r/Leatherman

Hi guys, I am getting an arc for my birthday and was wondering if you know of any cool mods to replace the can opener with.

Leatherman Arc and Wave Alpha

Initial impressions

 

Today I picked up both the Arc and the Wave Alpha and wanted to share initial impressions for anyone who was curious and on the fence as they are similar tools at somewhat similar price points.

 

Bottom line:

I like the feel of the Alpha, but the function of the Arc

 

 

Wave Alpha

Feels nicer in the hand due to the contoured G10 grips

The knife and scissors are larger and a bit more robust than the Arc

 

Arc

The FREE technology is great for one handedness and accessing the small tools

Pocket clip is included and secure

 

 

Use criteria:

I carry a knife/multi-tool for hobby woodworking, handyman, and general day-to-day uses.

 

My order of priority for tools are:

1.      Knife – decent size and cutting capacity

2.      Screwdriver (multiple sizes/bits)

3.      Pliers/wire cutters

4.      Scissors

 

One handedness is very important to me so having a pocket clip that is sturdy enough and low profile so the tool stays in my pocket, and can be easily grabbed is paramount. Being able to use as many tools as possible with one hand is nice, mainly the knife and screwdriver.

 

The rest I could take or leave.

I personally never use the awl, bottle/can opener, etc.

The saw and file are nice to have but I generally am never too far from full size tools for those so don’t often need the miniature versions in a multitool.

 

In other reviews, folks lament not having a ruler on either of these tools. Again, I usually have a tape measure nearby so have never really needed this.

 

 

I’ve been carrying a Skeletool CX the past year or so, which overall I like for it’s minimalize design. My gripes with it are that:

-          The pocket clip is too flimsy, and I often lose it in the couch/car

-          The knife could be larger based on the size of the frame

-          The driver can be awkward to use due to the asymmetric design

-          It does not have scissors (not the end of the world, but would be nice sometimes)

 

 

With that out of the way, now onto the Arc and the Alpha.

 

The Alpha feels way more comfortable holding. And the big four external tools deploy with one hand better than the Arc. Plus the size and design of the tools themselves seems superior on the Alpha. The size of the entire knife is about the same, but you get a bit more blade on the Alpha. The size of the scissors on the Alpha is substantially larger than the Arc. Looking at the frame of the Arc, there is about a cm of blank space in the scissors slot, so they could fit a longer pair of scissors if they wanted.

 

However, like traditional leathermans, all the small tools on the Alpha are internal, and require a thumbnail to pull them out of the frame. So getting to the drivers is a tedious two-handed operation.

Whereas the Arc uses the FREE technology so all of the small tools are external and easily deployed with the press of your thumb.

The pliers being able to deploy one handed is less important to me, but is a neat feature.

 

 

I don’t have the pocket clip for the Alpha as they didn’t have that at the store I bought them from, so would have to order that separately. From what I have seen in other reviews, the pocket clip is less than ideal and very wiggly. The fact that it is an added cost on top of the $200 tool, is disappointing as well.

 

 

My perfect tool would be to take the grips, knife, and scissors from the Alpha and put them on the Arc.

 

For now, I plan to carry the Arc for its pocket clip security and one handedness, and keep the Alpha in the truck.

 

I use a screwdriver too often to have to pull that out from inside the tool, so if I were only picking one, I would get the Arc.

 

 

Hope that’s helpful for anyone who’s on the fence.