View Full Version : multi tool or SAK for bushcraft
which do you like best and why?
MagiKelly
25-08-2004, 22:45
I voted Multitool as I always carry Leatherman juice (CS4) and have ordered a Charge Ti but I do have a small SAK on my keyring but it is small enough to hardly count and if I had got the leatherman first I would never have bothered with it.
Squidders
25-08-2004, 23:13
Personally I don't think I could choose between the two as they BOTH have beer bottle openers! :-)
RovingArcher
26-08-2004, 01:43
Ahh geez, decisions, decisions, decisions and I need another choice cause I carry both. :roll:
But, I use the SAK more often, so I clicked that one for both EDC and BCC. :wink:
Tantalus
26-08-2004, 02:00
not a real fan of either for bushcrafting or edc
gerber is handy on the farm mostly for the pliers and screwdrivers but thats not exactly bushcraft
and saks , nice neat and compact tho they are, i'm afraid i dont have much time for em at all
most useful bit is the tinopener, but bottles ya can open with a fencepost or a lighter
still deciding on my edc, the legal spydie pride may grow on me yet (but i hope not it is just too ugly)
Tant
very hard choice, a SAK is my EDC, because it is much lighter than my multitool. But a multitool has pliers, which are very usefull as potlifter, to operate my stove, etc. I choice from these 2, depeding from what i have planned to do.
I forgot to put an option for both. Very silly considering I often have a classic and a swiss tool on me.
It must be the SAK. You can trim your nails after you've opened a nice chilled bottle of chardonnay.
:o):
Danzo
TheViking
26-08-2004, 13:43
Hi...
SAK.... :D :D No doubt an Outrider... has everything needed! :wink: :biggthump
gurushaun
26-08-2004, 16:38
Use and carry 'em both :biggthump
Cheers
Shaun
Am I the only person that thinks that SAK's are :censored:?
Too small to be a decent multitool, too heavy to be a decent knife.
I always have my Gerber Legend and whatever locking folder is in vogue with me at the moment.
Tantalus
26-08-2004, 17:05
Am I the only person that thinks that SAK's are crap?
Too small to be a decent multitool, too heavy to be a decent knife.
I always have my Gerber Legend and whatever locking folder is in vogue with me at the moment.
lol lurch i am on your side but fear we may be in a serious minority here
the corkscrew was the most useful bit but i gave up drinking wine
Tant
Multi tool and folder ... if I really need to open a bottle of wine and don't have a cork screw handy, I do my party trick of pushing the cork in with my thumb :wink:
Multi tool and folder ... if I really need to open a bottle of wine and don't have a cork screw handy, I do my party trick of pushing the cork in with my thumb :wink:
could you grip the cork with the pliers?
I carry two Multi-tools for EDC and BCC. One is a Gerber Legend 800 and the other is a Leatherman Flair (which has a corkscrew :-) )
I have a SAK but I keep that in my work jacket.
rapidboy
26-08-2004, 18:31
SAK Swisschamp + a fixed blade or folder.
RB
Paganwolf
26-08-2004, 19:21
buy screw lid wine and get a multitool i have a SAK but ive got a lot of things i dont use much! Oh opening letters is about the best use for a SAK lol :o): and why is it the SAK's with all the goodies on blades dont lock! :?:
SquirrelBoy
26-08-2004, 19:35
I have a SAK in the cars survival kit, dont use it much apart from bottle duty when car camping.
I sometimes use a SOG Paratool. Came in usefull tightening up snowboard bindings half way up a mountian in Italy :o):
but i gave up drinking wine
Tant
:?: or should that be :yikes:
Difficult to grasp the concept of giving up drinking wine!
MagiKelly
27-08-2004, 11:15
:?: or should that be :yikes:
Difficult to grasp the concept of giving up drinking wine!
Don't panic he probably moved over to drinking whiskey :wink:
Tantalus
27-08-2004, 12:00
Don't panic he probably moved over to drinking whiskey :wink:
hahahahahah coffee more like
freshly brewed over an open fire
no knives or multitools required
Tant
MagiKelly
27-08-2004, 12:48
Not sure you want Irish Coffee near an open fire.
mojofilter
28-08-2004, 02:02
Am I the only person that thinks that SAK's are crap?
.
More or less! :shock:
My 10 year old gerber is always with me when at work or in the wood. The scissors, thin screwdriver now an awl :), and the pliers are a must. I use the pliers mainy for undoing knots, taking a hot grill from a fire etc. Never really got into SAK`s besides re-scaling and giving away as gifts.:o
JonathanD
25-09-2008, 16:08
I carry a Leatherman and farmer as my EDC. Always have a OH Trekker for 'shrafting, as the Leatherman is too urban for me :)
Have a Gerber 600, and its with me most of the time. Dont know how i managed before i had it.
