Leatherman P4...my first impressions and thoughts.

[Chako]

Well, I haven't exactly kept up with Leatherman in the past few years due to a disagreement with the company, and because of this, I am late to this game with the arrival of a Free P4 at my home today. I would be lying to you if I wasn't curious about the whole Free lineup. When I first looked at them, they were super expensive (still are), and I couldn't see the reason for the steep price. I love irony, and this one is a good one. Leatherman saw fit to sell a tool they call "Free" for $170 Canadian. Yes, I shall savour that one for some time to come. 

So because I balked at the price, and I wasn't exactly incentified to buy one when they came out, I knew that sooner or later I would have to add one to the collection. Because of this, I have stayed away from most other folks opinion on this multi-tool. I do know that the smaller Free P2 appears to have some negativity aimed at it, and I know that eventually I will have to get one of those as well. But enough about the P2...

I found the packaging to be very different from their older style. Mind you, I haven't exactly studied Leatherman in quite a few years. I found the packaging to be quite nice.

IMG_8972A by Chako, on Flickr

The back of the box had a bit of information.

IMG_8973A by Chako, on Flickr

Sliding the top off, I found another card with a pair of finger holes on the edge. My thought was that there appears to be a bit of excessive packaging here.

IMG_8974A by Chako, on Flickr

The back of the card has the instructions...what little there is. I of course did not want to read them first. I wanted to see what I would think about the P4 without knowing how to use it...just to see if it was completely alien to other Leathermans.

IMG_8975A by Chako, on Flickr

Putting the instruction card aside, I wanted to examine the included sheath. I much like what I saw and felt. I really like the closure system. As far as it goes, the sheath is a nice item. Not black, and does look similar to those sheaths included with the Leathermans designated for military/police use.

IMG_8977A by Chako, on Flickr

IMG_8978A by Chako, on Flickr

Time to look at the P4. I struggled to get the P4 out of the case. They give you only 1 space to insert a finger, however, whenever I did that and tried to pry the tool out, it would rotate around 30 degrees and bind in the support material. Yeah...might be because I have big fingers, but it would have been nice for Leatherman to give 2 such finger ingresses, one on each side. I managed to get the P4 out of there by using that blade hole along with the finger space. This is a minor quibble, but the Free P4 made me work hard to extricate the tool from its packaging. I suppose next time, I will just invert the package and let the tool fall out on its own.

Flipping the tool over, it comes with a nice pocket clip.

IMG_8979A by Chako, on Flickr

I really like the look of this tool. It appears to be quite compact and well made. The P4 has a nice solid feel to it. I didn't notice the little details on the scale texture until I looked at the photograph. Nice job Leatherman.

IMG_8986A by Chako, on Flickr

Flipping the handles outwards to open the pliers....snap. Hmmm...lets do that again. I found myself doing this a few more times. I cannot tell you how satisfying doing this is. The handles just snap in place and lock in with a nice resistance. The handle geometry is very nice. I am happy to state that there are no sharp edges to be found here.

IMG_8980A by Chako, on Flickr

So far so good, but this is where things go a bit awkward for me. Note that I haven't read the instructions as of yet. I pulled a blade out and it locked in place. However, I could not figure out how to unlock it. I was pressing down on the locking bar to no avail. On some multi-tools out there, particularly old designs, you needed to pull out a secondary tool to unlock the first. I tried to pull out a secondary tool and could not find any nail nicks. What the hey! Time to read that instruction card. 

IMG_8976A by Chako, on Flickr

So, to unlock a tool, you have to pull up on the locking bar. To get a secondary tool out, you have to press on the end of the tool on a tiny projection, to flip the tool outwards. Ok...so I have found that both actions are awkward as all get out. I found that pulling up on the locking bar to unlock the knife blade was a bit fiddly. Mind you, I have big fingers, and I found they didn't give much of a purchase on that locking bar to interface with. I suppose with practice, this will ease.

