Over the years I’ve picked up a few multis from Leatherman.

The Blast was my first and it lives in my laptop bag. It gets used often at the office as the go-to tool for newtork, eyeglass, and furniture tasks. I like the Blast, I really do, but it’s just too bulky to carry in my pocket. Of all my LMs, this one has the best quality of build by a noticeable degree in the plier pivot.

A couple of years back I picked up a Wingman for $23 on sale. It served me well for lots of light duties. I LOVE the spring loaded pliers, and I have not had any problem with the anvil-style cutters or half serrated blade. The scissors are good occasionally for string or tape, but the package opener steals the show for ripping zip ties and other things. It’s the ideal package for urban use, but that file is an insult. If they had made it a fine (double cut) file it would have been more useful.. .but as it is, the file is too aggressive for personal nail care and too short for deburring anything that would require some pressure.

I liked my Wingman a lot, because it has a great “user interface” for a multitool, and being a light-duty multi, it has a good toolset for practical urban use. The Sidekick seems to be the woodland/farm counterpart to the Wingman, but I prefer to carry real cutting pliers and a 6-in-1 when I’m out doing outdoors stuff on the homestead like putting up fences or moving security cameras and things of that nature. I’d ruin the Sidekick easily.

I put a burned oil finish on my Wingman handles, screws, and clip, but recently I completely ruined one of the handles trying to skeletonize it. Sadly, it’s now out of commission, and I miss using it.

Finally, I recently got a Rebar as a gift. I like how the blades are more substantial and they lock, and I’d probably be willing to give it a chance as a replacement for my Wingman, but there’s a problem with it that annoys me so much… when I use the cutter or plier with some force, the tool becomes very stiff to close or open. I can remedy it by using the back side of the pliers (crimpers) with an equal amount of pressure. You can even see there’s a clearance of space in the pivot joint that does not show up on the Blast or even Wingman. This shortcoming, on top of the decreased convenience has led me to not feel good about EDCing the Rebar.

So there you have my take on these three tools. I welcome your opinions and thoughts and if anyone offering a free set of wingman handles please let me know.

Also, what to do with the Rebar? Would LM fix it if it was a gift, or is this a problem inherent in the pliers that have the replaceable blades? I’m also curious about if LM would void a warranty on the Rebar if I were to take out the lanyard ring and replace it with a pocket clip (swapping position with the file)