I have a Gerber legend on my belt when not in school. I always have a waiters friend in the top of my bergan too - so does that class as a folder?
Simon
SAK for EDC and BCC.
More from old habit than anything else, as I really like the Vic Spirit and use it quite a lot at home.
Maybe time to bring it along every now and again when out and about.
That won't stop me from still taking the old SAK though.
Personally I don't think I could choose between the two as they BOTH have beer bottle openers! :-)
Wot he said :D
I tend to have a Victorinox Farmer on me most of the time (it's the one like the Soldier but with a saw on it) but I keep a Leatherman Skeletool in my pack as a back-up/pair of pliers thing. I've never been a great fan of the Swiss Champ-type of knife - lots of gadgets, none of which work particularly well - but I reckon that the tin opener on all the Victorinox knives is utterly superb and not just at opening tins!
When out and about in the woods, both of them get overlooked and I use my fixed bladed knife for virtually everything. Does make me wonder why I carry them when out. I suppose it's habit. :rolleyes:
If only one: Multitool - since pliers are handy for billycan lifting and rescueing pans from the fire. Snare wire construction is also easy with a multitool. But the alu sak gets carried along most of the time anyway.
-Emile
Mike Ameling
01-10-2008, 04:51
Where's the NONE OF THE ABOVE option?
I stay away from the cutesy sweetsie wizz-bang new fad gimic-ie "toys". If I need a specific tool, I go get that specific tool for the task. The rest is just an exercise in frustration using an ... almost ... small flimsy knock-off of the correct tool.
A most of the time you don't need all those extra ... toys ... to lug along. Just extra dead weight.
But that's just my opinion.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
tom miller
06-10-2008, 14:11
I simply refuse to pay the rip-off UK prices for multi-tools.
Leatherman, for instance, recently closed the door to UKers buying their stuff from the US and making massive savings.
mark wood
06-10-2008, 19:29
I simply refuse to pay the rip-off UK prices for multi-tools.
Leatherman, for instance, recently closed the door to UKers buying their stuff from the US and making massive savings.
Isn't that what ebay is for? I've bought a fuse, core and charge, all at less than half UK prices.
Diligence
06-10-2008, 21:38
First off, I don't like my multi-tool (leatherman PST II ?) or my SAK for bush use. However, I have carried my multi-tool more frequently.
If I think I need an SAK for some reason, I bring the Multi-tool instead.....pliers, file, enough bits and pieces that I can bodge something together.
D
phaserrifle
06-10-2008, 22:37
I prefer leatherman type multi tools. my main reason is that the tools lock, but also that it is easier to make the case that it is not intended as a wepon, when I carry it to and from scouts each friday. this is because it takes longer to open than a swiss army type. also I trust the saw more. (because it locks) finaly I prefer the weight of it (SAKs allways feel a little flimsy to me) on the other hand I do end up carrying annother knife aswell when I'm on camp (because it's such a wind up to open)
SAKs are far better for carrying in your pocket though.
Rothley Bill
06-10-2008, 23:28
I carry both a leatherman and a sak, the sak is always in my pocket, but on scout camps the leatherman is on my belt as its the most useful. Carving knives are in my pack for whiling away the first night of camp.
I stay away from the cutesy sweetsie wizz-bang new fad gimic-ie "toys". ...knock-off of the correct tool.
Nothing toy-ish or knock-off with this one. It's just a folding knife. ;)
Unless one doesn't need/like folding knives, that is... :)
http://www.minus10.co.uk/acatalog/SOLOF.JPG
10 year old Gerber with me every day, since my battletank days. Believe its a gerber 600, but honestly i haven't got a clue :laugh:
It still works wonders, even though the small screwdriver is now remade to work as an awl
Have broken 3 leatherman waves sofar, so no luck there.
VtBlackdog
28-05-2009, 02:32
SAK all the way.....
I EDC a Hiker or OHT/plain edge, with scary sharp convex edges.
I usually carry the SAK plus a fixed blade if I"m "bushcrafting" with the SAK for fine work; I like the saw blade for cutting dovetail joints and can't live without the toothpick!
I dislike multi-tools, they all seem clunky and awkward.
Air Pirate
28-05-2009, 17:15
Wow, let me think. My work EDC includes both an SAK (for the tweezers, toothpick, and can opener) and a Leatherman Skeletool (for the pliers and screwdriver bits), but for actual cutting I carry a Spiderco Endura 4 (I can open it easily with gloves on).
Of duty EDC is a Victorinox Farmer in the pocket, some sort of medium sized folder (think Benchmade Griptillian or SOG Trident), and a Victorinox Classic on my keys.
