Leatherman please, take this seriously. (These multitools are real challengers)

Am I hurting Leatherman posting this?

I hear this often in the comments. Let me break it down...if one individual is capable of making a major impact on a multi-million dollar company simply by sharing awareness, then the issues are inevitable.

I critique Leatherman because they still have the ability to turn things around and dominate the market. However, they have work to do.

It begins with engaging the community who can help them succeed.

0:00 Overview
0:30 Modular Tools
2:49 The Wave Clones
Budget Multitool List: (compare prices)
7:17 Leatherman Surge Clones
10:40 Leatherman Sidekick
17:17 Conclusion

Have a Multitool or EDC Question? Leave a comment and I may make a video on it!

Maxlvledc is a channel dedicated to exploring the tools we carry every day. I will be discussing bags, flashlights, knives, multitools, pen, wallets, key organizers, pry tools, functional clothing, watches, electronics, and much more. Because I also love to modify these items, there will be videos on tools such as screwdrivers, pliers, scissor, wrenches, and power tools.

I try to read every comment so pls feel free to ask any questions below! Thanks for stopping in!

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[pi-sxmb]

Why would Leatherman take their competition seriously? They don't even take their customers seriously.

[jrgmty]

I lost all respect for Leatherman when they chose to discontinue the Squirt series instead of improving them.

[Thomjordens]

Back in the day, the go to flashlight has always been a Maglite
It kind of broke my heart seeing they went obsolete in this day and age of LED technology, they simply didn’t catch up with the competitors..
I sure hope Leatherman stays ahead of the game

[shelp]

let's be honest. leatherman went the way of boeing after the new ceo in 2018, they care more about profit and buisness than their customers or product (just look at leatherman garage ). it worked fine for a few years when the only competition was gerber or sog, but now its finally catching up to them. new competition is definitely running circles around them, and they dont seem to have the answers.

[CharlesHeller]

I really appreciate the candor of this video. Harsh, observable fact based info.

Take the straight blade and serrated out of the Wave, put in the serrated hook cutter blade, put in a really competent scissors outside, and replace the tiny scissors inside with a sharp awl. PERFECT tool. Call it the "Wave Form, " and you've got a seller for 20 years @ $99...

[morte]

I was recently blown away by the quality of the green Flissa 16 in one. It's a bit heavy, the tool set isn't perfect, but wow. It's normally listed at $16, but after using their 30% off coupon, the price was only about $11! And after having it in hand, seeing its quality, I immediately bought 2 more to leave in vehicles and tackle boxes. I could buy 10 of them for the price of a Wave. I also thought the Shall was really good for the money.

[rdo]

Bought a Skeletool CX (and other items $140 total) and ran into a lost package by UPS with major delay on delivery. After contacting Leatherman I've received my full order in 3 days, can't stress enough how good the customer service was (please CALL IN). So in terms of "care" I can't complaint about L, now talking about the competition, Gerber and some of these "unknown" brands are looking really good, I'm impressed with that Roxon shown at 14:40. I might buy some of these and give it a try, if not satisfied I can easily gift some to friends overseas.

[jakobe]

I abandonded Leatherman when they raised the price of the Micra to $50, they used to be $20'ish. They make great small gifts and $50 is completely unreasonable for that product.

[Spanky]

I will probably still main the Bond and my Knifeless Rebar for work, but I had to get the EOD cutters and I have some off brand cutters for a backup. I refuse to get another replacement cutter multitool from Leatherman. The Leatherman multitools are more reliable for away from home but I already started using my BIBURY Surge clone for around the house and I love it. It hurts me that Leatherman looks like they are going downhill. I got into multitools at the worst time. I always carried a Victorinox since I was a kid, but I wanted to be more prepared a few years ago and that's when the new cutters were added. I was able to get 2 new cutters sent to me, right after I bought it, but right after the 2nd 1 broke, that's when the Arc came out. This is heart breaking, especially since my Uncle passed away and I wanted to be a Leatherman fan like him. My Uncle also bought me my 1st Victorinox, so at least I can still be a fan of Victorinox still. I really hope Leatherman changes they're mishaps and maybe come out with a new multitool with a full 1/4 driver and no replacement cutters. At least make a Rebar with the Bond plier head. I would be happy if they had the same tools, but went to the non replacement cutters. It would be amazing to see a Surge/Supertool size multitool, but with modular tools to build for yourself. That would be popular and probably over take the multitool market. I hope 🙏