IMG_8982A by Chako, on Flickr

Looking at the tools included...most appear to be good. What I find weird and downright hilarious are the ruler markings found on the one, along with a small laser etching telling users that this is where your wire stripper is found. The rulers are useless from what I have seen and tried to use. Too bad they are not found on the handles like on a lot of other Leathermans. Not to mention, they are downright short to begin with on the P4.

Looking on the edge, you can tell that tight tolerances are evident here. There is very little gap between the pull out tools. I have to wonder how this will all work in a sandy environment. Usually, you want some space to clean out the dirt. This may or may not be a concern since I haven't tested it. What I know is this, for the price, I probably won't either.

IMG_8983A by Chako, on Flickr

I miss my nail nicks. Call me old fashion, but I found this pushing on a little protuberance with your thumb to be a bit onerous in practice. I attempted to just extract a single tool, and was able to do that with some difficulty. I had to use the tip of my fingernail to do that. I know that the Leatherman instructions state to use your thumb. I guess you are suppose to extract all the tools and push the ones you don't want back into the handle. I was never a fan of clumping, and this tool is the clumping king. I did however find that with a bit of dexterity, it was possible to just extract the one tool. Yes, I still miss my nail nicks.

IMG_8984A by Chako, on Flickr

Same goes with the locking bars. Having to pull them out instead of pressing down, Leatherman has managed to make unlocking tools to be a bit more complicated, especially to users who are familiar with locking mechanisms that work the other way. As mentioned before, Leatherman made a design decision to make those locking levers almost flush with the tool. I get that they won't get in the way when pocket carrying, etc...but it made unlocking the tools a little harder than it needed to be. It does work, just something to get used to, and to possibly practice at getting better with. The P4 is a somewhat fiddly design. That is unfortunate, because if Leatherman was able to design this better, it would be darn near perfect.

IMG_8987A by Chako, on Flickr

Not much to say about the pliers, other than they are made fairly well...and the general fit and finish of the P4 is on the high side of things. Not quite up to Multitasker quality, but very high nonetheless.

IMG_8988AA by Chako, on Flickr

So there you have it, my first impressions of the Leatherman Free P4. I still do not get why this tool is so much more expensive than other Leatherman offerings. I know the use of magnets is a neat idea, but that isn't particularly an expensive add on for the manufacturer...or at least that is what I think. The tight tolerances are evident, but I am not exactly sold on that being an entirely good thing, or bad for that matter. I do not think any exotic steel was used in the knife blades or handle material. So this leaves me a bit puzzled at the price. There are also a few design choices that Leatherman made on the tool, that to my mind or at least at first glance, leaves me a bit puzzled as well. It was almost as if looks won out on user interface. The locking tabs are too small, they need to be pulled out, no nail nicks, fiddly little nubs that need to be pressed to open certain tools. Kind of reminds me of SOG and their Piano locking plate which never was popular among users (and did not last long on their models). With all of that said, I find the P4 an interesting deviation from most of Leatherman's other tools. I still can't help but feel I sorta got fleeced at the cash till however.

I am not looking forward to the cash outlay to get a P2 and the other members of this family in my collection.

[powernoodle]

Since I agree with just about everything you just said, I will give that high marks.   

[Chako]

 

[Happy Gilmore]

there is a small pointy bit that protrudes from the handle that keep the two sides from moving laterally when closed, did you find them uncomfortable when applying pressure to the pliers? also when squeezing the pliers, do the pliers seize up?

[Poncho65]

Great pics as always Great write up as well, Chako

[FreeToCharge]

Great review. I will say that tools do get easier to open with time and the nubs on the side only need to be pressed down when unlocking a tool and putting it away. Hope this helps. Just give it time and keep using it.

Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

[Pilosopo]

there is a small pointy bit that protrudes from the handle that keep the two sides from moving laterally when closed, did you find them uncomfortable when applying pressure to the pliers? also when squeezing the pliers, do the pliers seize up?

I didn't even notice them till I read about it.