In the woods I carry a Victorinox Camper or Hunter, a Leatherman Wave, and a Mora.
I guess basically my answer is "both". Sorry I got long winded.
Just to upset the apple cart....
i'm not allowed to carry any kind of blade at work anymore, so my 'off duty' knife used to be a leatherman wave, but that's kind of bulky, heavy and obvious so i have started using an army clasp knife in a belt sheath as it's not so obvious that i am carrying a blade. For out in the woods i carry the clasp knife on my belt, and the leatherman (wave or surge) in my pack, usually along with a fixed blade such as a clipper or a scrade camp knife
:soapbox:
You should have included 'none of the above' it all depends of what I'm doing.
Tye Possum
01-06-2009, 03:41
Well I carry a swiss army knife in my pocket all day, every day and that includes days when I'm out in the woods. I have never had a multi tool though so maybe if I had one, I'd like it more. I do like the idea of having a pair of pliers with me but I just don't really think I'd need almost everything else on it so I stick with the more basic swiss army knife because it does what I need, without a ton of extra weight that I don't.
I think of a swiss army knife like a pocket knife that has a few extra tricks but I think of a multi tool as a pair of pliers with a few tricks too many.
For me it is both. I never go out without my Leatherman Wave (unlike the other guy I have broken three too many Gerbers and had the same Wave since they came out) and I rotate pocket knives. My current EDC is the Wave of course and a Vic one handed Sentinel. I just can't get along without the tweezers and toothpic. The blade on the Vic is well made but for the heavier stuff my old Leatherman comes out. I assemble, operate, maintain and repair cranes and can say with no reservations that the Wave is no cutesy gimmick. When you have to climb a tower 120' with your tools on your back or a hand line it definitely pays to have tools that are capable of performing more than one function and for that the Leatherman Wave shines.
BushcraftBaird112
04-06-2009, 16:09
I'd pick the multitool because its a SAK with pliers
Lostdreamer
04-06-2009, 22:31
Leatherman. One of the tiny ones in your pocket/on the keyring, and a bigger one in your pack or on your belt.
If you can't bodge the job with a leatherman, the job is probably completely unbodgeable.
I EDC a Pioneer or Camping, both from Victorinox.
On the trail, just add an scandi grind Boker.
Yesterday I buy a Soldier 08, but not pretty sure about EDC it,since it is a BIG knife...but like it :)
Multi tool (swiss tool) for edc because it is more usefull (pliers) and is stronger.
SAK for bcc because the grip is much better for wood carving
although the swiss tool is locking though
I carry a Leatherman Wave and its done all I have asked it to do and more.
Siberianfury
03-09-2009, 12:27
i like SAK's, ive always had one since i was about 8 and im used to having one in my pocket.
Manacles
29-01-2011, 16:54
I recently bought a Swisstool having used SAKs for years. It was a toss up between a Leatherman and Swisstool and in the end I went with the Victorinox item as I was familiar and happy with the quality if the knives. It is a nice thing, about the same size as a Leatherman Wave.
I always have a SAK or two, but also I have my swisstool in the backpack
demographic
29-01-2011, 22:51
Where's the "Too many acronyms" option?
I would like a SAK (http://www.swiss-army-knife-wenger.co.uk/swiss_army_knife_champ_28.jpg) as an EDC but might prefer a SFA (http://www.backwoods-camping.co.uk/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=5) if the going gets tough, or maybe a SFA (http://gr-rdtaylor.co.uk/taylors/index.php?main_page=product_in fo&cPath=44_36&products_id=9) if the going gets really tough.
As a motorcyclist I had a bash on a YPVS (http://www.ypvs350.com/) but then got something with YICS (http://www.xj650.de/detailzeichnungen/yics.jpg) before bombing that off to get something with SACS (http://be.img.v4.skyrock.net/beb/special-gsxr/pics/1112386294.jpg) and another with KIPS (http://www.hallbergs.net/kx500/images/picture4.jpg):)
Imagedude
23-03-2012, 22:18
I've sold all my multitools except my SOG Powerpliers (but only because I've engraved my service number on them so can't sell them). I have many SAKs but rarely carry them. I do find it convenient to leave a SAK in strategic places around the house, car, workshops etc. When out mountaineering or 'crafting I have a fixed blade knife, scissors and tweezers in my first aid kit, a small fid (marlin spike), army can opener and a homemade awl.
If the new leatherman Rebar had scissors however...
For me its my opinel #6 or 8 and my sog paratool with saw and V-cutter added for bushcraft and vic explorer for edc and my maxpedition organiser with paratool and bit drivers torch etc in my backpack when i have it,also the paratool is uk legal as doesnt lock,
http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff428/zed1970/P1010063-10.jpg
http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff428/zed1970/P1010056-53.jpg