Thread: Leatherman Wave Multi tool and adapter review

Well Leatherman is an American company and the founder, Mr Leatherman had just come back from a trip around Europe and found on his travels that he did not have a decent small sized emergency pocket tool that he could use for handy tasks like working on a broken down car and so on, so he decided that there was a gap in the market and in 1983 released his first model, well since then the models have increased to almost fifty, he has bought the German light company LED Lenser and there are knock offs left right and centre with Gerber, SOG and cheap chinese models out there, whether the Leatherman is better than any of the other companies is possibly subjective, I like the brand and so thats what I have.

I used to own Swiss Army knives, first a Victorinox model, which I lost, then a Wegner model (now they are the same company), and again this one disappeared one day, when I went to replace it I had been thinking that a pair of pliers would be useful - but I did not want to go and get the massive swiss champ swiss army life as it just looked too big - so instead I went for the Leatherman Wave, essentially trading red for stainless steel and a bottle opener and a toothpick for a pair of pliers, and for me, more than ten years later it was a good trade.

My Wave came with a nice Leather sheath, its nothing to write home about but its leather, has a good dome and a belt loop and was nicer than the canvas/nylon/cordura and velcro one that the shop assistant also put in my bag by accident, I added a tool adapter to the bundle, this little piece of metal clips into the rear of the pliers and allows for various hex type tools to be clipped into it, it came with six, a couple of square heads, a couple of Phillip heads, a torn and a flat head, six may not be much but I have dozens more in the shed which could also fit, and take up very little room in a bag, so if needed I could take these too.
The adapter itself can be positioned to work at three different angles, which is a nice touch, the only downside to it is that it comes in a little plastic box, with a belt loop too, but I would prefer leather (HGD, I think I may have your next project).



The wave itself has two different blades, one serrated, that have liner locks to hold them in place, a wood saw (which is quite aggressive), and hacksaw and file on one side with a diamond file on the other, inside it has a pair of scissors (this is a deal breaker item for me on a multi tool or swiss army knife, no scissors then no good), a philips head screw driver, three flatheads that have also been chisled so that you can use them in a phillips head with care, a lanyard loop a can opener, bottle opener, wire striper, ruler and the pilers have a bit for stripping wire, cutting wire, needle nose pliers and bigger pliers, all in a package which fits comfortably in the hand and weighs 224 gm, 364 gm if you add in the sheath and adapter combo, and I always carry them together.

So is it any good, well the metal is not that flash, I think its 420C or similar, but the blades take a good edge quite easily and if kept oiled it has so far been rust free and if I need something on the fly it does a good job, especially the pliers, its amazing how even with strong fingers you can struggle or fail to open something but with pliers its a piece of cake...apparently they have updated the Wave with a newer model, what the difference is I am not sure but the telling edge I guess is that I feel no desire to upgrade as mine works just fine, its a tool the pliers come in handy, its not a tool shed tool and will never replace a dedicated single purpose tool but as a handy implement with a variety of uses then its just great, I generally toss it in any bag that I am taking out with me, be it a laptop bag or a pack and 99% of the time it does not get used, but for that 1%, well then its just perfect!

Of course that does not stop me idling gazing at Swiss Army knives now and again - but so far I have kept my wallet in my pocket.

Shelley

Good review Shelley.

I like my Wave that I have had for 15 years (18th birthday present). Comes in very useful, but your right about the metal not being that flash. I have snapped the tip off the pliers twice now, but through the 25 year guarantee that they come with, they fixed it for free the first time.
I must get round to sending it away again to get it repaired.
It has come in very useful over the years in many situations.

Matt.

Wow, you must have been doing something pretty serious to snap those pliers!