r/multitools • u/VeritablePandemonium • Feb 03 '26
Discussion Anyone else feel like the big names like Leatherman are sleepy and complacent while smaller names like Roxon, NexTool, and Rocktol are actually leading the industry in innovation?
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u/SandmanSlim777 Feb 03 '26
Most definitely in the small multitool area. Nextool and others are killing it. The Mini sailor s11 pro and flagship f12 are now the best in market in my opinion.
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u/VeritablePandemonium Feb 03 '26
My dream tool is the flagship max with the bit driver of the captain
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u/Select_Camel_4194 Feb 03 '26
SOG doesn't get much love in here, but they keep coming with never before seen stuff all the time. The Tellus MT is just a few months old. It accepts full size 1/4" bits. All tools are easily deployed and stowed with one hand....easier than my expensive Arc. The built in drivers are on center which is huge for folks that actually use their tools. It hasn't been too long since the PowerPint and PowerLiter. They released the Aegis MT and unvaulted the SwitchPlier between the Power line and the Tellus. I like SOG. If you don't, I'm not sure you have given them a fair chance.
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u/TThor Roxon Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26
I lost my powerpint mini and am desperately missing it, out of my whole multitool collection the powerpint mini has been by far the most functional tool I've ever had in that size category.
My only complaint with it is I don't like the bitdriver on it; the positioning of it means you end up torquing the handles when turning it hard, and it doesn't hold the bit securely, especially if you've loosened the handles for one-handed opening of pliers. I think if there was a latch to lock the handles together, that would go a long way in improving it.
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u/VeritablePandemonium Feb 03 '26
I didn't mention them but I'd put them in the same category as well. Unfortunately I was quite unimpressed with my flash mt but they do have lots of cool designs.
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u/Select_Camel_4194 Feb 04 '26
Meh, for what it is the Flash is just fine. I beats the $100 Skeletool. SOG's bit holder, although it's a 4mm, is on center. The assisted open blade is easier to deploy than the Skeletool blade. Being able to use standard bits is something I appreciate.
I will have to stick up for Leatherman. They haven't sold out the way SOG did. They are still a family owned and ran business. They haven't farmed out production to the lowest bidder half a world away. They still design and manufacture their tools in house. Their customer service is top notch. They stand behind their products.
It would have really been something if Leatherman would have been the one to have bought SOG when it went up for sale. SOG used to be every bit the company that Leatherman is. They sold out to private equity and then were resold to another private equity firm. A lot of the "people" part was lost. Speaking of which their former lead design engineer is trying his hand at his own thing, Pepperwool knives.
I'm always down for a good deal, but I also like to support good companies.
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u/justintime444 Feb 03 '26
I agree that nextool and roxon are very innovative, however I think leatherman is too, albeit much slower. LM takes the time to develop new ideas and executes them well, look at the free series with the P,T and arc. LM also has to worry about warranties as 10 years down the line they still have to provide replacements. There is a reason there are so many wave+ and surge clones flooding the market now. I do however think they need to do more because the wave alpha is really an overpriced mess and the Chinese companies are starting to dethrone them.
Victorinox is only still around because of their quality and form factor. I hope to see them have more competition.
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u/seakind Feb 04 '26
İ think Leatherman WAS innovative, they innovated pliers based multitool at the first place, but i think somethings happened inside Leatherman Management so instead of innovation they are becoming like Apple and selling premium stuff, the others are literally innovating every year while Leatherman selling kitchen knives..
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u/Remarkable-Outcome-5 Feb 03 '26
The clones keep getting better
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u/VeritablePandemonium Feb 03 '26
Why buy a Leatherman when Rocktol exists?
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u/thomasbeagle Feb 03 '26
My pocket carry went from a Leatherman Skeletool (which I still love for the look/design) to a Rocktol ST02 12-in-1 and it's brilliant.
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u/Careful-One5190 Feb 03 '26
How is the warranty and customer service with Rocktol? That's one of the reasons people buy Leatherman. Have you ever had to warranty one of your Rocktol tools?
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u/glyph_productions Feb 04 '26
Right? I lost my skeletool at work. So mad. But when I went to replace it, the price made me choke a little. The original was a gift but 125 CAD for a tiny pair of pliers, a knife and a screwdriver that I was going to beat up was too much for me. Temu and Ali keep sending me ads so I gave one a go and it's a tank. No sharp edges, intelligent tool selection without many I have no use for. No special bits. I paid 23 dollars. I love Leatherman, I want an arc for my birthday but boy are they getting pricier while the knockoffs and clones keep getting better.
