Juice S2 or PowerPint?

[Ian]

I'm looking for a *pocketable*, pliers-based multitool. I've been toying with getting a Juice (probably S2) for ages, but I'm put off by the fact that they're expensive in the UK (~£80) and I'm not sure whether I'll find it too heavy/bulky and end up not carrying it. I recently came across the SOG Powerpint, which is near as dammit the same weight, but looks a little smaller (in photos) and is noticeably cheaper (~£50). Disadvantages (to me) of the 'pint are that the tools lock, making it dubiously legal in the UK, it has a few things I don't need (serrated blade, file, line cutter), and has oddly small drivers.

Some background, for context: I've carried a Victorinox compact pretty much forever :-) A couple of years ago I decided to dip my toe into pliers-based things and bought a Gerber Dime. I like the Dime and the pliers come in handy quite often, but I ended up carrying the Vic as well, mostly because the scissors on the Dime are useless. I'm hoping to find a single tool with everything I need. Ideal spec is:

Pocketable
Pliers-based
plain blade (non-locking, for UK carry)
scissors
flat/pozi drivers (2D pozi OK, 3D better)

Obviously, there's the usual size trade off; smaller and lighter is easier to carry, bigger and heavier is (should be!) more 'capable'.

I guess the Juice fits this pretty well, except as noted, it's expensive, which really just makes me reluctant to shell out without being confident that it's the 'best' thing for me.

A couple of specific questions:
- Anyone think the juice is too big for pocket carry? (I overwhelmingly wear jeans)
- Are the scissors on the juice any good? I know vic scissors are widely regarded as the best, so I guess they wont be that good, but are they at least usable for small stuff? (The dime scissors are useless, in my view)
- Are there any other tools I should be considering? (Given the spec above)

General question:
 What's the best fit for my needs? Juice S2, PowerPint or something else? (or stick with the Vic and the Dime....)

TL;DR
What is the best pocketable, pliers-based multitool? Leatherman Juice S2, SOG PowerPint or ....something else?

Cheers,

Ian.

[kottskrapa]

I bought the s2 thinking it would be great.. It wasn't.  It does go nice in the pocket but I don't like the knife blade and the scissors (at least on mine) are crap, the didn't align properly and should maybe had been sent in to get it corrected but there was the feeling of not be worth it so I put it in a drawer before I took it to work.

At work it's just right, I use it for the drivers to fix loose doorhandles, tightening screws, small jobs for the pliers but never the blade or scissors and there it does a fantastic job.

We have a lot of tools at work, but they are for bigger things (chemical plant) but calling out maintenance for fixing doorhandles? No thanks

So for EDC it didn't do the job at all but at work it works.

I would pair the compact with a Leatherman style ps on my keychain..
That's what I do when carrying a SAK and it works great

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[powernoodle]

SOG quality has greatly declined in my opinion, and I am reluctant to buy another.  Poor design, more manufacturing.  The Powerpint does not have a standard flat driver, for example.  And my last SOG MT had a "file" that was so smooth as to be non-functional.  At least the S2 is a quality piece.  Its a shame about SOG, because I would buy a Powerpint if SOG kicked up the design and quality a notch or two.  I think the Juice is just fine for pocket carry.

[Don Pablo]

Sounds like you want a PowerPint with non-locking blades, none of the useless tools and no quality flaws.

I wonder if its possible to mod the pint to fix the first two issues?

[hiraethus]

What you want is a Deluxe Tinker.

[Don Pablo]

What you want is a Deluxe Tinker.

forgot about that one.

[Ian]

the scissors (at least on mine) are crap, the didn't align properly
...
I would pair the compact with a Leatherman style ps on my keychain..

Not really what I wanted to hear, but thanks 
Is the style ps that much better than the dime? If I still have the compact, anything else is really just a pair of pliers.....

SOG quality has greatly declined in my opinion, and I am reluctant to buy another.
...
 I think the Juice is just fine for pocket carry.

Interesting. Ta.

Sounds like you want a PowerPint with non-locking blades, none of the useless tools and no quality flaws.

I wonder if its possible to mod the pint to fix the first two issues?

I had wondered about that, but I've not done any modding before. I'd be slightly nervous about ending up with a small heap of metal bits.....

What you want is a Deluxe Tinker.

Never used them, but the pliers don't really look big enough to be worthwhile. Sorry....

[SirVicaLot]

Never used them, but the pliers don't really look big enough to be worthwhile. Sorry....

The Dime ones are even smaller and even more useless 

I would have suggested a Skeletool paired with a classic for the scissors, but the locking blade makes that not an option. This is a tricky one 

[Aloha]

I am a huge fan of the Squirts.  I have both the PS4 and P4.  The difference between them are PS4 has scissors while the P4 doesn't tho has an awl instead.

I would also highly rate the Style PS which does away with a knife blade in place of small scissors. 

