Swiss Tool Spirit vs. Leatherman Wave(2004)

[Papacat]

A few weeks ago my wife and I went camping with her sister and her husband and I recently received a Swiss Tool Spirit as an anniversary gift.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do a field comparison between the Swiss Tool Spirit and the Leatherman Wave. 



I feel that both the Spirit and the Wave(2004) are a good match for each other.  Both are about the same weight and size and both have a locking mechanism for all of their tools.  But that's where the similarities end.  Although the Leatherman Wave has one hand access for both its plain edge and serrated edge blades, all of the Spirit's tools can be accessed from the outside.  I'll compare the more common tools of both multitools.



First, the Wave has two blades: one plain edge and one serrated edge as opposed to the Spirit's butter knife.  Sorry, I always thought that it was a very oddly shaped blade.  Don't get me wrong, it is wicked sharp and does as good of a job as the Leatherman's blades.     



Another common tool is the wood saw.  Both performed well on a branch, but I swear the Spirit seemed easier to use. 




(TO BE CONTINUED...)
             

[Papacat]

(Previously on Multitool.org)
The next tool that I looked at was the screwdrivers.  This is where I feel Leatherman dropped the ball with their introduction of the interchangeable bits on the Wave(2004).  The Philips/Flathead screwdrivers seem unstable and don't have the same reach as the original Wave or the Spirit screwdrivers.  Also, Leatherman introduced an eyeglass screwdriver, a tool I feel more suitable for the Leatherman Juice or Squirt. 



Neither tool is without flaws though.  Although the screwdrivers of the Wave have issues, I did have a few problems with the Spirit.  The Philips screwdriver is a pain to open, and the knife blade looks like a butter knife...wait, I already covered that.  The one flaw that the Wave and the Spirit have in common is that both have crappy scissors.  I guess Victorinox thought, "If we let the scissors open all the way, it'll cost us a fortune."  On the other hand, Leatherman felt that they needed to downgrade their  scissors-but they can be opened further than the Spirit-they don't seem very strong or sharp.  So let's recap, shall we?

LEATHERMAN WAVE(2004):

Pros:
-One hand access of blades.
-All tools are locking.

Cons:
-Flimsy and short interchangeable screwdriver bits.
-Useless eyeglass screwdrivers.
-Scissors.

VICTORINOX SPIRIT:

Pros:
-All tools accessible from the outside and are locking.
-More variety of tools including an awl and chisel.
-Ergonomic handle makes tool use more comfortable.
-Longer, and durable screwdrivers.

Cons:
-No nail nick for Philips screwdriver.
-Again with the scissors.

Overall, I feel that the Spirit gave the best performance in my comparison, but I do have some suggestions for both companies  that could possibly improve their products. 

Leatherman: Lose the interchangeable bits and insert the screwdrivers from the Blast, but keep the locking feature.  And for God's sake, put back the original scissors. 

Victorinox: It's okay for scissors to open all the way, I promise not to run with them.  You have a great selection of tools on the Spirit but maybe consider adapting a combination bottle opener/can opener tool.  Imagine the space you could save and  the other tools you could include: maybe separate plain edge and serrated edge blades?  Speaking of which, would it hurt to have one hand access to the blades?

Just a thought.

-Papacat.   

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Bloody good review there mate

The only thing I'd point out though is you can get a spirit with two blades, but you'll have to lose the scissors

Good job mate

[Dunc]

Well done  Nice comparison

Dunc

[Grant Lamontagne]

Excellent, well thought out review!  I think we may have to make space for this one on the main page!

Def

[Benner]

Cracking review mate.  Good job. 

[CQC-7]

Good review!

[Splat]

I've used my Spirit's scissors a few times and they did the job. In the alloted size I think they do a very good job. Any bigger and it wouldn't fit the Spirit. Now the "butter knife"... well, I agree that I'd rather have a pointed blade, BUT I can't recall having a scenario yet where I needed a pointed blade. The Spirit's blade did the job and that was that. You could file down the butter knife to a pointed blade, but I've never done that so don't know if this would weaken the blade.  All in all, I'm extremely happy with my Vic Spirit even with these irks.
--
Splat

[cryptrick]

I've used my Spirit's scissors a few times and they did the job. In the alloted size I think they do a very good job. Any bigger and it wouldn't fit the Spirit. Now the "butter knife"... well, I agree that I'd rather have a pointed blade, BUT I can't recall having a scenario yet where I needed a pointed blade. The Spirit's blade did the job and that was that. You could file down the butter knife to a pointed blade, but I've never done that so don't know if this would weaken the blade.  All in all, I'm extremely happy with my Vic Spirit even with these irks.
--
Splat

I second that. Some people do complain about the blade on the Spirit but just like splat, I haven't really needed a point yet and am enitrely happy with the blade. If I want a point I've always got the sharp awl 

[jcrim007]

awesome papacat. thanks for the good review. i'm looking at both of these tools now, and this review helps a bunch

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

awesome papacat. thanks for the good review. i'm looking at both of these tools now, and this review helps a bunch

Welcome to the forum mate, either tool will serve you well

[J-sews]

............i'm looking at both of these tools now, and this review helps a bunch

Welcome sir! Please be sure to let us know what you get, and what you do with them! 

[Papacat]

awesome papacat. thanks for the good review. i'm looking at both of these tools now, and this review helps a bunch

That's what I like about this forum.  I'm glad I could help. 

-Papacat.