Leatherman MUT?

[1jump2many]

I'm curious to know what their definition of "the field" is?  It's not like troops are going to stop in the middle of a fire fight or on a patrol to clean their weapon.  I know that was the teething history of the M16 in Vietnam but that hasn't been an issue in decades.  Even when I was in, during the 80's and 90's, cleaning weapons, sharpening knives was done when you were back in an area where the odds of needing them immediately were low.  For instance today, troops aren't going to stop in the middle of a patrol in Iraq or Afghanistan to clean weapons or sharpen knives.  They will do that when they get back to their base camps or forward operating bases.  Sharpening knives can be a time killer when you are bored. 

[Chako]

I guess it depends on where you are deployed and for how long, and in what conditions.

[Styerman]

I can see this creature spawning other variants . The "hammer " pommel will play well on other models , replaceable task specific implements , and long drivers will play well with lots of users . I can see an EMT and Fire version , not to mention a Police version .

Chris

[Styerman]

I can see this creature spawning other variants . The "hammer " pommel will play well on other models , replaceable task specific implements , and long drivers will play well with lots of users . I can see an EMT and Fire version , not to mention a Police version . I think I will get one , first Leatherman product that I have been exited about in a long time .

Chris

Chris

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm curious to know what their definition of "the field" is?  It's not like troops are going to stop in the middle of a fire fight or on a patrol to clean their weapon.  I know that was the teething history of the M16 in Vietnam but that hasn't been an issue in decades.  Even when I was in, during the 80's and 90's, cleaning weapons, sharpening knives was done when you were back in an area where the odds of needing them immediately were low.  For instance today, troops aren't going to stop in the middle of a patrol in Iraq or Afghanistan to clean weapons or sharpen knives.  They will do that when they get back to their base camps or forward operating bases.  Sharpening knives can be a time killer when you are bored. 

Yes, no, maybe and sideways.  Some of the intended functions are to augment a cleaning kit, while others are to allow soldiers to clean the weapon when they are away from basecamp, such as on an extended deployment (visiting another basecamp, or other transportation/escort/patrol duties).  The ejector is for when poo hits the fan and a shell gets jammed and you need a solid hunk of pry tool to eject it rather than wait until you have time to properly service your rifle.

Def

[Dizos]

How does the clip feel?  It appears cast and engineered to span the bit release area. I like how it integrates into the frame. Is it springy?

[Grant Lamontagne]

No, it's pretty solid.  With the military in mind you want to avoid easily broken or warped things with springs and make things as solid as possible.  The clip is indeed cast, and probably has more metal in it than many other entire tools on the market!

Def

[Dizos]

No, it's pretty solid.  With the military in mind you want to avoid easily broken or warped things with springs and make things as solid as possible.  The clip is indeed cast, and probably has more metal in it than many other entire tools on the market!

Def

Gotcha.  It looks like it can be taken off with a standard philips if you won't be needing the clip and don't want the extra weight.

[Mike 56]

I'm curious to know what their definition of "the field" is?  It's not like troops are going to stop in the middle of a fire fight or on a patrol to clean their weapon.  I know that was the teething history of the M16 in Vietnam but that hasn't been an issue in decades.  Even when I was in, during the 80's and 90's, cleaning weapons, sharpening knives was done when you were back in an area where the odds of needing them immediately were low.  For instance today, troops aren't going to stop in the middle of a patrol in Iraq or Afghanistan to clean weapons or sharpen knives.  They will do that when they get back to their base camps or forward operating bases.  Sharpening knives can be a time killer when you are bored.  

It all depends on what kind of shooting i am doing. If i am target shooting at a range some between 20 and 30 rounds fired accuracy starts to suffer i pull my Bore Snake a few times and all is good again. Sometimes we go plinking in the National Forest and we will go though a lot of rounds the bolt will dry out and start to stick. Give the bolt a quick wipe down and re oil it and you are up and running again. The AR platform is pretty trouble free it just requires a lot more maintenance compared to a AK47 or SKS.