Now if a small capable plier is what you are after then these three I can recommend.  I have done away with full size plier tools for off day carry in favor of the Squirt.  I had been after the Style PS and its a recent tool for me but no less capable in terms of pliers.  Its a bare bones tool but excellent when paired with a SAK.  Now I do have to mention that there have been issues with the scissors on the Squirt.  Members have reported breakage of the spring bar of the scissors.  I have personally seen one such issue. 

These tools all can ride on a keychain or in the 5th pocket of your jeans.  The pliers on the Squirts punch above their weight and the other compliment of tools are as capable.     

   

[Aloha]

Now to your original question of the S2 vs Powerpint.  I dont have any experience with the SOG.  I do have experience with the Juice line.  If pliers is your main use of the Juice then they are very good.  I have the OG Juice S2 and I really like the blade.  The drivers are stubby and can bite.  This is what most report when talking the Juice line.  The scissors are large and yes mine are wobbly.  They work fine and when compared to the SAK 91mm scissors they dont.  SAK 91mm scissors are just great and very precise.  The Juice S2 scissors work and I've cut zip ties with them as well as other material sometimes needing a second snip. 

The size of the Juice S2 surprised me when I got it.  Its a lot smaller than I expected.  As you can see in the picture its very pocketable as compared to my Explorer.  I like the Juice and actually have one in off day carry pack for when I go to the flea market.  Its was this tool I picked vs the Rebar simple because of the size.

The pliers are gonna be a lot more capable than the Squirt and less than the fuller size Charge/Wave.   


 

[Rapidray]

Great posts and photos! Like the size comparisons! 

[Aloha]

Makes me bummed LM seems to have forgotten what a great tool the Juice is.  A bit of a redesign to make it spectacular. 

[kottskrapa]

Not really what I wanted to hear, but thanks 
Is the style ps that much better than the dime? If I still have the compact, anything else is really just a pair of pliers.....

I have never handled a dime so I can't say anything about that

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[smiller43147]

I don't have any experience with the Powerpint, but I do with the Juice, Squirt, Dime and Deluxe Tinker.


The Squirt is in a whole different league from the Dime (quality wise).  Everything works just like it should.  As mentioned above, it really punches above its weight.  The current production PS4 has a classic size pair of scissors.


The Juice is a good tool.  You need to learn how to open the flat drivers without stabbing your thumb, but once you do it isn't an issue (I've heard that the newer ones with the dimpled scales and short blade also had the drivers redesigned).  It's a nice size, but a little heavy IMO for pocket carry.  I have done so for a period of time before switching to a Compact.  I wouldn't suggest the CS4 for pocket carry, over the line in terms of weight.


The Deluxe Tinker has a lot going for it.  The pliers are actually a little smaller than the Squirt/Dime pliers.  You'll have to decide for yourself if they will do the things you want to do with them.  Otherwise, it's a Victorinox, nothing more needs to be said.


If I were you, I'd probably pair a Squirt with the Compact you already own.

[SirVicaLot]

Thanks for the comparison pic, i remembered the dime pliers to be much smaller 

[Ian]

Thanks for all the opinions, and especially pics. Comparison pics are great :-)

It seems there's very little love for the 'pint, so that's probably off the cards, and I guess there's nothing else in the same 'medium' size range as the juice / pint.

One thing I negelcted in my original post is that aside from the useless scissors, the dime is probably a bit too small for my liking, hence looking for something juice-sized. The squirt probably is better than the dime, but it's not any bigger, so I don't think that's the answer for me. I did give the deluxe Tinker some thought; the pliers are bigger than I thought (again, thanks for the comparison photo!) but still a touch smaller than the dime, so not quite what I want.

I'll probably bite the bullet and get the Juice.

Cheers.

[Vjeko Posavac]

I have PowerPint and it is ... OK tool for light and easy tasks. It's small, has a lot of tools (not all of them are really useful), big pliers.
BUT blade steel is very soft so i have to sharpen it often 

[ElevenBlade]

The powerpint looks pretty cool. If I had just those two choices I'd go with the SOG.

At this point in time even the Vic Spirit is too big for my needs. 

The older I get, the smaller my tools get.

[badwolf]

The powerpint looks pretty cool. If I had just those two choices I'd go with the SOG.

At this point in time even the Vic Spirit is too big for my needs. 

The older I get, the smaller my tools get.

The powerpint was briefly on my short list which I whittled down to LM T4 and Vic Pioneer X.

The Pioneer X won, all part of downsizing what I carry, the older I get the smaller my EDC gets 

[ElevenBlade]

The powerpint was briefly on my short list which I whittled down to LM T4 and Vic Pioneer X.

The Pioneer X won, all part of downsizing what I carry, the older I get the smaller my EDC gets 

The Pioneer X is also my "choice" for an EDC. However the alox Soldier or Compact keeps pushing it out of rotation ... It's smaller!