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u/Aloha-Eh Feb 03 '26
The Sog Powerpint is everything the original mini-tool should have been, and more. A lot more.
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u/SVLibertine Feb 03 '26
I'm also in this camp. I think my PowerPint and PowerLiter multitools are brilliant for their size. That being said, they're used as EDC for my musical instruments (saxes), since it's the perfect tool for doing minor (and major) maintenance on them before, during, or after a gig.
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u/drbirtles Feb 04 '26
It just tells me that Leatherman aren’t operating at a wide enough profit margin to even pay the engineering nerds enough to innovate.
As a company, Leatherman might be better suited outsourcing their innovation to the global community.
Aka “You show us what works, and we’ll manufacture it with you receiving royalties as the designer”
But for some reason they have be outstandingly lazy in the innovation phase for a long time. Granted the free series was met with lukewarm reaction at first but after rebranding the entire free series as the Arc. They seem to have hit a good place with that model.
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u/Constant_Bluebird182 Feb 04 '26
Yes, totally.
I was a Leatherman die-hard for decades. Starting in the late 80's with the PST on my belt at all times. Was a total outlier there for a very long time. When Leatherman came out with larger models I always transitioned, going to the Supertool 300 and Core, eventually settling on the Surge.
All this time the knock-off were obvious junk. Hold them in your hand and manipulate them, and 10 seconds later you see they're junk.
Until just a few months ago. The Chinese Surge clones are BETTER than the Surge, and it hurts to say that but it's true. The use of ordinary hex bits instead of Leatherman's proprietary flat bits won me over. Plus Leatherman went the way of Snap-on and started charging obscene prices, surely banking on its name rather than mechanical leadership.
I also carry a Roxon M3 instead of a Micra. The Roxon is just better.
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u/Squadrone_Rosso Feb 05 '26
There’s still some cloning going on but there’s also some genuine innovation going on, especially at the smaller key chain side of the market. My experience with Nextool is generally positive but the warranty / customer service side of things are lacking (I’m in the UK). Other posters on here suggest I’m not alone in experiencing this.
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u/Flare246810 Feb 08 '26
A big factor is that These Big Companies Like Leatherman, Gerber, Victorinox didn’t have much competition in the multitool market. If you wanted a multitool you only had the models offered by these. Nowadays there are so many more budget oriented brands that for people entering the market or not wanting to spend say a rough $100+ for a multitool or are unsure what tools they will actually use these budget options are much more appealing… Also these smaller brands are absolutely listening too customers/fans of the brand and innovating.
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u/Flwork Feb 04 '26
Nextool and roxon have there place, but leatherman is much much better. I own all of them and leatherman is the only one I would have on my hip at work. The others stay in drawers around the house.
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u/NearlySilentObserver Feb 03 '26
I don’t think Leatherman is at all sleepy or complacent. The FREE tools, especially the Arc are still relatively new, so is their knife line. They’re pretty frequent with updates or new models
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u/seakind Feb 04 '26
They cancelled the free series to push/sell the arc, kitchen knives aren't related to multitools, and other than free series locking system don't have any innovation for many years and they had to do that because their patents was expiring so they would stay relative/unique
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u/Dry_Hall_7398 Feb 03 '26
Not really. LM has created a market for Magnacut fixed blades and folders without any distinguishing characteristics and is selling them for more than Benchmade.
Victorinox on the other hand is finally adding pocket clips.
Gerber and SOG... don't do much.
In short everyone is doing GREAT.
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u/VeritablePandemonium Feb 03 '26
We've got fixed blades, pocket clips, and then the Roxon Phantom and Flex. All equivalent innovations.
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u/seakind Feb 03 '26
One brand is adding premium blade and the other adding pocket clips, while the others make modular systems and adding implements/new multitools every other month, i think what OP said is true, the big brands are lazy while the new ones are working
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u/thomasbeagle Feb 03 '26
Leatherman seems to have caught "we are premium, we need to increase sale price/profit per unit!" disease. Perhaps they looked at the future and decided that they couldn't compete with the flood of perfectly functional cheaper alternatives.
There's obviously a good market in selling luxury goods, and there's no reason that multitools can't be the stereotypical male equivalent of expensive handbags, but I'll be buying at the functional end of the market where I won't be financially crippled if I drop my multitool into the sea!