as per the title really – outdoorsy job, coupled with biking and sailing. Gerber cheaper and prettier IMO, Leatherman better?

Also, anyone had any issues with most of these tools being locking blades and therefore needing a good excuse to carry it?

Cheers!

I have a gerber suspension.

I favour a Victorinox huntsman if you can do without the pliers. way better blades saw scissors that work MUCH lighter Much more comfortable to pocket has a saw long enough to cut something and all the tools are comfortable to use. Completely legal.

You don’t need an excuse you need a valid reason sailing/cycling tool is a valid reason. But you are breaking the law if you’re just walking down the street.

Had a Gerber that was stolen and replaced it with a Leatherman. Had no issues with either but imo the Leatherman is better quality and been carrying one for about 4 years on my belt for work and never had an issues.

Leatherman crunch is my favourite for bike and general bodging as it has molegrips instead of pliers and takes allen key bits.

Which tools do you want, I’d put tools before brand. I seem to have developed a bit of a collection and my current favourite is the leatherman surge.

I ended up with a friend of mine, who unfortunately passed away’s very well used Gerber, he was a mechanic. I sent it back to the factory as one of the blades had the tip missing, it wasn’t a lockable one so they were reluctant to repair it. I explained the situation, they repaired it and sent me a new lockable one all for free. I can’t fault their service or the tools, both still going strong….

I bought one of the Gerbers that were recommended on here and selling for about £20 on Amazon. Not used it a whole lot if I’m honest, so wouldn’t know how it stands up to persistent use, but massively impressed with the quality. It feels like something that should be much more expensive.

I got one of the Leatheram Wingman tools a couple of years back. It’s ok, been useful on a few occasions and the quality is decent. It just doesnt feel very ergonomic to use, so I only use it occasionally. I lost my swiss army knife recently and miss that much more. It just felt nicer in the hand and so I used it all the time. Whatever you pick I’d recommend getting a shot first to see how it feels.

Was just in Canada on business and went into a shop (Mountain Equipment Coop as it ‘) that had a load of Gerbers and Leathermans (men?) on display. I spent quite a while messing with them. I really wanted one with serious scissors and I didn’t find one, but I did get the impression that the Leathermen were significantly better made than the Gerbers.

Got a Gerber for round the house/ out and about/holidays and a Leatherman Crunch in my biking pack.

Victorinox.
Multitool tis a thing of beauty

My former employment caused us to use multitools pretty much every day. Everyone ended up with leathermans as the gerbers fell to bits. The suspension single handed action is very useful, but also a weak point.
Gerber knives are excellent though, I picked one up from an American PX in about 2000 and it’s still going strong.

ended up getting a gerber suspension. great deal on amazon, good reviews. thought about leatherman wave, but pricey.

Thanks for the comments

Leatherman Rebar in black because it looks the most Batmanny

3 years service, no complaints.

I needed a new set of cutter blades in my old Gerber 400, and they cost the same as a new suspension, so I bought the suspension and its been brilliant, not as strong as the older 400, but good enough for my daily use.

Scissors on the Leatherman juice are about the best in the range. The ones on my Ti charge are good but nowhere near as good. Always preferred lm and have a few from the range. The juice is always with me.

I have a Leatherman Ti Charge and a Gerber Suspension. The Leatherman is way better quality than the Gerber and I’m sure it will out live me. The Gerber isn’t a cheapo, knock off though and you won’t regret buying one, especially if Amazon are still doing them at bargain prices.

I’ve got a few but also sold them for years and would say that Leatherman had a much better record on durability and also their warranty department was better.

Scissors on the Leatherman juice are about the best in the range.

I always thought the Micra had the best scissors of the lot. Shame they discontinued it.

Leatherman UK gives brilliant customer service. Recently lost a screwbit for my skeletool. Contacted them and asked about buying a replacement. They simply sent me one FOC by return post. Certainly won my future custom.

My Leatherman Wave lives in backpack and has a fair bit of surface rust on it. Slightly disappointing as it gets dried and aired after any damp rides, with a wipe don with a light oil every so often. Also have a Gerber Suspension which lives in car. They look similar quality.

Lemonysam yeah micra scissors are very good. You can still get micras on ebay. Lots of tsa confiscations. I just prefer the juice scissors.

I’ve handled both and Gerber seemed to me to be better quality. I also remember reading that Gerber use a higher grade of steel than the stainless used in Victorinox and others, leading to more durable edges. Don’t know what Leathermen are made from.

My Leatherman manages to keep it’s edge on the blades much longer than the Gerber which doesn’t have as much use. I have only managed to break a precision screwdriver bit on the Leatherman through misuse. All the bits that came with Ti Charge are still in very good order too.
If I anything could be better with the Leatherman is that the sheath is a little too tight. I thought it would give over time but hasn’t.

I’ve got a Leatherman Charge and a Gerber Suspension. The Leathermen is much better quality, but then it should be as it was around £80 and I got the Gerber suspension for something ridiculous like £18!

So I’d say Gerber is excellent for the money but Leathermen is a better quality tool

Exactly the same as what richmtb put.

do they all rust ? dunno if I just got a bad one..

I picked up a Suspension after the heads-up on here. Pretty good quality generally. A couple of things I don’t like-the scissors are really uncomfortable to use, too strong spring pressure & the saw teeth are not very well ground-lots of burrs. Wire cutters aren’t brilliant but would get the job done. BUT for £20 who’s complaining really? I also have a Leatherman Squirt PS4 and some of the tools are really made of cheese-still, as mentioned, send it back & a brand new one is sent to replace it.
Very more-ish are multi-tools—-