Leatherman Skeletool Multi-Tool With Nylon Pouch

My Skeletool is my first "proper" multitool, bought as a replacement for a semi-novelty keyring/keychain tool I'd been given as a gift.

I find that a major factor in the usefulness of a tool is having it to hand all the time which, for me, means attaching it to my keys. If it wasn't part of something essential I'd find myself leaving it behind, which would invariably prove to be at the time I really need it. So when I started looking for a replacement tool I initially considered the Leatherman Juice, which is suitably compact, but to get one with all the tools I wanted (corkscrew, file) I'd be looking at the top-of-the-range Juice Xe6, which is a bit strong on price and full of things I wouldn't use.

So I decided to sacrifice the extra tools and started looking for something more minimalist, which is when I stumbled upon the Skeletool. It's compact and light enough not to be a burden, the carabiner makes it easy to connect to (and, importantly, quickly disconnect from) my keys, it's got the tools that I use most often, and it's about half the price of the Juice Xe6 which must make it the best value tool on the market!

Apart from the cool and distrinctive looks of the Skeletool, the thing that I've found most beneficial is the excellent quality of the tool. The blade is exceptionally sharp and hasn't dulled at all in my six months of use, and the finish is as tight as the day I got it. The bottle opener is also very good and, when you've got the knack, the carabiner gate grabs the bottle cap once you've opened it, which is a cool (albeit probably unintended) feature.

There is, however, one obvious downside; there aren't many tools. That's not to say there aren't enough to get by, but you do need to be skilled in the uses and abuses of tools to get a good level of versatility, and it would probably come up short if you want the correct tool for the correct job all of the time. But if you're happy to improvise; I've found the blade and pliers sufficient for most tasks, and the selection of screw driver bits is reasonable, although they could benefit from a bigger size difference between them.

I've given the Skeletool four stars not because of any disappointment in ownership, as it's actually been better than I expected, but rather because you have to make sacrifices to have one, which means it's not perfect. It's still very good though...

Similar tool count to the Gerber Crucial, very similar weight, if its important the Skeletool has a stainless steel body, the Crucial an alloy body. The Skeletool is slimmer but longer due to the lanyard/bottle opener not folding in. I particulary dislike the Skeletool "towards" bottle opening action compared with a more normal "away" action.

If it's important, the Skeletool has a fearsomely sharp "pointy" knife, the Gerber a "safer" blunt pointed knife.

The Skeletool has twice as many screwdriver bit sizes at the expense of the bits being removable, (or losable). Also the bit sticks out and can be uncomfortable when using the pliers which have a bypass type main cutter and a hard-wire cutter whereas the Crucial has an anvil type cutter and a wire stripper. Some reviews have found the pliers a tad "flimsy" but IMHO they are surprisingly sturdy.

Bought the Leatherman Skeletool perhaps because I wasn't 100% convinced about the Gerber Crucial but it's the Crucial I'll continue to carry mainly due to its shorter length and better bottle opener (and blunt pointed knife).

Later edit. Its frustrating how few multi-tools have UK legal carry blades. The Skeletool isn't because it locks (as does the Gerber Crucial) but the Skeletool blade is so fearsomely sharp pointed that if challenged it would be extremely difficult to excuse.

Please Leatherman and Gerber can we have decent multi-tools with UK legal carry knife blades.

With an increasing number of jobs to do around the home and garden I started to look for a multi-tool to stop me rummaging around my tool box or garden shed to find what I needed. A mate of mine has The Wave which is undoubtably a quality product, more tools, but of course more weight and double the price of the Skeletool, and I didn't think I'd use all the features the Wave has. The Skeletool covers the basics; Pliers, Wire Cutters, Locking Knife, Drill bits (flat and Phillips) and bottle opener. I found the pliers more comfortable to use than the Wave thanks to the curvature of the body. For the price I'm very happy with the product, it's a quality design and well put together. The 25 year warranty Leatherman provides, proves this will last for many years to come.