Leatherman Sidekick vs. Victorinox Trekker vs. Gerber Sport Multitool-Photos/review

[Yo Mama]

I recently was given a Leatherman Sidekick for the holidays as a gift. With some use, I'm ready to compare to other multitools I have and hope that this helps anyone on the fence about any of these fine tools.

First you note when holding the Leatherman, it's much beafier than the Gerber. It almost makes the Gerber feel cheap. When carrying pocket clip I don't notice it's there. The Sidekick has handled many chores opening packages and cutting zip ties, no problems. The phillips screwdriver also works like a champ, which I was unsure as it looks pretty flat. It comes with a caribiner clip that has a bottle opener and bit holder. This is cool as you can carry a few bits that the Sidekick lacks.

The Gerber has more useful tools: Scissors and Awl, which the Sidekick lacks. I'm not sure if I'll grind down the serated blade on the Sidekick to make it an awl, as it's redundant to have two blades on the Leatherman. The Gerber also has locking for all tools vs. the Leatherman having liner locks for the main blade and saw. I also like the Leathermans easy for access to the knife on the outside handle.

For the best blade the Trekker wins all the way, but the Leatherman is close behind. The Gerber has the smallest blade.

The Gerber also has a drawback of needing to extend the pliers before you can access any of the tools.

Victorinox came out with the Trekker and blew me away, so I was unsure how I'd like the Sidekick and if it would see carry time. Really after only a few days I like the Sidekick as it has everything the Trekker has in a smaller package with a few extra tools.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Thanks for the Review.

 

[hso]

Good review.

 

[bikerdoc]

I got a leatherman in the truck and one in my pack. I really need the trekker! Thanks

 

[Yo Mama]

bikerdoc, The Trekker is a must have. You can find them easy right now for 30 bucks. Well worth the money. It's one of those extreme value selections to me.
I've found the Leatherman Squirt ps4 also has enough umph to take care of most jobs but in a truly tiny package.

hso and Deltaboy, thanks!

 

[Yo Mama]

Important Update!

The clip on the sidekick is a disaster. You will want to tighten it as soon as you get it, as I just recovered mine after searching for 3 hours.

Update on use: I love the sidekick! The wirecutters took care of many Christmas tie straps on toys that needed to be removed, and the screwdrivers came through for me.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Leatherman lament...

What I personally would like to see is the plain old original Leatherman Tool, no fancy-schmancy upgrades or additional names, in the plain old original leather squarish sheath.

Thank goodness I got one, before they became "popular," and imitated by all the other knifelike device makers, but if that one ever goes, I'd like to be able to replace it.

Some of us, believe it or not, manufacturers, actually like old, simple tools, as opposed to zippy upgrades.

I know, I know, I sound curmudgeonly. That is because I AM a curmudgeon. There are many of us.

 

[BeerSleeper]

I'd like to join Smokey Joe's curmudgeon club. I had an original leatherman that I am terribly disappointed to have lost somewhere, sometime, long ago.

I wish I could replace it.

 

[Yo Mama]

I hear you on the classics being superior, but I promise the Sidekick will be a classic.

 

[WardenWolf]

I'd disagree on the classics being superior. I have a Leatherman Charge TI, and it's a far better piece overall than my previous ones. One thing I really miss, though, is the lack of a beefy tiny flatblade screwdriver. Probably the best mix between classic and futuristic ones, though, was the Super Tool 200. It was basically an original Super Tool with the locking mechanism of the Pulse, so all the tools locked. Great piece.

I have an original Leatherman Wave. None of the internal tools locked and you could seriously hurt yourself if a screwdriver collapsed. I had that happen to me more than once before I retired it for the smaller Pulse. I also had a Leatherman Sideclip that was similar. Most modern Leathermans have fully locking tools of some kind.

Overall, though, Gerbers are cheap Leatherman clones. Poorly built in comparison. Lots more points of failure, open body so they're less rigid, and more open so dirt and lint can get into them. They're the Chauchat of multitools.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

I'd like to join Smokey Joe's curmudgeon club. I had an original leatherman that I am terribly disappointed to have lost somewhere, sometime, long ago.

I wish I could replace it.

You know, it seems to me that I did a little looking on this a while back and found that the old Supertool pattern is alive and well . . .

. . . let me go looking again . . .

(BRB)

. . . okay, found it. [post=5743993]Here's the post[/post].

Now, I supposed I should mention that the Supertool is not the original Leatherman tool, but it's real close. And the Core (mentioned in that post) is also not the original, and it's also not quite the Supertool, but last I looked it is in current production.

The Supertool:

. . .

The Core:

The thing I like about the Core is that the handle has been rounded off on the edges so that it no longer eats your hand if you have to apply real pressure.

I replaced my Supertool with a Wave for two reasons, really, one of them being the "hand eating" thing, the other being that the Wave makes one-handed access to the main knife blades easy.

Yes, I also kept my Supertool. Because you just never know.

 

[moxie]

Having two blades is redundant, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.