Mike

[Mike 56]

I'm curious to know what their definition of "the field" is?  It's not like troops are going to stop in the middle of a fire fight or on a patrol to clean their weapon.  I know that was the teething history of the M16 in Vietnam but that hasn't been an issue in decades.  Even when I was in, during the 80's and 90's, cleaning weapons, sharpening knives was done when you were back in an area where the odds of needing them immediately were low.  For instance today, troops aren't going to stop in the middle of a patrol in Iraq or Afghanistan to clean weapons or sharpen knives.  They will do that when they get back to their base camps or forward operating bases.  Sharpening knives can be a time killer when you are bored. 

It all depends on what kind of shooting i am doing. If i am target shooting at a range some between 20 and 30 rounds fired accuracy starts to suffer i pull my Bore Snake a few times and all is good again. Sometimes we go plinking in the National Forest and we will go though a lot of rounds the bolt will dry out and start to stick. Give the bolt a quick wipe down and re oil it and you are up and running again. The AR platform is pretty trouble free it just requires a lot maintenance compared to a AK47 or SKS. One other scenario would be if you got mud or snow in the barrel you would need to clear it.

Mike

[1jump2many]

It all depends on what kind of shooting i am doing. If i am target shooting at a range some between 20 and 30 rounds fired accuracy starts to suffer i pull my Bore Snake a few times and all is good again. Sometimes we go plinking in the National Forest and we will go though a lot of rounds the bolt will dry out and start to stick. Give the bolt a quick wipe down and re oil it and you are up and running again. The AR platform is pretty trouble free it just requires a lot more maintenance compared to a AK47 or SKS.

Mike

I completely understand, I actually own both.  A Rock River Elite CAR A4 and a Interarms Polish Tantal which is the AK-74 variant, not 47, but same setup just different round size.  5.45 compared to 7.62. 

I was in the Army for over 8 years and Airborne.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming to be Rambo.  But we rucked EVERYTHING and I do mean EVERYTHING.  So, a cleaning kit was a must.  My first unit we carried the full M16A1 with a standard stock and it had a place in the stock to put your cleaning kit in.  The retractable stocks obviously don't have them.  I just know from experience that no one is going to stop in the middle of a patrol and start cleaning their weapon.  That is why I wondered what Leatherman's idea of "in the field" was.  Dislodging a jam is the only maintenance that is going to get performed when you are not back in a "safe" area.  The word "safe" doesn't mean back in the US, but a more secured area. 

Probably the biggest advantage of this MT for troops is that it is a dual use item.  Most troops carry an MT so it covers that and it can compliment their cleaning kits.

[trickknife]

No, it's pretty solid.  With the military in mind you want to avoid easily broken or warped things with springs and make things as solid as possible.  The clip is indeed cast, and probably has more metal in it than many other entire tools on the market!

Def

The clip is some kind of casting.  I think it's titanium.  That probably jacked the price way up.  They should have done something a little more simple like stamped titanium or even a wire one.  If I was gonna design a multitool, I'd want to try to keep the cost down.

[Magnus]

The scraper is to scrape carbon build up from the bolt. You want the medal on the scraper to be softer than the bolt so you wont damage it. Hope i explained it good.

Mike

yes, I know that, but I was trying to explain why they wouldn't just use a very soft steel or something similar.

[Cuso]

Wait wait, hold up a moment, whats that thing on the right?

It's a wrench, included with the MUT (along with a fancy Molle sheath) We are told the wrench is designed to fit optical sight mounts on the AR15/M16 rifles.

(Image removed from quote.)

Mmmmmmmmmmm Tan Molle sheat..

[Grant Lamontagne]

No, it's pretty solid.  With the military in mind you want to avoid easily broken or warped things with springs and make things as solid as possible.  The clip is indeed cast, and probably has more metal in it than many other entire tools on the market!

Def

The clip is some kind of casting.  I think it's titanium.  That probably jacked the price way up.  They should have done something a little more simple like stamped titanium or even a wire one.  If I was gonna design a multitool, I'd want to try to keep the cost down.

I agree, but you need to make some things look really pricey if you want to charge $150 for a tool.  Some companies and some models try to keep under a certain price point and cut non essential corners to stay reasonable, but since this one is aimed at the military, why not pad the price somewhat?  Uncle Sam has big pockets!

Def

[AHB]

I agree, but you need to make some things look really pricey if you want to charge $150 for a tool.  Some companies and some models try to keep under a certain price point and cut non essential corners to stay reasonable, but since this one is aimed at the military, why not pad the price somewhat?  Uncle Sam has big pockets!

