Contender 7- 12 In 1 Survival Stainless Steel Screwdriver Wrench Opener EDC Pock

[Grant Lamontagne]

Contender 7 is listed as 12 In 1 Survival Stainless Steel Screwdriver Wrench Opener EDC Pocket Multi Tool by the seller, and I have to say that despite the annoyingly long title, this one actually looks interesting- perhaps the most interesting of the bunch.



It sort of looks like a cousin of the PocketToolX/Leatherman Piranha, but dare I say, with a little more thought put in it?



It says Diplonema Wrench, which is not something I have ever heard of, but I somehow feel that my life may be incomplete without one- after all, my diplonema seems to get wilder and wilder every year.   



Luckily, Wikipedia is a bit smarter than me:

Diplonema feature two short flagella of equal length and two subapical openings. Most are free living, but there have been reported cases of infection in clams and sudden decomposition of aquarium plants. It was described initially in 1914 and later rediscovered in the 60s and called Isonema, wrongly classified among euglenids.

I hate it when I get my euglenids improperly classified, don't you?  And speaking of improperly classifieds, sharp eyed readers will note that this one actually says "Leatherman" on it, although whether the one that arrives does or not remains to be seen.



Since I am not familiar with all of Leatherman's weird one piece tools that have been produced since they bought out PocketToolX, it is possible that this is a copy of a legitimate, existing tool.  I'll wait until someone comes along and tells me since I don't see it on the LM website currently and frankly their one piece designs are so astoundingly awful that they give me nightmares.



This looks like a pretty sweet tool though, and as I said, I think this might be the one I am looking forward to the most.  If Leatherman didn't make this one, I will have to wonder why not, and maybe lose a little respect for them.



According to the seller's sales pitch:

12 In 1 Survival Stainless Steel Screwdriver Wrench Opener EDC Pocket Multi Tool


Product Functions:
* 1/4inch hex screwdriver
* 15mm socket spanner
* 14 wire gauge spoke wrench
* 10mm socket spanner
* 9mm socket spanner
* 8mm socket spanner
* Bottle opener
* Box opener

Product Name: Diplonima Wrench
* Size: 9.5 x 3.2cm
* Thickness:    0.35cm             
* Material: Stainless Steel
* Color: As shown

Package Includes:
1 x Multi-use Tool

It looks like this seller has more confidence in his ability to measure than others, but Diplonema Wrench doesn't really roll off the tongue, does it? 



All in all this one cost $3.69 with free shipping, so it is about average cost wise on the list.  If the build quality is halfways decent on this one, we may have a winner.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Mako!

That's what it was called at PTX and Leatherman!

Was it discontinued?

Def

[Chako]

Yes, that is correct. As for it being discontinued...not sure. I do not see it listed on Leatherman USA's web site in either the product or the discontinued tool area. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I see Leatherman had a titanium version of it for a while, but did they do a regular steel version at all?  Or did it not survive the takeover?

Def

[Kev D]

That could be a handy little tool for cyclists.

I wonder how well those bit's a retained in the holders, as they seem like they could get easily lost.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I can't comment on this one (yet) but the rubber inserts on general seem to hold bits in place pretty good.  In fact, sometimes I have had real fights with tools to get the bits out.

Def

[Chako]

From what it looks like to me, they offered if for a short time after the takeover, and then quietly phased it out. Looks like its sister design, the Brewzer is till alive and going strong.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well now, here is an interesting development.



This arrived today and I must admit, I was more than a little surprised by the packaging.



My first thought is that maybe I had lucked out and somehow managed to get an original Leatherman version.... then I decided to try something silly.



Funny thing about neodymium magnets, they don't usually stick to titanium like this.  This lead me to believe it is a fake, unless Leatherman issued a tool with Ti in the name that wasn't titanium, which I sincerely doubt.  Additionally, the bits are not the same as those offered by Leatherman.

Official Leatherman replacement bits



Bits included with this version



If this unit had simply been marked "Mako" and not "Mako Ti" I may have considered it a bit more authentic as it really does not appear to be any worse than the Leatherman Croc, but I just can't see Leatherman calling a tool Titanium and then producing it in crappy steel.



 



Interestingly enough, this tool actually also has "Leatherman Mako Ti" imprinted on it- whoever wanted to copy this tool seems to have gone to a fair bit of effort.



Forgetting for a moment this tool's stolen pedigree and false claims, it actually does not seem all that bad.  The rubber bit holders are firm enough to do the job, yet pliable enough to allow easy bit access and easy removal if necessary.  The tool is well cut out, and the edges are nicely finished.  It may not be as finely polished as Leatherman's PTX stuff usually is, but as I said, it does seem better than the Croc.



The wrench cutouts aren't absolutely perfect and the bits do move around a bit inside, but for a cheap knockoff, this one isn't bad.



The measurements line up fairly well with what is listed in the original post.









All in all, as this is a LM/PTX design I am going to assume the functions are perfectly adequate, and forego talking about the number and selection of functions.  It is a copy of a good tool, so I have faith that the included functions are going to be good, and I will instead test this one on how well those tools are formed.  I know the original LM/PTX version will be excellent quality- while I don't have the LM version of the MAKO, I do have several other LM/PTX tools and have a fair expectation of what they should be able to manage.  So far this tool is impressing me and could very well be a winner in the Fantastic Five Dollar Challenge, although either way it will leave a bad taste in my mouth for being such a convincing fake- I doubt very much that anyone (except MTO members of course!) would pick up on this one as not a legitimate tool.

Def

[Poncho65]

Wow that is crazy that the packaging and all are so close Most people would not know the difference and that is not good for LM if the tool is sub par at all

In another way I do like the tool and all of it's functions as long as it is made correctly and works as advertised

[Grant Lamontagne]

The polish isn't up to usual Leatherman standards, and the wrench cutouts are not exactly as precise as Leatherman stuff usually is, but I really don't see it as being unusable.  Short of it bending or breaking, I really don't see it being that bad to be honest.  But, buying a fake like this really does turn my stomach, so it will likely gain points by being good, but lose them in the disgust factor, similar to the Raker Ring Tool/ CRKT KERT last year.

Def