LEATHERMAN SURGE STAINLESS STEEL MULTI-TOOL + LEATHER SHEATH

One of the most useful tools I own

24 October 2023

I've owned my Leatherman Surge for about 5 years now. I bought it actually as a bit of an impulse purchase. I still regard it as the best impulse purchase I ever made. This thing is great. I used to keep it on me for work, but now it mostly sits on my desk as a glorified letter opener and jack of all trades for a range of small tasks I can't complete with my bare hands. It's actually some of the more understated tools that are the most useful. One of the things I use most is the small flat screwdriver (not to be confused with the bit driver). Not for screws, but it's just handy to have a small, narrow steel bar like that to pry things with. Like a very tough fingernail. I actually bent the corner of that tool slightly. I don't remember what I was doing with it, but it was obviously putting way more stress than it's supposed to take. Regardless, the bit driver comes with a reversible flat/phillips bit so my ability to turn flathead screws with this thing remains unaffected. Otherwise, I've used this thing working on my car, it can be quite handy for that. I used the knife blade to carve an oak handle for a knife I made. It's stuff like that. A wide variety of uses that makes this tool so great. It's just neat to have and it's something I just reach for a lot for many little things. Interestingly, mine doesn't have a file. It's got a saw instead. Don't know why that is but it's the same every other way. The sheath is made of thick leather that loops round front to back, I'd guess about 3mm. The sides are made of a tough elasticated nylon-type material with additional loops for what I can imagine might be a pen, or perhaps a very narrow additional folding knife. I kind of wish it was just leather on all sides, but it's fine. The back has a big thick leather loop for securing it to a belt, and a narrower cut for securing it 90 degrees to a smaller belt I guess. Not a bad feature but I just use the normal loop. Final thoughts: This is a big multitool. When it's all folded up you are holding over 300 grams of steel in a neat little ingot. You've all heard of the brand before. If you don't already own one of these you'll be kicking yourself for not getting one sooner once you have it in your hands. It's the kind of thing that makes a great gift, and it will last for years and years. I can't recommend it enough.

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