Leatherman Tread- anyone actually EDC'ing one?

[Poncho65]

But if you have no other MT with you then you know what you say

"The best MT is the one you have with you"

 

I think that the Tread will help people out of some jams some of the time and that is pretty good for something that you just happen to also be wearing as jewelry

[Poncho65]

New page banana man dance

       

[Grant Lamontagne]

You are correct, and I'm not just saying that because you are quoting me....

It just seems like a major step backwards for a company like Leatherman, who has always been about makign real tools and setting the standards that others have to achieve.  Some do, some don't, but I always think of Tim Leatherman's story of travelling Europe in an unreliable car, stopping every so often to fix it at the side of the road with a SAK, and wishing he had a pair of pliers.  With varying degrees of success, I can't help but feel that with a decent mechanical knowledge, you could pretty well do any side of the road type repairs with any Leatherman tool,including the Mini and Juice series.

I wonder how long his trip would have lasted if all he'd had was a Tread.

I wonder what he would have said, if you could go back in time, meet him at the side of the road during that trip, and shown him the Tread with his name on it, and told him that was going to one day be the result of 25 years of tool production.

Def

[AimlessWanderer]

...... and yet in comparison with the one piece crap they had been producing so much of just before, one could argue it really is a step forward - at least it functions as jewellery rather than JUST being a crap tool 

[Grant Lamontagne]

...... and yet in comparison with the one piece crap they had been producing so much of just before, one could argue it really is a step forward - at least it functions as jewellery rather than JUST being a crap tool 

I think in that case they were just jumping on the bandwagon of useless one piece hunks of crap on the market.

I actually recently received a one piece tool from a well known maker as a thank you for something I had done for him.  I don't have the heart to review it as it is a piece of crap, but it was a thank you so I feel bad telling people what a useless hunk of junk it is.

The good news is that it is an obscure tool, and I don't know of anyone else here that has one or has talked about wanting it, so at least I know no one is wasting money on it.   

Def

[Tjzm1993]

Got one for my birthday last year, and I have worn it every day for the last year. It has saved the day or just saved some seconds quite a few times. Once I broke a bed when holding my girlfriend I jumped onto it. It was the only screwdriver I had and while it was inconvenient the hotel never found out the bed broke a lot of people think it's a watch and ask about it, so it starts conversations. Just the other day I put together a sectional couch with it (for a minute, then I got off the floor and grabbed my cybertool to have a longer-reaching 4mm hex head). At work (construction) the nut drivers often save a few seconds when someone else is using that size. Inconvenient but time is money. The cutter/sim pick link is quite useful for opening packages. Once or twice I have used it as a quarter inch socket driver (being able to use it straight-on or as a right angle handle for torque is nice). I wear a heavy class ring which I normally use to open bottles, and when that doesnt work my tread is right there with the bottle opener...as is a key, a spoon, countertop, etc. Hell, it's even useful in that when I take it and my ring off at night it acts as a little wall around my ring so I don't lose it. Definitely will keep wearing this. Took out two links to fit properly, do not look forward to taking out two more for chronolinks after this christmas. Will probably be the double phillips link and the link with the smallest allen heads that does not have the quarter inch nut driver. Overall I love the tool.


Edit: forgot to mention that the only signs of wear are on the clasp where the ball of the quarter inch driver rubs against the retainer, creating a small, shiny line.

Edit 2: it only snags when petting long hair.

Also let us not forget one of the main selling points of the tread, which is that you can take it on planes.

[Padre]

I dont consider Tread to be MT from Leatherman more than the dog chewing toy thay have.

[David Bowen]

A tool is measured by the ability to perform a task when no other tool is present. If a Tread is all you have then the Tread is a fantastic tool. Compared to other Leatherman offerings it may come short but it will hold its own.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Poncho65]

A tool is measured by the ability to perform a task when no other tool is present. If a Tread is all you have then the Tread is a fantastic tool. Compared to other Leatherman offerings it may come short but it will hold its own.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Been wondering how the Tread is holding up for you David

[Poncho65]

Got one for my birthday last year, and I have worn it every day for the last year. It has saved the day or just saved some seconds quite a few times. Once I broke a bed when holding my girlfriend I jumped onto it. It was the only screwdriver I had and while it was inconvenient the hotel never found out the bed broke a lot of people think it's a watch and ask about it, so it starts conversations. Just the other day I put together a sectional couch with it (for a minute, then I got off the floor and grabbed my cybertool to have a longer-reaching 4mm hex head). At work (construction) the nut drivers often save a few seconds when someone else is using that size. Inconvenient but time is money. The cutter/sim pick link is quite useful for opening packages. Once or twice I have used it as a quarter inch socket driver (being able to use it straight-on or as a right angle handle for torque is nice). I wear a heavy class ring which I normally use to open bottles, and when that doesnt work my tread is right there with the bottle opener...as is a key, a spoon, countertop, etc. Hell, it's even useful in that when I take it and my ring off at night it acts as a little wall around my ring so I don't lose it. Definitely will keep wearing this. Took out two links to fit properly, do not look forward to taking out two more for chronolinks after this christmas. Will probably be the double phillips link and the link with the smallest allen heads that does not have the quarter inch nut driver. Overall I love the tool.


