Leatherman Skeletool Multi-Tool

I have the CX (carbon fiber) version of this which functionally is exactly the same but sheds some weight. This minimal tool is light enough that I find that I carrying it around more often than the full Leatherman. Has the basic tools necessary to carry out most repairs and I have not yet found myself wishing that I had carried a larger tool more often.

nothing you don't. This tool is perfect for what 99% of people use their Leathermans for. The pliers and knife work great. The driver portion takes a little experimenting to figure out how you like to use it, but once you get it dialed in it's great.

As someone who has had four other Leatherman products over the years, to include still having the Wave(my favorite)this is real good for pocket carry. Just don't buy this one for the tools unless you are just wanting the basics; pliers, blade and screw drivers. I haven't had this one long enough to truly put it to work, but it does have the quality construction of all Leatherman products I have come to expect. My only concern is the keeper for the extra screwdriver bit, it seems not be very secure so I would recommend caution when using the 'biner attachment. The price is also a bit steep for such a basic tool (I only bought it because it was on sale)but if it something you would want I would say go ahead and get it, after all it is a Leatherman.

What I really needed in a multi-tool, besides knife and pliers, was a Pozidrive #3 bit and a Torx T10 bit for servicing Dynafits in the field. The skinny one Pozidrive provided with the $20 BitKit was pretty wimpy, so I ended up grinding a real one down to fit. (photo here: http://www.randosaigai.com/leatherman090708_01.jpg). Overall, the Skeletool looks cool, and the knife and pliers are way burlier than those of the Juice series, though the bottle opener/biner hanger is a waste of space since I never hang the thing off my belt and don't take glass bottles into the BC.

Best multi-tool I've bought. Great blade (filleted 3 trout with it), the 'biner is great, and I love having mini-hex wrench with me for bindings (Bomber). Great construction, very durable so far (hiking, climbing, bc skiing).

It's a great pocket tool. Easy to carry so it's always there. Pliers are smaller than I'm used to, but I wasn't rebuilding an engine with my pocket tool anyway.

The lightest in the Leatherman tool shed with the bare essentials, this is a great tool to have.

This is the best multitool I've tried. Over the years I've had swiss army knives, an original leatherman, little leathermen, CRKT knives (great knives, but they aren't multi-tools). They have all been too heavy or too bulky to carry on a regular basis. The Skeletool is a great exception. It is light enough to carry all the time. It has the carabiner to attach to a harness or radio pack (I actually bought it to use for ski patrolling), plus a clip to secure it in your pocket. It is light enough that I don't notice it in my pocket (I have the CX one, but I think they are both the same weight). The blade is sharp and functional, plus it opens with one finger, locks open and closes with one hand. You don't need to unfold the tool to access the blade either. The pliers work as advertised and the wire cutters clip zip-ties with aplomb. I picked up the bit kit because I wanted to have a 5mm allen key to be able to adjust/tighten my snowboard bindings which use a 5mm allen for all adjustments. I love that I can have one tip in the bit tip and one hidden in the handle. I don't have to carry the bit kit around with me or toss the extra bit in and risk losing it. I sort of miss having a scissors in the tool, but I've found I can manage most tasks with the knife. So far it has survived a camping trip to Yosemite - which included rock climbing where I finally got the first scratches on the tool, gutting and filleting four trout, and opening a six-pack worth of Fat Tire. A little bonus: the carabiner spring catches and hangs onto the bottle caps so you don't have to pick them up off the ground after you open a bottle! Note: the current picture on this site shows a flat/razor blade. My CX came with a combo serrated/flat blade.