The Leatherman - Part Two
August 7, 2008
What weighs only 5-ounces but can be used as a full sized knife, pliers or screwdriver?
If the answer to that question doesn’t jump right out at you now it will after you’ve had a chance to examine the latest tool in the famous lineup of Leatherman products. If you read my last “Pick of the Products” column you know that this time around I promised to provide the details on this nifty new tool.
The “Skeletool” went on sale for the first time this year. It’s just as big in size as the Leatherman tools you’ve seen before, but this one is a lightweight. It’s 4-inches in length but weighs only 5-ounces.
The Leatherman folks were able to lighten this tool by leaving holes in its stainless steel framework. The holes don’t affect the tool’s performance, but they certainly have reduced its weight. I expect those circular holes in its framework is how the tool got its name.
This new tool doesn’t include tweezers, a nail file or some of the other features older ones have but it does have the essentials. Those essentials basically are a knife, pliers and a screwdriver. Fish enough to stink up a skillet and sooner or later you’ll find yourself up a well known tributary with no means of propulsion if you don’t have such tools with you.
The technology embodied in the Skeletool is such that the screw-driver can be customized to fit whatever the need. It comes with both standard and Phillips bits. The one you’re not using is securely stored in the tool’s handle.
Each of the two bits that come with the Skeletool is double ended. The Phillips bit comes in #1 and #2 sizes. The standard screwdriver bits are 3/16th-inch and 1/4th-inch in size.
The tool’s full sized pliers are designed with a small enough end to enable an angler to stick it inside the mug of a worm gobbling catfish, but with a full pliers opening to accommodate tightening or loosening whatever might be required.
The pliers also feature a pair of wire cutters. The pliers’ cutter blades handle the softer stuff. When you need to snip something like especially hardened hooks be sure to use the space designed to handle hard wire.
Something else you’ll find at one end of the tool is an always handy bottle opener.
If you hang this one on your belt, don’t as I’ve done a couple of times, forget that it’s there. Its weight certainly isn’t going to remind you. I was headed to the airport one day and was about to leave when my wife asked if I thought I could get through security with that thing I had on my belt. The “thing” she was referring to was my new Leatherman Skeletool.
Mention of wearing the Skeletool on my belt reminds me that this new one comes with a removable metal clip. You can use the clip to attach the tool wherever you choose, be it your belt, fishing vest or perhaps a backpack.
It comes with a holster that you can also use on your belt if you choose to do so. I like having the tool hung from my belt by its removable clip. That way if I need a knife in a hurry, and there have been times in the past when I did, all I have to do is reach down and pull it off the belt. There’s no need to fool around getting it out of a sheath.
Equally important is that the tool’s knife blade can be opened with just one hand. Again, there have been a couple of times over the years when I could have really used this feature. Fish much and chances are somewhere down the line you’ll have the same kind of need.
There are two models of the new Skeletool. They are the Skeletool and the Skeletool CX. Both are of stainless steel construction. The Skeletool CX comes with tungsten DLC coating. The knife blade on the CX also has both straight and serrated edges.
As I mentioned in my previous column, the quality of Leatherman Tools is well established. The new Skeletool, like the products before it, is guaranteed against any defect in material or workmanship for 25 years.
Leatherman brought these new tools to market in January of this year. You’ll probably find them at your favorite sporting goods store. There’s a suggested retail price of $72 on the Skeletool and $96 on the Skeletool CX.
I think this new Leatherman is a dandy. Its lack of weight is one of the primary features I like. My guess is a lot of other fishermen are going to feel the same way.
You can get additional details on it at www.leatherman.com.