PowerAssist EOD

[samson722]

I know this hasn't come out yet, but I'm kind of curious.  The website says July.  I kind of want one, but I think I want the EOD Powerlock 2.0 more.  Now if only they could have manual opening outboard blades on the Powerlocks.  That would be the HEAT! 

I think despite SOG's assisted opening being pretty good, it takes away alot of the ability to service or field strip the tool easily.  Assisted opening blades complicate the take-down procedure a little.  I made the mistake of opening a few Kershaws and even a couple SOGs.  Not nearly as bad as OTFs, but still.  What do you folks think?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Judging by the state of the prototypes we saw at the SHOT Show, the PowerAssist isn't going to be available any time soon, so this may be a moot discussion for you.  The primary lock (the one that holds the blade open) by itself functioned great, but the secondary lock (which keeps the blade from accidentally firing) seems to only function to keep the primary from releasing.  Unless they only brought early prototypes (not likely) then there's still lots of work to be done.

I agree with you completely on the added complexity of the assisted openers being a pain in the butt in many cases.  In SOG's defense, even though they are well known for ease of disassembly, how many folks actually do take them apart?  Probably not too many compared to how many actually have SOG tools.

Def

[samson722]

All I'm saying is that a tool that's marketed towards professional operators and EOD techs should be up to the standard of the rest of the SOG lineup in terms of user maintenance.  I really think that since SOG obviously has the tooling to do so, they should have explored using similar outboard blades for the Powerlock revision.  It really would've made a better tool, IMO.  Just my .02

But yes, I definitely see where you're coming from in terms of users who maintain their tools vs. users who don't.

[Leatherman123]

Well, if a professional EOD tech doesn't want the complication of assisted opening blades then they could just get the regular EOD Powerlock!

[samson722]

You're absolutely right.    I just thought it was strange for SOG to go in that direction with a tool marketed for EOD, that's all.  Would you not agree, especially when transitioning from a Leatherman with outboard main blades that this would be an awesome feature to have on the Powerlocks?

[Leatherman123]

Yeah, I see what you mean. IMO, it is really unnecessary to have assisted opening blades on a multi. I can flick open the blades on my SURGE!!/Wave/Charge very quickly. I think the assisted opening is nonsense. If SOG didn't feel the need to make their new tool "cool" with assisted opening, I am pretty damn sure it would be available for purchase now. As Def stated, the prototype of the PowerAssist had "bugs" in it because of the complicated design. If I recall correctly- the secondary lock feature  did not work well. SOG should follow Jamie's motto: "simpler is always better". That is my overall consensus of this matter! 

[Benner]

Yeah, I see what you mean. IMO, it is really unnecessary to have assisted opening blades on a multi. I can flick open the blades on my SURGE!!/Wave/Charge very quickly. I think the assisted opening is nonsense. If SOG didn't feel the need to make their new tool "cool" with assisted opening, I am pretty damn sure it would be available for purchase now. As Def stated, the prototype of the PowerAssist had "bugs" in it because of the complicated design. If I recall correctly- the secondary lock feature  did not work well. SOG should follow Jamie's motto: "simpler is always better". That is my overall consensus of this matter! 

I can see where you are coming from, but someone has to push the boat out and try something new and exciting, that's how we keep getting new tools to play with. 

[Leatherman123]

Yeah, that makes sense too.. I guess I have mixed feelings about the PowerAssist! (Even though I will get one anyways!)

[Spoonrobot]

I've been marinating on the Power Assist. It's gimmicky and it gives up a lot of room for it's main selling point, but it is daring. Even if the tool doesn't sell well it always has the potential to become the impetus for the next great idea. Multi companies need to take chances, we haven't seen much innovation in the past few years from the big guys. The operating systems and implements are all pretty similar but slowly improving in build quality.

To see the Assist makes me happy. It has the ability to draw new users to the concept of carrying a multi and may pave the way for future ideas. Look at all the butterfly keychain tools we have now, they all kind of started with the Leatherman Mini-Tool and the lessons learned from it. Perhaps there will be a lineage of Power Assists that start a new trend but have more functionality than the original. Who knows?

[Leatherman123]

I would say the LM Skeletool is great innovation. It was meant for people that carry tactical folders. It's light, slim, and has common features that people who carry folders don't have.. Such as: screwdrivers, bottle opener, pliers, wire cutters, and the like...

[CQC-7]

I would have to agree with that as well.  The Skeletool is very simple in its design whereas the Powerassist is overly complex in my opinion.  That is not to say that I dont like it.

[J-sews]

The PowerAssist is a Wait And See item for me. After handling the ones at the Shot Show I can see that SOG has really bitten off a big challenge here. It will be interesting to see if their engineers can take such a complex and intricate mechanism and turn it into a rugged, reliable, never ever fail sort of a tool that us multitool users demand. 