Edit: forgot to mention that the only signs of wear are on the clasp where the ball of the quarter inch driver rubs against the retainer, creating a small, shiny line.

Edit 2: it only snags when petting long hair.

Also let us not forget one of the main selling points of the tread, which is that you can take it on planes.

Glad to hear you are getting along with the Tread and thanks for your thoughts on it

[David Bowen]

A tool is measured by the ability to perform a task when no other tool is present. If a Tread is all you have then the Tread is a fantastic tool. Compared to other Leatherman offerings it may come short but it will hold its own.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Been wondering how the Tread is holding up for you David

Been going good, I'll have a review up at some point. My biggest gripe about the tool is it looks like I am a biker or someone tough. Would have been nice to have a design which looked more like a watch or bracelet and not so industrial like a bike chain.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Poncho65]

A tool is measured by the ability to perform a task when no other tool is present. If a Tread is all you have then the Tread is a fantastic tool. Compared to other Leatherman offerings it may come short but it will hold its own.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Been wondering how the Tread is holding up for you David

Been going good, I'll have a review up at some point. My biggest gripe about the tool is it looks like I am a biker or someone tough. Would have been nice to have a design which looked more like a watch or bracelet and not so industrial like a bike chain.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

It looks like many watch bands I see people wearing and would it be worth trying to find a watch to fit it and wearing it like that for a while I know you lose some of the links but it might be more wearable looking if it was a watch band vs. just a bracelet

[JJR512]

I've had one since nearly the beginning. I wear it every day at work, and often when I'm going out of the house for personal errands, but I rarely wear it at home.

I'm an EMT and work for an ambulance company. One day I noticed a bolt coming loose on my stretcher. I was able to use my Tread to tighten it back up. It was the only thing I had with me that could've done that. If I hadn't been able to perform that simple field repair, I would've had to go back to base and swap out stretchers, taking my unit out of service for awhile.

[Huntsman]

....
I'm an EMT and work for an ambulance company. One day I noticed a bolt coming loose on my stretcher. I was able to use my Tread to tighten it back up. It was the only thing I had with me that could've done that. If I hadn't been able to perform that simple field repair, I would've had to go back to base and swap out stretchers, taking my unit out of service for awhile.

Now that is a great MT saves the day story - And it happened to be the Tread - Brilliant

........ My biggest gripe about the tool is it looks like I am a biker or someone tough.................

So are you saying you are a bit of a wimp ?? And want to be seen as such    
Seriously - I know what you mean - I saw one in a shop and me and the Mrs had the same thought 

I would love to know where/who is selling the Tread - Be great to see some stats from LM - I would not be surprised if the majority of sales are not through their traditional dealer/distributor network 
I really think it is not aimed at us MT guys -  Who would all rather have our SAKs, or Swisstools, or Gerbers or trad LMs
And I am sure I read or heard somewhere from an LM source that the Tread was selling like hot cakes and was one of their most successful tools ever (clip from this year's Shot Show maybe?)

As I have said before this tool could be aimed at folk who may not traditionally carry an MT.
So now they have their Tread and 'Bingo' - They now have an MT with them when they did not before - And great opportunity to save the day!
And we all know what the best MT is - Don't we   (Hint - see above!)

Hey - Thanks to all who have provided real feedback on using the Tread - This was good to read

[Tired_Yeti]

since could not carry a knife on board a plane. TSA said leave it on my wrist, they did not even look at it. Most people think it is jewelry.

^^THIS in and of itself should be a selling point. The TSA makes me feel "naked"



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Outback in Idaho]

  Gave the Tread away to a facebook friend. Very few times had I actually used it. Have a watch on the left wrist, and a Fitbit tracker on the right. Unfortunately we normal humans only have two wrists, and I dont wear anything on my ankles ... 

  Since getting the TerraTrike Rover I could of used it more for having a hex wrench on me, but a lot of times needed two hex wrenches. What surprises me is the tread actually weighs less than most bicycle/trike tools alone.

  Never bent any of the links, however the grip feels a bit So the Tread is a limited use new age bracelet that I doubt any professional or layman goes out of their way to use. It's more of a last moment of thought.

[David Bowen]

I've been here at Disney World since Saturday and will be here a couple more days. In spite Leatherman stating its a very popular tool and designed by Ben Rivera after a trip to Disneyland, I have not seen a single one in the parks. I will admit I'm already tired of metal detectors and heightened security here. I know the Orlando shooting caused Disney to step up its stance on things and it shows. I could get my Tread in the park and shouldn't be a problem. It just seems folks, thousands of them either don't own them or don't want to risk the security at Disney World. I brought mine because I wanted to test and see what they would say but after dealing with all this security I changed my mind.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk