Leatherman Arc Review
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- Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
- Joe gives his thoughts on the new for 2023 Leatherman Arc Multitool. It’s based on the Free series magnetic platform that Leatherman also featured in the Free and T series tools. The tools operate smoothly, but there are exceptions. Do you think this tool is worth the $230 USD price tag?
The old can opener was superior, and I miss the ruler
Yeah by far, that is one of the reasons i wouldn't buy the Arc. I'm good with the TTI and Surge.
Ya for $230, why not keep the ruler? I know not many used it, but I certainly did.
i also like the can opener on the tti more. can't understand why they changed it :( and then even to small at all.
I have a Charge TTi, which comes with a gap, and I was under the impression the gap was meant to be used as a wire stripper with the forward shears being the actual wire cutters. My cutter works fine as long as you don’t attempt to cut the wire taken all the way to the gap. It may certainly be inconvenient to take the time to center the wire, rather than being able to blindly push the wire all the way to the back. At least in the case of the Charge TTi, I never noticed an issue having always treating it as a poor attempt for a wire stripper. I have heard of people ordering the replacement wire cutters from other older models to get rid of the gap on the Arc though, so that could be a solution for you to take care of the issues you may be having with the gap. I know I will most likely take the replacement wire cutters from an older model route to see how much better/easier wire cutting becomes. I could just be blind to the problem, being the Charge TTi with the gap is all I know. I just bought myself an Arc with customization being 50% off at the moment. Great video. Thanks.
Most honest review of the Arc yet. Lol. Im glad I held off on trying to buy one. Hopefully we see these issues fixed in the next year or so.
I hope so too. Leatherman got in touch with me yesterday so they are clearly looking to do better
@@inkiron3907 did Leatherman address any running modifications to assembly and QOL they plan on? thanks...
I liked your conclusion of price and what we're really getting for this price. I agree that the problems that it has are not acceptable.
I've been using my arc for a week as well. Mainly for work but it has also replaced my typical pocket knife carry. My main reason for picking it up is I'm a lefty and I've always wanted a 1 hand opening multitool that is easy to use for a lefty. The Free series almost had me because i love the locking system for the tools but I really didn't like the tool set. The tool set here hits all the marks for me. I'm very happy with it but the cutter issues are unacceptable. Great review BTW!
Thank you for your video!
Just got the Arc. Mine has a lot of tool flex. When i push side ways on the opened flat head/cap opener for example . The other tools (inside the handle)flex with it… does yours have this ? It feels very flimsy this way 🤨…. Kind regards
Excellent review
The problem is that they changed the shape of the cutters, so this problem wil also come up on other models I think, I bought Damascus cutters from ebay, problem solved.
My plyers are not stif
Recently found your channel and it's very good. I carry and use a leatherman wave since before it picked up the +, and have not yet found a multitool upgrade worth the money. I also have an original juice xe6 that is quite good when I want something lighter I can just throw in my pocket. So far I have tried been disappointed by and given up on, the surge, signal, and skeletool from leatherman and I just got the goat tool. I think that one was my last attempt to find a better multitool. Just my experience. Have a good one.
16:17 is the most real comment ever! Thank you for the honest review!!!
In my opinion the cutting abilities of the scissors on the Arc and the Garage 5 are better than all other Leatherman multitools, as evidenced by cutting through 550 paracord in one snip. All of the other multitools, including the Surge, essentially “chew” through paracord.
Crucible Particle Metallurgy. Carpenter makes good stuff too though, just not Magnacut
Good catch
Definitely one of the better reviews ive seen.
I been keeping up with reports on cutters. In the meantime, I went and ordered several cutters on Aliexpress that were stated for the Free P2 and P4, including some that were 'damascus' and m42, to see what works as an alt for the LM replacement cutters. Speaking of, I left a cart open with LM for the cutters and other things, it gave me a notice that the cutters were 'unavailable'. . either they ran out or are pulling the stock.
I bet they’re recalling. I’ve only seen the Arc cutters actually chip so I bet the batch they made the same time as the Arcs has been halted for testing
I ordered a couple pair of the regular replacements the other day , the black oxide are still for sale on the site as of now
Do you send it off to warranty or do you email them the issue and they mail you back new replaceable cutters?
It’s my channel and I’ll cry if I want to, cry if I want to 😂
I’m sorry your Dad didn’t like it when you expressed honest opinions, but this is a safe space.
You would cry too if it happened to you! 🎶🎵
What is your opinion on the amount of force it takes to cut hardwire with the new cutters. In my personal test , I took the arc side by side with a bibury surge clone and and cut some steel ground wire(14ga i think) and I think it took a noticeable amount of more force with the new cutters compared to the clone . So did you feel as if it took more force?
Absolutely. It is way more difficult to cut with the new style wire cutters than the old ones, or comparable cutters on clones.
Which would you recommend out of the Arc, ST300 or the Surge?
I also currently carry both the 5" Knipex Pliers wrench and cobra as well as a Milwaukee Fastback Utility Knife.
I think the Surge. I really like it. The whole Multitool part of my channel is an attempt to find something besides the Surge that I love as much and I still haven’t found anything better. There are many great tools, but the Surge is my favorite.
@@inkiron3907 I'd be tempted by the wave as it's the most popular leatherman tool ever and like you say minimum wage in US is so low. Arc is being sold as premium so why would minimum wage be going for them I'm not sure.
Your comment about the minimum wage at the end explains so much. The Wave+ is $120. Let’s say it has a $30 knife blade. The Wave+ platform and tools besides knife is $90. The Arc platform is at least $10 better than the Wave+. The tools besides the knife are at least $10 better (awl, scissors, hammer, real pry tool). The pliers are stronger (a brand new wave+ will come with the same faulty wire cutters) + $10. $10 for the bits. $5 better sheath. So if we start at the Wave+‘s $90 platform and tools and add $10 for better platform, $10 for better tools, $10 for bits, $10 for stronger pliers, & $5 for sheath… that means Arc platform, tools besides knife, & accessories is $135. Less than $100 for a magnacut knife is not bad.
I agree, I think the price is in line with the current rate for Magnacut. I just don’t know how many potential buyers will care about the blade steel. Time will tell.
My Gerber's I replaced the cutters with a nctcga21.52 bnc2020 sumitomo insert on each side. It works well. Though it is carbide so it's still brittle and gets very minor chips depending on what is being cut. I wish these companies would get the hell away from these inserts.
I never used the can opener on my wave+, until last week my can opener broke and I had to learn how to use a manual can opener 😂
Been carrying the arc for a month now, really satisfied with it. I got mine for $160 though.
That’s a nice deal
How did you get a deal?
How?)
They offer a 30% discount code
@@shamitoson i think its medical/1st responders discount, its once a year. I bought like 6 crunches last year and they applied the discount to all, maybe a mistake as I think it’s for 1 tool. This year i got the ARC and a bunch of accessories, only the arc was discounted.
Hey i apreciate your review since you've put the Arc through some real life usage .
One question i have about the plier head is : I've seen a review where they said that if you wiggle the handles a couple times the pliers loosen back up again . Could you let me know if that's indeed the case or if they stay tight please , very much appreciated.
Cause tight pliers really annoy me and for the price they ask it would probably be a tough sell .
Thank you mate cheers 👍.
That is a solution. It can be tedious but MaxlvlEDC made a video about the process: ua-cam.com/video/K9ezXlSwmd0/v-deo.htmlsi=AdRI1fe1VBtvV07Z
Before I give a full review I try not to modify my tools, so potential buyers know what to expect regardless of experience level.
@@inkiron3907 Thank you mate 👍
Looks like the Rebar has that same rounded profile on the replaceable cutters. Best find some NOS of the previous version cutters. Seems like a flaw with the design of the cutters rather than the Arc itself, but still I have no clue why they'd do this. I suppose it's best to push the hard wire slightly forward so none of it is in that gap at the pivot. Annoying and easily fixable yes, but if you want to prevent chipping the cutters in the meanwhile I think that's your best option.
I got this because of the blade (finally a good steel and thumb stud) and the quick access outside tools. Plus the tool selection is nearly perfect for me; I hate serrated blades which kept me from getting most other Leathermans. I love the Surge but it's just too hefty for pocket carry. Price-wise it's not abysmal in my opinion; since they increased the price of a lot of their other tools this is about right in line when you consider the quality of the blade steel. Sure it's got some quirks and little issues, but I'm very happy with mine and would replace it in a heartbeat if I lost it.
Reach out to Leatherman about the cutters. Heard they had issues with early batches not getting proper heat treatment. Weren't up to spec. They're shipping free cutter replacements
They contacted me. Getting my tool back next week hopefully
Thankfully my coat hangers are plastic, so I'm good.
If they had a nail nick to pull out the file, then it would not be a one handed deploy. The design of the Arc is that all the tools can be accessed with one hand.
True
So a solution would be a nail nick with a removable thumb opener screwed into the spine of the file--best of both worlds
Leatherman does offer a 30% discount to veterans, first responders, and others. Makes it around $160.
Try cutting with the top section of the hard wire cutters and you should be good. No excuse though for this design flaw!
If they sent you the bit to take the tool apart how would you use it? You can't use the tool to take the tool apart
Unless the bit fits a standard hex...just wondering. I have a arc on order
The bit will fit in a standard hex, but not well. My point is they don’t even give you even the crudest means to disassemble the tool. But you’ll have holes for the clip to move, no matter what… it’s bizarre to me
I agree with just about everything you said, except that the Federal minimum wage was last increased just under 15 years ago instead of more than 20 (still criminally low).
Good catch. I don’t do much research for these videos 😅
What's better for hard labor?
Victorianox Cs Plus or the Leatherman Arc?
LM Surge
@@1970jeebee i had a Lm Surge, spread the workload between it and the Victorianox Cs Plus.
With about a week of work the LM surge gained an issue with closing and when it did shut it knocked a bolt lose on the knife blade. So you can slide pieces of paper in one gap on the screw while none others you can.
Then I've also noticed the surge came with the inferior defective new gap in the cutters.
So all in all, after having owned all 3 in question.. I threw my surge away.
Victorianox Cs Plus?
If you mean the Skeletool CX then I would say Arc. More tools, more options on the job site. Also the blade is deployable even with protective gloves on.
@@inkiron3907 I only ever had the Victorianox cs and arc and surge. Ever.
All in the last year. This year.
I'm new to this scene.
I know nothing of the skeletool but seems like a waste for me.
I care about functionality and max options.
Idc about weight as I carry tons of shit on my belt. So those 3 tools on my belt 2 phones, 2 Zippos in case on my belt as well and a few other things.. the weight of the tool is irrelevant to me.
My pliers also bind during hard use. Very disappointing considering the price.
We cut the length of the bottle opener to make it efficient. Leatherman is running out of ideas.
Honestly its not about a preferance on wether or not a 200 dollar tool isnt doing what its suppossed to if it doesnt work at 200 why does it cost 200
Files only cut in one direction
The cutters seem to be an issue across their entire range.
My Signal and ST300 (purchased within the last 2-3 months) both have the gimped cutters, and I've seen a lot of similar comparisons on r/leatherman.
Yeah it’s not great news. Leatherman actually contacted me about it. They want to test my particular cutters because they didn’t experience failures like mine in testing. Maybe there was a bad batch. Would make sense considering I’ve mostly seen the Arc model’s cutters failing, and I would guess they all got their cutters produced around the same time.
@@inkiron3907 please let us know what response you get from Leatherman with regards to the cutters issue. I have an Arc and have emailed Leatherman but have not had a response. It could be because I'm in the UK ?
Possibly. My tool is easier for them to get a hold of and they know if they fix my problem I might just make a video about it. But I don’t work for them, so I’ll keep it true to whatever experience I have.
Get the charge tti the arc is way to much over 300 in Canada
I have one. It’s good. Very comfortable in hand
@@inkiron3907 enjoy
The lack of spring loaded pliers in combination with those ridiculous replaceable cutters is a deal breaker.
Just used the crimper yesterday, was horrible due to the handle flexing, and the result was not near satisfactory. Disappointed I am. Hope they don't put the Surge onto this platform...
You should try watching some other reviews on this tool. It's already been proven that the ark Cuts hangers just as well as long as you choked up on the blade a little bit. You can clearly see where you're supposed to cut the blade. Just don't do it the way you've always done it. It's not that big of a deal.
This arc and many others miss the concept of AFFORDABLE! A multi tool is not meant to be the best tool for the job but MANY adequate tools for a job that may arise.. so that being said I don’t see how anyone could pay over $100.00 let alone over $200.00 for a multi tool …
A good pocket knife with magnacut steel is $100-200 and I like the free platform, so the value was there for me to grab 2 (also a collector). I dislike setting wire above the gap to cut to avoid chipping but hopefully Leatherman will fix that or I’ll grab replacements
I know that when I was using my multi-tools at the time, my issue was to carry the most needed tools on my person at the time. This did not mean the most affordable. This did not actually need to be the most efficient, just the ones that would be required for what I needed right then. The most affordable would be the cheap multi-screwdriver/pliers at the time but what I needed to carry before I needed to go down the ladder, collect the tools, climb the ladder, move onto the next job and repeat
Some people have a Kia, and some people have a Corvette. They both do the same jobs at radically different price tags. Some people like finer things and others like budget shit.
Some people have the money and interest these kinds of purchases, there’s plenty of generic multitool available for cheap.
In the USMC 98% of us have one on us at all times, we even generically call multitools “gerbers” as the universal nickname. And they were absolute necessities- and used hard- by us, so getting high quality multitools was worth it. Guys with no-names would pull theirs out with snapped blades, scissors with one side missing, lost screwdrivers/files/etc.
Now as a guy that installs gear on rooftops day to day, i use my multitool every day again, and I still know the value of a high quality multitool when it’s not just a convenience but a reliance you need on having the right tools on you either in a pinch or as a backup if you forgot to bring your dedicated tool to the roof that trip.
So there’s a use case for “expensive” multitools. When you have to rely on one rather than just have one as a convenience, the extra price is worth the reliability+quality.
Pretty disappointed !!!
The best Leatherman is The Dark Side !!!!
It at least has 2 new items.
A PEN and TWEEZERS !!!!!!!
They sold out in seconds so nobody got one.
I've been hounding them to do something like that again.
This is The Wave with better metal.
The Dark Side is the wave with a pen and tweezers, which I would personally use all the time.
Bug Leatherman to make that again !!!!!
Make it with this nice metal and design, that'd be great, but it's gotta have everything we see here with the pen and tweezers.
Otherwise, I rarely look at the Leatherman site.
Nothing THAT new and innovative...
At least to spend over 200 bucks on when my wave has everything you see here.
:-/
it is not worth the money, I hate it so much for 300 Euro !!! totally crazy for the quality