You might remember a week or so ago I wrote a post about a concert that @mrsbozz and I recently attended. While it ended up being a really good show, it was a quite traumatic night for me. I told this story once already, but I was 100% sure I emptied my pockets when we got home from work that day.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, because when we got to the venue to see the concert and we started going through the security line, I realized my trusty Leatherman Juice S2 which I had for close to 20 years was still in my pocket.
I had to make the quick decision to leave @mrsbozz standing alone and take it all the way back to the car, or have security toss it. It's possible I could have asked them to just hold it for me, but I doubt they would have. My heart dropped as I heard the rattle of it landing in the trash bin.
I'd been through a lot of scrapes with that multitool, and I was a bit despondent sitting there waiting for the concert to start. My wife could feel it too and she tried to make me feel better by pointing out it was all beat up and pretty dull anyway. As I said in my other post, it isn't like it had extreme sentimental value to me. I have a knife I got from my buddy when he first got married that holds a lot more meaning for me than that Leatherman did.
It's just that I'd had that Leatherman for pretty much my whole career and I used it nearly every day. I can't tell you the number of times at one of our family gatherings my wife or someone else has said "uncle bozz, do you have your knife?" or "go see uncle bozz, he has a knife". I'm pretty sure I am the designated package opener at Christmas time when the kids get all those little vacuum packed toys.
Despite the ridiculous cost, @mrsbozz seemed to be on board with me buying a replacement tool. Like I said, Leatherman's aren't cheap, so I did a bit of research as we were sitting waiting for the conference to start. The brand Gerber came up, as well as Victorinox, and a few other ones I have never heard before.
Since I already have a Swiss Army Knife, I didn't want to get that. The Gerbers seemed nice, but the reviews were a bit spotty. I think my biggest issue besides the cost was the size. That old Juice S2 was quite small. Honestly, if it was still available, I probably would have bought another one of those. They do have an updated model of it, but at $110, that seemed a bit steep.
For reference, the top of the line Leatherman is something like $350.
After doing a bit (I lie, it was a lot of research), I ended up settling on the Leatherman Wingman. It's still a bit larger than my old Juice, but you can at least fit it in your pocket without walking around like you are happy to see everyone.
Some of the larger ones you are pretty much resigned to having to wear it in a holster on your belt. Sorry, but I'm not ready to be "that guy" yet.
While the Wingman doesn't boast as many features as some of the other tools, it still packed enough in that I thought it would work well for me. The blade is definitely sharper than my old one. I have already had a near miss with my thumb!
Scissors were a must, I use those pretty much every day and the Wingman has a good set of them. Unlike my last Leatherman, the blade and the scissors both lock into place on this one. That makes them a bit more safe to use in my opinion.
At right around $70 USD, the price was quite attractive for the Wingman too. In fact, I was willing to compromise on a couple of features because I like the price so much. Like my old model, this one also has a can opener which believe it or not I have been known to use a time or two. Additionally, it has a file which my old one didn't, but I can see it coming in handy, and at the very end there is a package opener. As I mentioned above, that will definitely get a lot of use, especially around the holidays!
Finally, one of the most important tools are the screwdrivers. I probably use those the most of anything else on my old Leatherman. Unfortunately, this model only has one size of each. My other model had three sizes of flat head screwdrivers and the smallest one was nicer for tightening eye glasses and things like that.
I had thought about getting one of the models that have the replaceable bits, but like I said, the cost was pretty prohibitive on them. Likewise, many of those models come with a bunch of other features that I would never or rarely ever use. I wish Leatherman made a model geared towards computer techs with a couple of the common Torx heads, but I am guessing their bit system is the solution for that.
I was looking quite hard at the Leatherman Signal since my wife and I do so much camping, but I wasn't fond of the $140 USD price tag. It's got some cool features though. Maybe one day after the bull run I will buy one just to keep in the trailer!
The important thing is, I have a new multitool to put a lot of miles on. You better believe I will be double checking my pockets before I get out of the car next time we go to a concert!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
