Leatherman Surge vs Victorinox Swisstool X - is bigger better?

This is the battle of the two biggest multitools from the two biggest brands. The Leatherman Surge and the Victorinox Swisstool X. These are the most capable multitools you can buy. Victorinox and Leatherman are the market leaders but which is best? and is bigger better?

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Contents of this video to help you navigate:

00:00 - Intro
00:39 - A Brief History
04:46 - First Impressions
10:12 - Size and Weight
11:39 - Cases Compared
12:50 - Pricing and warranty
13:48 - Tool Overview
15:45 - Tools Compared
29:50 - My Winner

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[elliotlowndes]

When I started my career in wildlife television, I knew that a multi tool was a must so I picked up the original wave before starting my first job in Kenya as a camera assistant. Upon seeing me use it for the first time my boss lambasted me for buying a leatherman. He would always quip that he had a drawer full of rusty leathermans at home and since getting himself a swisstool he has never looked back. At the time I thought he was exaggerating. I liked the wave - it was small, the blade sharp, and it was a better price and weight when compared to the swiss tool and I couldn't imagine how the wave would rust being made of stainless steel. Further, and rather incorrectly, I associated victorinox with swiss army knives that I had as a kid. Fun to have, but rarely of any real use as a child.

Fast forward to a shoot in on a desert island off of Belize - sand, salt water, humid tropical conditions and my wave rusted in the first hours of the first day and seized up all together by day two. When I got home I purchased a swiss tool for myself and immediately felt the difference in quality. I put my wave in a bath of lubricating oil for a week and that floated most of the rust off. The wave was a good secondary option, to my swiss tool, for a while. A decade on and my swiss tool is as good as new and has never needed maintenance or a drop of oil while my wave sits forgotten at the bottom of a tool bag. The flat head screw driver has snapped off long ago and the rust has crept back around the joints. Sure, some smart ass is going to chime in and say I should look after my wave better and oil it, but it doesn't really stand up the swiss tool which has suffered so much more abuse and has never needed anything at all.

The swiss tool is a far superior tool for my line of work. All the tools are accessible with the pliers stowed, the quality of the tools and metal feel 100% better than the leatherman did, and each tool comes out on its own without the others following it. Finally, there was always something just so awkward about using the the can opener on the wave as a bottle opener/cap lifter as well. I didn't like the way it would pierce the cap sometimes and lift it awkwardly. The process with the swiss tool is much more straight forward and satisfying. After all, surely the most important job of a pocket tool is to open a beer at the end of long hard days work in the sunshine?

[fmsracing]

Something you missed is that the Surge's file has a diamond coated side and since it is removable, you can actually use it to sharpen your knife blade on your multitool.

[StanimirDoranovic]

No matter how much I try to enjoy using the Leatherman Wave multitools, as soon as I do the same job with a Victorinox, I realize how perfect a tool it is. As my colleague (a professional soldier) would say: "Leatherman is for a esthetics and looking, while Victorinox is when you stop looking and start working." Germans have a big problem with knife laws, and that's why they are not allowed to make Multitools that open and lock with one hand. However, in recent years, there have been such models ("MX"), intended for foreign markets.

[tidge]

On the warranty, I'm a Brit living in Turkey. My Leatherman broke, I contacted them and they told me to send it to an affiliated company within Turkey. It cost me about £1.50 postage, they replaced the broken part and sent it back. I was so glad to not have to send it to the US, I was extremely impressed that they use local affiliates unlike a company like Benchmade, who have great warranty, but it has to go back to the original factory and you have to cover that postage.

[fredharding]

I don't own either multi-tool being reviewed here, but I feel as though the precision of Victorinox puts them in a league of their own. It isn't as though the precision comes at the expense of durability, even if we describe Leatherman tools as a "tank, " Victorinox takes a beating, and still remains a precision tool. I, as is the case with a lot of people, I understand, use a Leatherman Skeletool, (RX, in my case) as an EDC companion piece to my tiny keychain Victorinox MiniChamp. I find the MC does most of the things I need it to do, from opening packages, working with (albeit small) screws, personal care, and more. The Skeletool provides the pliers, a bigger blade, (if needed) and a couple of extra driver bits. I bought the added kits but haven't been in any rush to find a way to add it as EDC. What always makes me chuckle when I use it, is how roughly made it is. I have a $30 Victorinox Rambler that I basically keep with me instead of the MiniChamp when I'm around my house (the MC stays with my house/car keys, etc.) The Rambler opens and closes with a degree of precision the $90 Leatherman can't even approach. A $60 difference, and a multi tool some would expect to be little more than a novelty has been made with far more quality than it's much bigger companion. Of course, they are both used for different things, etc, but I also have larger Victorinox Knives, the S557 (Wenger Hybrid) and the Handyman. Both are superior to the Leatherman as well, so it isn't just that the smaller Vics are smoother operating because of their size. For the purposes of the Swisstool vs Surge, I also would have liked to see the similar add-ons from Victorinox. Seems to me the ratchet/bits are pretty much on a par with the similar additions from Leatherman. Fun and useful video in any case, and as always helpful in making future purchases, (or not, as the case may be!)

