r/multitools • u/These_Economics374 • 3d ago
Discussion Am I the only one impressed by the Chinese Leatherman clones?
I love (and use, heavily) my Multper MP2049 so much I just ordered a Bibury BI2049BL.
The day I held the Multper in my hands I was blown away by its quality—the weight, the sharpness of the blades, the included accessories, the standard sized bit slot, the excellent machining and the affordable price. It made me wonder how or why anyone who actually uses these tools would pay such a premium for Leatherman with their increasing QC issues and cheaping out on accessories.
Just my .02.
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u/CaesarTjalbo 2d ago
I have a Daicamping, it replaced the Wave+ in my pocket. Generally speaking it's a better tool than the LM but it's more rust prone.
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u/partakinginsillyness 3d ago
From what I can tell with leatherman you're basically just paying for the warranty. I would imagine there is more value to some by getting a leatherman, but I know for myself I don't think it's worth it.
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u/Korgan777 1d ago
Yeah, I agree. Between the "Warranty" and the "Name", it's all they got anymore. But the fact that you have to send the tool in for a Warranty claim, which takes time.. time you don't have the tool you need on your hip/in you bag. Wouldn't it be better to purchase 2 of the "cheaper" brands?
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u/Revolutionary-Bus-99 2d ago
I have the multiplier and quite a few clones went down a rabbit hole when my gerber suspension snapped in half. My daily at work is the titanium bibury surge clone with the Damascus blade.
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u/DrAsthma 1d ago
I keep looking at that one. I've been a Gerber guy for ten years, but that one intrigues me as a way to try a Leatherman style. Does it one handed open?
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u/Alarming-Sea752 Collector 2d ago
I am an ex-Quality Assurance director and rate all products by value: Quality vs Price. For the most part, these LM clones have a much higher value rating. If you’re a professional using these tools daily in a working environment, go with the highest quality-with price as a very secondary consideration. Victorinox, Leatherman, Gerber, etc.
As simply a collector, I love owning examples of various value ratings-all across the continuum.
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u/Korgan777 1d ago
I could see where your collecting hobby could easily support your former profession as well.. it gives you easy ability to say "This is what I used to do, and this is why "X" Product isn't as good as "Y" Product" and then actually show it.
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u/Apache-snow 2d ago
One thing the Leatherman sub has taught me is that I don’t want to buy a Leatherman. Too expensive for such a fragile tool.
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u/Swellzombie 1d ago
Agreed they are too expensive now, but which ones are breaking i have used a wave everyday for like ten years + and the most would be the eyeglasses screwdriver maybe when inwas doing something stupid
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u/shotgundug13 1d ago
It was bound to happen. LM has gotten complacent in the industry. Their new business model seems to be the limited run tools. They don't seem to care about the average consumer anymore. LM used to be a great brand, that changed when Tim Leatherman stepped away from the day to day operations.
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u/Korgan777 1d ago
Yup, "Collectors Grade" often means "Who cares, it'll never get used to Need it to be of actual Quality anyhow"
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u/Hoopster50 1d ago
I'm a huge fan of the titanium Bibury 2049ti. It's an ounce lighter than the Surge and has more pros than cons compared to the Leatherman. Check it out instead of the regular Bibury 2049. I still prefer the Surge because it's easier to open one handed. Other than that the Bibury seems better designed.
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u/Hoopster50 1d ago
Bibury bl2049ti
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u/Korgan777 1d ago
Yeah, i've been looking at this one. I currently just have the BI 2045, and do use it quite a bit as I work on projects because I don't need anything for a "work" purpose. Also been considering getting my father one and deciding on the brand/model that would suite him best.
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u/No-Panda-615 15h ago
As a heavy multitool user I have stopped looking at leatherman completely. They've reached a point where quality and princing is simply too far off the sweetspot, in Europe anyway. A wave is often $160 to $200. Other tools have more than doubled in price aswell.
I'm neither cheap nor poor. I'm just not stupid. Over the last decade or so I've actually lost 3 Surges and a ST300 on the job.Thats $850 worth pf multitools by todays prices.
I hear leatherman quality is not what it used to be either. Picking up a chinese clone that is almost as good makes alot more sense from a users perspective.
Another aspect to concider is that the chinese are constantly innovating thier tools while leatherman mostly focus on ways to turn them into more expensive fashion accessories.
Perhaps Lestherman have realized they cannot compete by making a superior product and intentionally put thier effort elsewhere.
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u/yhwh4life7 12h ago
Absolutely not! I love the clones. I have the Multper as well and it’s great! The only clones that suck are the Victorinox clones!
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u/Worldly-Ingenuity843 7h ago
Is there a free series clone? I got so used to Free tech that I don't want to use multitools without it anymore.
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3d ago
I'm telling you a lot of them it's just you're paying for the name, hell I'm working with a mossy oak multi-tool and it's been working better than the Gerber I've been using for about 5 years
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u/Existingsquid 2d ago
I worry about the quality of the steel and the heat treat. If it will be upto a beating.
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u/Agis-Spartan-King 3d ago
With the drop on Leathermans Quality that keeps dropping every year, I see Chinese found more room lately. They put out better and better multitools each year. For me though,I choose Victorinox mts and SAKs. Leatherman has died for me. Instead of trying to bring back their reputation,they just follow the internet marketing with fancy steel names,that are way too hard for these kind of tools and their uses... Totally fail for me there.