Latest news from Leatherman at SHOT

[AimlessWanderer]

Not really an application I'm familiar with, but looking at the pic I might have attempted that with the can opener or awl Never having done it, I don't know how much force that takes .... though obviously too much if it's broke two of them 

[redbaron]

Wreckless idiotic baboons who think, "sod it ... it's under warranty ... I'll send it in if it breaks anyway" and wreckless idiotic baboons who don't think anything at all ever. Unfortunately the world is full of them ... it looks like I just underestimated them 

hey, my friend tried to use mine to pry open his ipod, it worked ok(plus i had a spare at home )

[enki_ck]

You just have to pull off the small plastic thingy and place it on the other wire thingy. You change settings that way. For instance on dvd-roms or hard drives it's used to determine whether the drive is a master or slave drive.

[Syph007]

You just have to pull off the small plastic thingy and place it on the other wire thingy. You change settings that way. For instance on dvd-roms or hard drives it's used to determine whether the drive is a master or slave drive.

I always use needle nose pliers or heavy tweezers to do that job. Actually I bet SAK pliers would be good too.  Maybe his were stuck.

[AimlessWanderer]

Wreckless idiotic baboons who think, "sod it ... it's under warranty ... I'll send it in if it breaks anyway" and wreckless idiotic baboons who don't think anything at all ever. Unfortunately the world is full of them ... it looks like I just underestimated them 

hey, my friend tried to use mine to pry open his ipod, it worked ok(plus i had a spare at home )

Don't take me too literally  just a mini-rant about tool abuse and warranty abuse in general  - irritates me 

You just have to pull off the small plastic thingy and place it on the other wire thingy. You change settings that way. For instance on dvd-roms or hard drives it's used to determine whether the drive is a master or slave drive.

I've seen it done, but I keep away from technogeekery like that - if it still doesn't work after I've turned it off and on again, some other bugger can sort it 

[Mr. Whippy]

I have rarely found an instance where the small bit driver was the only tool for the job.  The Leatherman bit kit has small phillips drivers that work fine in the large bit driver for most small screws.  Personally, I'd rather have an awl in that slot

[hiljentaa]

Small bit driver is the most useless thing ever on large multitools.

I'd rather have another full size bit holder in its place anyday.

[Romanoat]

Small bit driver is the most useless thing ever on large multitools.

I'd rather have another full size bit holder in its place anyday.

I tried to replace the small driver on my surge with the dedicated flathead from my wave. I'd love that, as I like to use the flathead to remove the plastic 'poppers' that hold a lot of plastic car pieces together. The big one on the surge is just too big for that, and the eyeglass screwdriver is useless on such a big tool.

[BIG-TARGET]

[Outback in Idaho]

here is a video from the SHOT show floor  - 

One thing that was not mentioned before is she is saying the bit driver is gone from the surge.  Looks like I wont be buying a new surge after all.  Why in the hell would they take out the bit driver - EDIT - Looking at my surge it looks like its in location of the eye glass screw driver not the full bit driver.  If they replaced the eye glass I am fine with it, if they replaced the full bit driver I am mad

Comparing to my BO Surge it appears the awl was hiding in the handle, and there has been a change of the other two implements: small bit driver & the large (redundant) flathead that was probably being used for a scraper/prybar. - Hmm... all new Surges should come with a Widgy bar! 

[Grail Knight]

I like the shotgun tool but it would have been nice if Leatherman would have included a universal Forend wrench.
The choke tube wrench is almost identical to the one on my "Real Avid The Gun Tool Plus" and something I seldom use.
Still some interesting tools and I would probably buy the ones for shotguns and archery.

[scorpion008]

Why the heck does Leatherman focus so much on weapons? Out of three tools, all three are weapon centered and therefore not a viable option to the general population. Why not combine the piranha and z-rex into a nice civilian one piece. Seriously.

[Outback in Idaho]

Why the heck does Leatherman focus so much on weapons? Out of three tools, all three are weapon centered and therefore not a viable option to the general population. Why not combine the piranha and z-rex into a nice civilian one piece. Seriously.

I actually made a comment on Leatherman's webpage wondering if they had plans on merging the functionality of the Piranha onto one of them tools. They might get tips from the Big Red post of Grant's.