[iconoclast]

I too was pondering the Power Assist recently.  This might be old news to most of you, but it just occurred to me why they might consider this a "useful" (as opposed to a cool/first-of-its-kind/wow/because-we-can) feature for a multitool.  It's not so much about the main blade, I mean... outside opening, thumb-stud, one-handed opening == no problem   right?    Now try it with the bottom blade.  Yep, one handed opening would probably mean pushing up on the "thumb" stud with your index finger.   Which seems just awkward enough that the power assist could actually... well... assist.
It may be a somewhat contrived case, but seemingly applicable to the design as they've shown it.  Is it necessary?  Probably not.  Is it handy?  Sure.  (Assuming they can work out any kinks and not impact reliability, which from reports so far still remains to be seen.)  Does it justify the amount of tool space it takes up?  I suppose that depends on each individual tool needs.

Which brings up another question I'm not entirely clear on.  What tools are you giving up?   
Since there are six piano keys on a handle, it seems that would be the max number of (single-wide) tools that could be attached.  With the extra blade and the power assist mechanism, it implies giving up five tool slots compared to one of the other powerlocks.  So I looked at the handy comparison chart on their web site, and compared it with a "2.0" (S69/B69).   First you're trading in the file for the saw, which seems like an even enough trade.  You give up the awl, so that leaves four tool slots to be accounted for.   Now depending on your EOD preference, you're either giving up the phillips screwdriver and the bottle opener (S67/B67) or alternately the (wider) C-4 punch (S66/B66).  Ok, two slots left to go.  But everything else on the chart matches up, so where did those other two slots go?   Maybe I'm assuming too much accuracy from the web site (after all it does list the B69 as "Pre-order ... available mid-November 2007").   Perhaps one of the folks that got to see the prototype knows something more?

Well, hopefully they'll get the locks worked out so I won't have to regret buying one the instant they become available. 

[J-sews]

Here's a picture of the prototype left over from the Shot Show. It doesn't seem worth it to trade two (or would it be three?) of those tools for the C4 punch. 

[samson722]

I dunno, for me, the C4 is damn useful as a window/center punch and/or a scribe for putting my initials on my hand tools and equipment at work.  That said, I wish there was a way (outside of swapping tools) to get the best of everything.

[J-sews]

Looks like the C4 spike does take up three tool slots. I wonder if SOG has considered offsetting it like the Gerber C4 spike?

[J-sews]

Here's a picture of Roadie's DET Gerber for comparison. The Gerber spike only takes up one tool slot.

[samson722]

Uh oh, you got me thinking.. Perhaps if I could find a Gerber DET, I could swap out the spike and mod it to fit the locks on the SOG? 

[J-sews]

Uh oh, you got me thinking.. Perhaps if I could find a Gerber DET, I could swap out the spike and mod it to fit the locks on the SOG? 

Hehe, now you're talking! 

Hmmm, I think the pivot hole is the right size. You'd have to lose the handle flapper, no big deal there. And cut a little notch in the pivot area for the SOG lock bar to engage.

I wonder if Roadie has a PowerLock he could test fit his Gerber spike on?

[samson722]

Is there any reason I couldn't trim the handle cover on that side so that it would clear the spike?  Bear in mind, this is all speculation, as I don't have either of these tools, but I am an engineering student, so this type of thought process comes naturally to me.  Who knew being such a geek could pay off? 

[J-sews]

That may work. You'd have to have all the stuff there in front of you to know for certain.


Beauty part is though that SOG sells replacement handle covers, so even if you screw up its no biggy. 

[samson722]

This is very true.  As off topic as it might sound, I'm actually thinking of this mod for the EOD Powerlock 2.0 (B69) that I plan on getting, just to free up some space for components, such as scissors, or a 1/4" drive.  We'll see what happens.

[Roadie]

I only have the Paladin PT510 but i imagine the pivot's are the same as the powerlock (?) I can give it a go at some stage if you want?

[samson722]

That would be cool, I'd like to see the results.  I wonder if Gerber would send a C4 spike with a little convincing?  It might be worth a try if I end up getting an EOD Powerlock 2.0...

[Roadie]

That would be cool, I'd like to see the results.  I wonder if Gerber would send a C4 spike with a little convincing?  It might be worth a try if I end up getting an EOD Powerlock 2.0...

I don't think they do spare parts as you are not meant to disassemble the tools, doing so voids your warrenty So your only real option would be to find a cheap DET model. I'll give the transfer a go, but it'll be the weekend at the earliest before i have time to have a play

[Leatherman123]

Yeah.. Whats odd is how Gerber basically tells you how to disassemble it!

[iconoclast]

ahh, I hadn't realized the c-4 punch was quite that thick.  (of course if that picture is any indication, it takes up three slots on each handle.   probably some kind of promotional/prototype model like the powerassist in the pics from the show that had two identical straight blades?) 

hmm, Seems like a prime candidate for being turned into (or replaced with)  a real 1/4 bit driver.  now that's something I'd trade in two or three flathead/bottle opener widgets for.

[J-sews]

ahh, I hadn't realized the c-4 punch was quite that thick.  (of course if that picture is any indication, it takes up three slots on each handle.   probably some kind of promotional/prototype model like the powerassist in the pics from the show that had two identical straight blades?) 

hmm, Seems like a prime candidate for being turned into (or replaced with)  a real 1/4 bit driver.  now that's something I'd trade in two or three flathead/bottle opener widgets for.

That would indeed be a trade worth considering.