Comparison Review: Leatherman MUT vs Multitasker Series 3

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First, a note about me. I am a part-time firearms instructor and competitive shooter. I’ve never been in law enforcement or the military. While my evaluation of these AR-15 focused multitools is based on a lot of experience with the AR-15 platform I’ve never been in any kind of gunfight, and I hope I never will be.

Also, a note about multitools and my relationship with them. I have a lot of multitools, including about 20 various Leatherman products. You could legitimately call me a Leatherman fanboy. Some of these multis are safe queens, others have seen heavy use, and a few have been badly abused. Don’t come back to me and say that I concealed my biases from you.

Finally, a note about the tools tested here. I bought a Leatherman MUT new in 2012, and it arrived with some QC problems: the plastic piece the punch rests on was broken, and the bit-holder was WAY WAY too tight — it was replaced promptly under warranty with Black Oxide version (an upgrade I was glad to have). The replacement unit has been my constant range companion since and has seen heavy use in that environment. I don’t carry it except on the range. The Multitasker Series 3 has been discontinued; I found mine new on a popular online auction site. I evaluated the MUT based on five years of use and the Multitasker on about five days in my home office, so please keep that in mind.

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Multitasker claims that the tool is CNC machined and hand-built and I absolutely believe it. Fit, finish and precision are top-notch throughout other than what may be a design flaw in the pliers pivot.

Where Leatherman really shines (other than the pliers, and I warned you I was a fanboy) is in packaging. The whole tool is sleeker and much easier to hold in your hand, open or closed. The Multitasker uses space less efficiently, resulting in a tool that’s much chunkier.

The steel of the Multitasker is seductive, and I would love to believe that its pliers are better because of the steel and the precision with which it was machined, but they’re compromised by the pivot during my home-office desk-top fiddle-testing. If I learn different on the range or the workbench I’ll be quite pleased.

I’m not selling the Multitasker, but it’s too chunky to go on my belt, and too clumsy to deploy the bolt override tool to use under time pressure. I’ll put it in my range bag and see how it works for me. If the good people at Multitasker are reading this, I hope they’re working on a Multitasker Series 4.

      

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