Leatherman. His PST is not much different than a fisherman's tool being made out of Solingen just after world war 2, and SAK s are not that different than pen knives  And multi-knives being made back to the late 1700's

SAKs / Hobo knives date back to the Romans

[ToolJoe]

One thing I believe that LM is missing out on is putting replaceable cutters on the Crunch. That would make a unique product that much better. 

[Wspeed]

One thing I believe that LM is missing out on is putting replaceable cutters on the Crunch. That would make a unique product that much better. 

+1

[Sam Lim]

One thing I believe that LM is missing out on is putting replaceable cutters on the Crunch. That would make a unique product that much better. 

This..  seems like a strange request.. I really can't phantom the idea of using the crunch as a wire cutter.. It's good that it's there for the very odd occasion.. It sounds tiring to unlock the plier everytime you cut something... 

[Zed]

I personally can't see how SOG have surpassed LM ,I'm not keen on the replaceable cutter but can see it's advantages and disadvantages,but fundamentally for me the wave is still the best MT on the market ,with or without the replaceable wire cutter,I've had many SOG over the years and feel there quality had massively dropped over the last 5-6 years,and don't get me started on there files  or butter knife as I like to call it ,the powerplay will be the last SOG I ever buy,after 20yrs I'll stick with LM 

[Vidar]

I've had, and still have. a few Leathermans dating all the way back to the original one. From the first the improvement in quality is easy to notice, and the extended product range caters better to users with different preferences. To me that shows a long term positive trend. There will naturally be ups and downs along the road, and what is considered up and what is down might be quite subjective.

Regardless of my personal view on certain models I do appreciate that they try out new concepts and go out on a limb now and then. That is how truly new stuff comes to life. That risky new territory is shared by both the greatest successes and the most horrible failures - for truly new stuff it is just very hard to tell up front.

Of course that doesn't exclude also doing steady improvements of the current product lines, and to me it seems like Leatherman is doing some of both. To me the offbeat directions and diversions are signs that they at least try to combat the settled in staleness that often hits companies as they grow large.

There are still lots and lots of possibilities within the multitool domain and on so many levels. The next few years will be very interesting.

[stugumby]

 Operation Goldilox!  some new stuff is niche oriented, signal and skeletool rescue etc, leap was interesting as well.. As for being for forsaken businesses exist because they have enough of a customer base to make a profit. New research and development has got to be costly and a tool for a tradesman vs a millenial, thats why they sell tools that enhance the combination, such as Rebar with Micra for the scissors etc. pair a Signal with a Juice etc. And has anyone ever tried the wave mini screwdriver on their own pair of glasses? Amazingly enough it works on 1 set but not my other, same for the Victorinox mini driver.