[johnkraemer]

I agree with you 100 percent! Leatherman has been asleep at the wheel! Leatherman needs to migrate to standard off-the-shelf bits ASAP! Change that bit driver now! Why is Leatherman always out of stock on accessories? Such as the ratchet! I have been trying to get a new ratchet for about two years! It’s never in stock! I don’t understand why anyone would buy a Wave or Surge right now! Yes… For the warranty…. C’mon! One can buy four clones for the price of a Leatherman (Wave or Surge). Leatherman has made a lot of money over the years! They have become fat and happy! They have taken their eye off the market and lost their ability to be cost competitive! Yes! Made in America is great! Unfortunately, Leatherman is located in Portland, OR. A state, that’s a mess, not business friendly, has very high taxes, and cost of living! The high costs of doing business in Portland is reflected in the price of Leatherman’s tools! Leatherman needs to change their business model from all angles …. Or, eventually fad away!

[fluffy]

TX Tool Crib even says that leathermans quality has been suffering as well, he bought a few surges and the quality is different on each one. :/

[flatlanderoutdoors]

You are 100% right, not only outdated technology but to raise prices as much as they did baffles me. They have to be losing decent market share at this point.

[michaelkaliski]

You can get a quarter inch bit adapter for the Leatherman. Okay it is an extra bit to lose but then so are all the bits! If you want the best, then the Swiss Tool from Victorinox is the one to beat in terms of comfort in use and fit and finish in general. I have several Leatherman models and one Swiss Tool. The Swiss Tool is the one I reach for most of the time.

[Bethany]

A couple of points - my own company just hired a marketing firm. One of the first things they told us is that if there was work to improve our products that we did *not* do, rest assured there were going to be competitors that *would* be doing it. Also, I keep wondering about the discontinuations. People (including me) are really unhappy about all the models they stop making instead of improving, but I wonder each time if they just weren't selling enough to justify keeping them. Leatherman has to sell to more than just the enthusiast community to do well, and I don't know if enough of those folk were buying Squirts to justify keeping the lineup around.

[hissingoose]

Wife and I have a total of 6 leathermans including the wave and surge.
We just got a fake wave each (bibury). The bibury takes normal bits and as far as I can tell at least 95% as good as the wave. They cost $30, not $100.

[aaronnoffsinger]

I've broken too many tools on my Leatherman plier tools in the last few years. They are cutting corners with steel and heat treat. This often happens when a third generation takes over and the bottom line becomes way more important than quality. The wire cutters used to work well, now they break and are near useless. Gerber maybe ?

[BMBATS]

Just watched and subscribed to your channel. As someone who is in the trades and carries Leatherman on my hip daily, and then a Leatherman after work I agree that they need to step it up or they'll get left in the dust. A Surge with the extender and bit kit currently costs $316.23 after taxes Canadian. That's a huge chunk of money. A real honest focus group with their loyal customers and really listening to them would be a good start.

[edwardfletcher]

Thank you for making this video, I hope Leatherman do something unique and LISTEN TO US !!!

It's not complacency, it's arrogance now, we're being actively ignored and disregarded 😡

I mean they're the biggest multi tool brand and they don't even come to trade shows !? WTF

[GutiTheJ]

Great video man great topic. People like to say cliches all day, but like you pointed out, complecency has killed the American manufacturing market. Good enough only goes so far when competitors can do what you do better and for even less. Innovation is what has always separated us, the fact that other industries have to copy us to even compete

[brianw]

Awesome video. Makes me feel OK about looking beyond LM.