I rebuilt my home's sprinkler system and used the P4 throughout the process. Pulling on old PVC, seized sprinkler heads, etc. and had no issues with those little alignment nubs or the plier heads seizing.

I found everything about the tool perfect for the task. The ruler was fine for checking sizes. The file for deburring the cuts I made on PVC. The one handed opening for all the tools was perfect when I had a hand in the ground or while holding something.

Chako brings brought up the tight tolerances. After working in the dirt, I did feel the tool got a little crunchy, and there are little spaces that are hard to clean. It took a few minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner and some frog lube, but it's back to feeling just like new, and it cleaned up great.

My first Leatherman was a PST, and I have a Crunch and a Rebar. I never liked the newer style tools with the outside accessible blades but the I absolutely love the one handed, all accessible P4... So much I bought a P2 as well.

[Chako]

Can't say that I noticed them in use. I did not find my copy to bind either.

[dks]

I saw one of the smaller ones with no pliers  in a shop window a while back, and I was wondering why this shop was selling cheap SAK style knives next to their Leatherman.
Then I found out it was an actual LM model.

The small ones look like a SAK alternative, for more money, to me,

I rarely see any new multitools that excite me these days anyway, so maybe it just me.

[SurgeUk]

Good review Chako 

If I could get a Free P4 for that price, I'd already have one  ($170 CAD = £98 GBP, give or take a few pence)

In the UK the P4 is still being sold for £170 or $295 CAD* 

How would your review be worded then 

*They can be bought slightly cheaper from the EU (but with shipping costs/delays etc)

[Chako]

Yikes! 

[Chako]

Just checking on the P2...

From an official Leatherman seller here in Canada.

https://www.amazon.ca/LEATHERMAN-Multitool-Magnetic-Locking-Accessible/dp/B07PH1VFR9/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Leatherman+free&qid=1597844403&sr=8-2

Hmmm....

[dks]

https://www.hagglezon.com/en/s/leatherman

European amazon prices

[SurgeUk]

https://www.hagglezon.com/en/s/leatherman

European amazon prices

Interesting link. Thanks dks  (we do get ripped off by LM, don't we  )

[dks]

Interesting link. Thanks dks  (we do get ripped off by LM, don't we  )

I would almost use a word similar to ripped....

[SurgeUk]

I would almost use a word similar to ripped....

Sans lube..

[Chako]

When I check the link, it tells me error 1020 access denied...site protecting itself from online attack. 

[dks]

maybe it only works in europe?

or it is protecting you from shock

[Poncho65]

 I can click it and see it fine Maybe it won't let Canadians look

[dks]

they are a dodgy lot..

[Chako]

Beady eyes and all. 

 

I tried again..no go.

[dks]

 

[Happy Gilmore]

Can't say that I noticed them in use. I did not find my copy to bind either.

That's good news in both categories! When flicking the tool open then locking them in place, do the implements come out accidentally? I've seen this multiple times and have tried it myself on display models.

[Chako]

Not on the P4 I have.

[Etherealicer]

Beady eyes and all. 

 

I tried again..no go.

LM are not good value in Europe unless you find a bargain, or import it yourself (which is a pain for the warranty).

[Etherealicer]

Wave vs. Spirit

[dks]

I am always surprised that a European made multitool is about the same price or cheaper in the US than in the EU, because of taxes, from what I was told, being lower for swiss products in the US than the EU.

[Etherealicer]

I am always surprised that a European made multitool is about the same price or cheaper in the US than in the EU, because of taxes, from what I was told, being lower for swiss products in the US than the EU.

Well, if I order from a German  webstore, I get roughly a 20% discount for the VAT. So, technically ordering in the EU from outside of the EU is cheaper.

[dks]

Regular SAKs are not too bad, similar or sometimes lower than US prices but the Victorinox Multitools and larger hunter knives are really expensive here for some reason.

[Etherealicer]

Handled a P4 today, really like how the tools open. I can easily open anything one-handed. The price is too much, but it is a nice tool.