Following my Leatherman Kick impressions from yesterday is today's grand finale: the Leatherman Skeletool.  This multi-tool is lean and minimalist, and it also happens to be my personal favorite of the bunch.  Just by looking at it you can tell that it is an entirely different beast from the rest of Leatherman's lineup.  The emphasis here is on portability--at 5 ounces and 4 inches long, it's the smallest and lightest of the Leatherman full-size multi-tools. While the Kick is not noticeably heavier than than the Skeletool, it is definitely thicker and a teensy bit less portable overall.

The increased portability of the Skeletool does come at a price, as it features fewer tools than the others in the line-up.  But this does not bother me for two reasons: 1) the tools that are there are of high quality and good size and 2) everything is accessible as soon as you open it up; you don't have to dig into the handles to retrieve any of the tools.  Keep reading for more details and the list of tools included in the Leatherman Skeletool!

The Skeletool features these tools:

• Needlenose Pliers
• Regular Pliers
• Wire Cutters
• Hard-Wire Cutters
• Bit Storage in Handle
• 420HC Stainless Steel Blade
• Carabiner/Bottle Opener
• Universal Bit Driver

Leatherman's goal when they were creating the Skeletool was to include only the most commonly used tools, and I think they have achieved that.  I really liked the carabiner on the outside of the tool, because it makes it easy to clip the Skeletool onto something like a backpack and the part that you push in has good resistance to it.  The carabiner also doubles as a bottle opener, which means you will never have to open the Skeletool to get to that particular tool.  The knife blade can also be flipped out without opening the whole multi-tool, much like other Leatherman products.  The screwdriver is in a good place and the bits lock into it nice and tight; I like that the handle stores an extra double-sided bit.

Notably, the Skeletool comes with no leather case.  Instead, it has an optional belt/pocket clip on it.  This was probably to keep the multi-tool as portable as possible. However, it DOES come in a very nice gift tin, which makes for a great presentation when you open the box.

I think Leatherman really nailed their goals with this product; it's very portable and it includes almost everything you would need on a daily basis.  It may not be the best choice for survival in the woods where you might need a ton of different tools, but as a multi-tool that stays in your pocket as you go about the day I think it is a great success. 

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment

---

If you enjoyed this article, please submit it to one of the following social bookmarking sites!