[the_snobot]

The can opener of the Leatherman doubles as a bottle opener. Doesn't work quite as nicely as the Victorinox one, but it definitely works for opening a beer.

[negolfman]

The Victorinox also has precision screwdrivers as an add on accessory that has four extra bits two Torx, Phillips and two standard for the corkscrew tool.

[frankschroth]

The best comparison of Multitools I've ever seen ! Great job !

[saviom]

The Swiss Tools now have pocket clips and one hand opening primary blades. Having a separate screwdriver set in the Swiss Tool X plus Ratchet helps when you have to hold on to a slippery nut with the pliers while one turns the screw which has that nut with the screw driver; I have shown this in a video on my channel, called 'A quiet sample demonstration....'. Also, Leatherman is prone to rusting even when not used and kept in environments that don't have that much moisture.

Also those Surge scissors are a problem, I wouldn't call it a draw.

Also for wire strippers—those two types of wire strippers on the Victorinox is a feature that does help with different types of wires as I discovered when working with ethernet cables! That's an extra point for it.

The Victorinox has holes for a lanyard as well!

The ability to open up your tool to service it at home is a real benefit that the Surge has, and the longer plier head can be counted as an advantage too.

Another advantage that the Surge has is that its wire cutter needs much lesser effort with very hard wire. The Victorinox will also do it, bit with much more effort.

But, overall, I feel like I have greater capability with the Swiss Tool, whether carried in a complete kit with an after-market dual-sided 6mm bit set, or on its own, or even with the standard 6mm Victorinox bit kit. The Leatherman bit kit is really not very good for hard driving, and some of its bits are the same bit on both sides.

[frankie]

Jon consistently does a great job. Comparing and contrasting the tools, making sure that he pays attention to the small details and fairly evaluates them without bias. I've watched a number of his videos and he consistently does a great job. Thanks jon and keep up the great work!

[staginglightingsensation]

I have bothe. And . I honestly like swiss more.

[benningsniper]

Had a swisstool for years until I got a surge. Absolutely no comparison as far as a hard use tool goes. Surge us the clear winner.

Larger cutters are awesome for stripping wire quickly, and for cutting hard wire, where as my swisstool cutters were ruined by some barbed wire.
Bit driver is awesome. The surge can sharpen itself as well.

Use the serrated blade to cut everything on the job site. The draw cut capability is awesome, and one handed opening really helps.

Pliers are big and beefy. Super comfy in the hand.

Ability to swap a file, wood saw, and metal saw is just unbeatable.

Scissors are well made and make great nail trimmers in the field. Use the awl a bunch for PVC punching and reaming.

Overall the surge is less refined than the swisstool, but way more adaptable and usable.

The swisstool is a beefy shiny toy. I work 70+ hours a week and put my leatherman through hell on the American pipeline jobsite in areas from the deserts west Texas to the swamps of Louisiana, and even the high plains and mountains of New Mexico on occasion. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone on earth that uses their MT more often and in a more diverse setting than I do, and I tell you without question: the leatherman surge is the absolute winner at everything but looks.

[WRND]

I'm quite a big Victorinox SAK fan, but I went with the Leatherman Surge for this go around of multi-tool selection. I figured I should have at least one to give them a fair chance. It doesn't replace my SAKs for me, but complements them, and adds a little bit of redundancy for security, confidence, and peace of mind. Cheers.

[panoskarallis]

I bought many leatherman models the last 2 years, carried them at work on a rotation and put them to the test. I should start by saying that im a sak user for 30+ years.
What I’ve noticed is that leatherman even though he has a variety of options, lacks on quality inspection and detail execution. If i buy 100 swisstools they would all function the same, but in leathermans case I would have 99 different operating flaws and one that works ok. (Exaggeration to make my point)
What you’ve said on tools layout and deployment is also pin point. Victorinox is like ocd stacked with each tool having its own spring and leatherman on the other end with its tools opening and closing according to its star sign.
I chose Victorinox for all the above but mostly because i see a multitool as a “first aid” on a task, not a solution.if i have 50 screws to screw i would use an impact power tool at work not a multitool. I’m using mt for small tasks just to avoid carrying a toolbox. So a stand alone multitool is far more suitable for me. If i need to carry extras i could go with a toolbox with dedicated tools.
Love your background!

[robertocarloshernandezelvi]

Excellent and detailed versus, I need to mention that the Swisstool serves as a 45 degree square. I have both and they are great tools.

[powernoodle]

In your finger example, I would never grab the bolt (I don't want to say "grab the nut") in that configuration, but would turn the tool 90 degrees so it looked like the hands of a clock. But your explanation of the pivot change is the first one in a decade that has made any sense.

[jaybaughn]

I also have both the original Swiss tool and surge... You were spot on, in your assessments.... One point, in regards to the surge, the file is removable allowing you to maintain the tool.

[kabayan]

Well done again Jon, I did'nt realize I spent 30mins watching your comparison. Thanks for another great video.

[codeisawesome]

Thanks for the shot at the end comparing the size of Wave / Spirit with these larger tools as well!

[jbekker]

I have both. On the Leatherman I broke the stop plates that support the pliers when opening. I was crimping a small electrical wire! Swiss tool is still going strong after 20 years! Better quality IMO.