size comparison(Surge and Charge)

[cliosguy]

ok guys heres the thing

im thinking on getting a leatherman  and i narrow it to this two options: the surge and the charge al

i read the reviews, saw the pictures and videos but i still cant get a real idea of how different are those two size wise, and a simple side by side photo of those wont help me eather because i never saw one before  (yes theres no resellers of leatherman on my country), but what i did saw and still seeing is my spirit so here is the favor im asking you guys

if any of you happen to have a swisstool spirit, a surge and a charge it will be really nice if you can replay with a side by side picture of these three MT(you know closed pliers, open pliers, blades); hope is not to much to ask 

is just that with the cold numbers and the separated pics plus my lack of imagination is kinda hard for me to see the differences, i know the Surge is HUGE but i dont know how different can a charge be from my spirit size wise

regards and thank you guys in advance 

[duckman1975]

Here ya go, sorry about the picture quality only have a camera phone to shoot it.

[cliosguy]

thanks for the quick reply  , well the surge is definitely HUGE maybe not much more from a charge, but still HUGE specially the pliers head i bet that wire cutter is a joy to use 

mmm...the only missing thing is the blade comparison, but the photos give a really good idea of the overall felling of the MT

now i like to ask you duckman1975, which one you prefer the most, the surge or the charge?

[duckman1975]

Well it depends on where are you going to use it. If you work with lots of different people around the SURGE might look very intimidating it has a HUGE blade people might mistake it as a weapon but if thats not a problem and its going to see heavy work I suggest the SURGE.
The charge is not that intimidating it doesn't have the huge blade of the SURGE but it good enough for most of the jobs.
As for the pliers, as you can see the pliers of the SURGE is fun to use but again the charge pliers are good enough for most of the job.
As of the weight if you are very particular about it DO NOT BUY THE SURGE..... its a heavy beast.
If money and availability is not a problem I suggest to buy them both 
As for me I love them both they are two of my favorite multitool. I carry the SURGE at work inside the farm, when I go out to town or to the city I carry the charge plus a SAK or the juice.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask questions.

[duckman1975]

[DoughDTD]

I have both, and let me first start off by saying they are both FANTASTIC multitools.  However, they each have their place.

As you can see in the pictures, the surge is quite a bit heftier.  It feels like a brick in your hand, and to be honest, when I'm doing heavy work I like that feeling.  It seems to instill trust in the tool.  However, as many have said, and I'm sure you have read, the surge has much more "wiggle" than the charge.  It has never bothered me, and I've used my surge quite frequently.  The blades on the surge are alot bigger, and really can be used for heavy duty stuff.  The scissors are far superior on the surge than on the charge.  The surge has an awl on the inside, something I think all multis should have, and the charge does not.  However, the surge has the blade exchanger, so you can swap in the included diamond file or saw blade, or any other T-shank jigsaw blade you want to buy.  Unfortunately, that limits the size of both the file and the saw blade because about 1/3 of the available length is the blade exchanger.  I think its a fair trade off.  The charge has the higher quality steel in the main clip point, which I like, but I havent had any issues with my surge's blade.

I think what it comes down to is what you're going to be using.  The surge can be cumbersome for an EDC, but I will ALWAYS bring my surge with me when I know I'm going to be doing work.  Its a powerhouse.  The charge, I feel, is better suited for EDC just around everywhere, and can handle those things that just pop up with ease.  For example, I am a mechanical engineer who works in a manufacturing position.  I work on the machines in my plant alot during the day, so I always bring my surge with me to work.  When I get home, I'll swap it our for my charge, swisstool, or other combonation.  I hope that short explaination helps!

Again, if you are in doubt, buy both now! Cause honestly, who are you kidding, you'll probably end up with both down the road anyway 

-Dough

[cliosguy]

Again, if you are in doubt, buy both now! Cause honestly, who are you kidding, you'll probably end up with both down the road anyway 

-Dough

you're damn right  i just want to chose the first for my Christmas gift, then buy the other for my birthday(til September ) so nobody(girlfriend) start complaining about the amount of MT im buying

thanks guys for the tips, much appreciated

[Grant Lamontagne]

You can also get an idea of the difference in size from the weights listed in the Multitool Encyclopedia.

Def

[DoughDTD]

you're damn right  i just want to chose the first for my Christmas gift, then buy the other for my birthday(til September ) so nobody(girlfriend) start complaining about the amount of MT im buying

thanks guys for the tips, much appreciated

I got my Surge first, and I would suggest you doing that.  It will allow you to appreciate the more compact form of the Charge after carrying the surge around!  Also, I would suggest getting the 42 piece bit kit, and the long bit extender.  Saved my ass a couple times and makes the bit adapter infinitely more useful

-Dough

[cliosguy]

yeah, ill guess ill do that Dough, plus the surge is cheaper and a heavy duty tool never do me no harm because i kinda abuse a little almost every "toy" i have

in the worst case scenario it will end up on my laptop bag, which i carry almost everywhere

thanks again

[Sea Monster]

got my Surge first, and I would suggest you doing that.  It will allow you to appreciate the more compact form of the Charge after carrying the surge around!

You can appreciate the compact size of a 600 piece SNAP-ON tool kit after carrying the surge around.

[duckman1975]

got my Surge first, and I would suggest you doing that.  It will allow you to appreciate the more compact form of the Charge after carrying the surge around!

You can appreciate the compact size of a 600 piece SNAP-ON tool kit after carrying the surge around.

Yup thats pretty much sums it up  I got the charge first as a gift before buying the SURGE, it took time to appreciate the SURGE when you have been edcing the charge...... buy the SURGE first