Def

And once again I have to say from my POW it's an excellent price for you guys 'overthere'.. A Crunch for example has a retail price of approx. 210$ here,
so go get those MUT's..  

[gadgetman7]

I don't think the US government will buy these without a substantial discount. I used to work procurement for DOD and it is basically the lowest bidder that meets mil-spec. I don't think the mil standard will justify this tool when a basic cleaning kit works. This will probably be aimed at the individual soldier for personal kit. Besides, the  street price will likely be 30% less than the MSRP in the US.

[Styerman]

Will these be issue , or private purchase . Lots of the cooler war toys seem to be privately purchased .

Chris

[roberttheiii]

Someone may have already said this (I couldn't bring myself to read 10 pages) but if you want to avoid having to buy one of these, just get an AK or variant there of...you don't need a multi-tool designed for maintaining it because it just works, and keeps working.

That said, I have an AR variant and no AK variant, so I can't take my own advice.

[DaveK]

Sorry - whilst the debate on how suitable it is has been very interesting and all that, I can't get past "How effing cool is that? 

Yes please

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sorry - whilst the debate on how suitable it is has been very interesting and all that, I can't get past "How effing cool is that? 

Yes please

Are you kidding me?  I'm already pricing AR15's...

Def

[BIG-TARGET]

I don't think the US government will buy these without a substantial discount. I used to work procurement for DOD and it is basically the lowest bidder that meets mil-spec. I don't think the mil standard will justify this tool when a basic cleaning kit works. This will probably be aimed at the individual soldier for personal kit. Besides, the  street price will likely be 30% less than the MSRP in the US.

Are we talking the same DoD that buys $500 toilet seats??

[Mike 56]

Sorry - whilst the debate on how suitable it is has been very interesting and all that, I can't get past "How effing cool is that? 

Yes please

Are you kidding me?  I'm already pricing AR15's...

Def

Building your own is a good way to go. It does not take a lot of tools and the how-to videos are on line for free. You can buy a low end kit for under 400USD add a striped lower receiver for 100 and you can have a new AR for about 500USD.

Mike

[Craig]

Sorry - whilst the debate on how suitable it is has been very interesting and all that, I can't get past "How effing cool is that? 

Yes please

Are you kidding me?  I'm already pricing AR15's...

Def

 
My sentiments also. I've only got airguns, but one way or another I'll find a use for this one

[gadgetman7]

Are we talking the same DoD that buys $500 toilet seats??

Yep. Depends on the MIL-STD. The media tends to only tell half the story. Usually there's some requirement that requires an item to be unique and that's when you get high prices. But on individual gear for soldiers, where DOD is buying quantities in the tens of thousands, there is a lot of GAO scrutiny. So I imagine that this won't be standard issue. Be cool if I was wrong. Our troops deserve something like this to be issued to them at no cost. 

[BIG-TARGET]

I know a few Guardsmen, who have multiple tours in Iraq/Afghanistan.  And lot of them bought their own LBE and body armor(Eagle, Blackhawk, 5.11, Maxpedition, etc.).  And their reasoning was better fit, quality, and survivablity.

[turnsouth]

Are you kidding me?  I'm already pricing AR15's...

Def

I can just hear my wife: "Let me see if I got this straight. You're buying another gun, so you can buy another multitool?"

 

[turnsouth]

Are we talking the same DoD that buys $500 toilet seats??

Yep. Depends on the MIL-STD. The media tends to only tell half the story. Usually there's some requirement that requires an item to be unique and that's when you get high prices. But on individual gear for soldiers, where DOD is buying quantities in the tens of thousands, there is a lot of GAO scrutiny. So I imagine that this won't be standard issue. Be cool if I was wrong. Our troops deserve something like this to be issued to them at no cost. 

I was surprised at this too. A generation ago when I was in the military, I could not believe the prices that they would pay for some everyday items. But recently, after checking some of the current procurement price lists, it seems they are now paying the average discount price for most things. Go figure...

[genevabuck]

Special Forces, if they see fit, will purchase these tools.  My brother, who is in the Army, just got back from Israel, and was issued a pretty tough Gerber B.O. multitool, that I have never seen on any forum.  Let's also keep in mind that the military gets contracts and buys these in bulk, lessening the price. 

[Styerman]

The user replaceable tools would lend themselves to customization and modding .

Chris