/agree on the 'weapons only' stance.

[gadgetman7]

I understand the frustration with the weapons centric tools but it's a huge market in the US. I suspect most of the US sales are to outdoorsmen or sportsman here and most of those people have at least hunting rifles and likely other guns as well. Also, sportsman and outdoorsman here likely already have a general use multitool so I think they're trying to get additional sales.

[Outback in Idaho]

Still, what kind of ... would use the small bit driver as a prying tool? 

Don't cringe. Last year I remember someone asking Leatherman where to get a replacement metal toothpick for his Surge. 

You just have to pull off the small plastic thingy and place it on the other wire thingy. You change settings that way. For instance on dvd-roms or hard drives it's used to determine whether the drive is a master or slave drive.

I always use needle nose pliers or heavy tweezers to do that job. Actually I bet SAK pliers would be good too.  Maybe his were stuck.

If there were only small off-set pliers on multitools...

[Gareth]

Getting rid of the small bit driver and improving the t-shank holder is just fine by me.  The Pump etc are just not aimed at me so I will leave that to others to worry about.  Like Allan I do worry about just how easy it will be to keep the Raptor clean and sterile, if it can survive going in an autoclave or similar then it should not be an issue I guess. 

[Outback in Idaho]

Getting rid of the small bit driver and improving the t-shank holder is just fine by me.  The Pump etc are just not aimed at me so I will leave that to others to worry about.  Like Allan I do worry about just how easy it will be to keep the Raptor clean and sterile, if it can survive going in an autoclave or similar then it should not be an issue I guess.

Very good point.    Don't recall hearing/reading anything about that yet. And paramedics use saline solution a lot too (salt water).

[AimlessWanderer]

Sterilising in an autoclave is one thing .... but afterwards its worn on the hip in all kinds of environments in an open sheath and easily contaminated by anything that's around ... and if it wasn't worn on the hip but placed in a kit instead, doesn't that defeat the purpose of it?

[wndrstrck]

Sterilizing in an autoclave? I thought trauma scissors were meant to remove clothing and such, not for interaction with the human body.

[redbaron]

Sterilizing in an autoclave? I thought trauma scissors were meant to remove clothing and such, not for interaction with the human body.

if clothing needs to be removed/cut, chances are it has blood on it.

[scorpion008]

When is this stuff going to appear on leatherman's website?

[Grant Lamontagne]

When is this stuff going to appear on leatherman's website?

Remember this is a trade show to showcase what's coming out over the next year.  These could be available next month or they could come out in November- or indeed any time in between.

 And as we've seen before some may not make it all. The original Freestyle or PowerCut come to mind.

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[Nhoj]

Does anyone know what is in the place of the small bit driver on the new surge?

[Outback in Idaho]

Does anyone know what is in the place of the small bit driver on the new surge?

Tracy, friend on facebook, suggested years ago an over & under setup on the large bit driver. But you know how long it takes for Leatherman to catch up - unless it's a seriously popular item.

Probably won't be a small bit adapter. It is such a large tool it was there probably more as a placeholder as they couldn't think of anything else to put there. Too short to put a fish scaler there. 

[kinskibrain]

  Total gun focus. A bit daft to my temperament. Why not cater to other outdoor markets? some examples: chainsaw tool, bike tool, skiing tool, climbing tool, fishing.., and so on.

The new Surge was very nice though.

[Top-Gear-24]

The gun tools are not for me (okay, I did buy a MUT when it came out, but than again, the MUT is more than "just" a gun tool in my opinion). 

So good news for me, this means I will only need to save money for the new Surge, hope it will be available here in Belgium around August, that way it would make a great birthday gift for myself  .

I've been thinking about buying a Surge for a couple of years now, but I was kind of waiting untill they would change the plier head, and the improved t-shank holder is a nice extra  .

[Landrew]

Sorry to see the small bit driver disappear from an "everything tool" but it is a little awkward turning a tiny screw with such a heavy tool.

[Santos]

I really like the raptor, i can understand the sterile concerns but i'd rather have it on hand unsterile than not at all. Folded it should fit in my car first aid kit nicely. (and hopefully i can resist using it daily for those non-medical things)