LEATHERMAN, Crunch Multitool with Folding Locking Pliers and Pin Vise, Stainless Steel with Leather Sheath

The Leatherman Crunch is quite a compact instrument. I've previously carried a Kershaw A100 (almost a foot long in the "carry" position) and I now carry a Surge, one of the largest Leatherman tools out there. with both opened, the Surge is 1.5" longer than the Crunch. The Crunch is about the size of the "standard" Leatherman, the PST. I don't know what marketing decisions have taken place to keep the Crunch so well hidden - I've yet to find a brick-and-mortar store that stocks it, and until mine arrived in the mail, I'd never even seen one! This is amazing to me, because I can easily see the next generation of multitools being based on locking jaw pliers. First, the pros: 1. Locking Jaw. (duh) Locking Jaw pliers are the original multi-tools - they can be used for just about anything by themselves. This feature alone more than makes up for the few shortcomings. 2. Compact, lightweight. The smaller it is, the more likely you'll have it with you. 3. Strong. The first thing I did was tighten the adjustment screw as far as it would go, then try to lock the jaws. I had to loosen the screw a couple turns before I could get it to lock, but it was tensioned VERY hard and gave no indication that anything was going to seize up or let go. I wouldn't trust it with as much force as an actual pair of Vice Grips, but what I saw and felt was impressive. 4. Includes the most-used accessory tools - knife, screwdriver/pry bars, bottle opener, wire cutters, wire stripper. 5. Hex-bit driver - while I like having a couple screwdrivers on-board, I use a screwdriver quite regularly, and replacing a multitool just because of a worn out screwdriver gets expensive fast. The hex-bit driver accepts standard, 1/4" hex bits, or the flattened, Leatherman-style bits. The cons: 1. "old-style" accessory tool deployment. The Wave and Surge (and the Kershaw A100) have the knife and other long tools accessible directly from the "Carry" position. You have to open up the Crunch to get to any of the accessory tools. Aside from needing to open the tool to get to the knife, this method also puts the knife edge above the bottom handle, instead of on the edge of the handle, making some cutting jobs difficult. It's a problem for all traditional-style multitools, not just the crunch. 2. Serrated Knife - I prefer a standard knife, or multiple knives. 3. Unusual opening and closing - it feels like you have to assemble the pliers each time you try to use them. When you're used to pulling the Surge out of its holster and flicking it open with a twist of the wrist, the Crunch's deployment feels very awkward. Still, in the few hours I've owned it, I've discovered how to open and close it with one hand and without looking at it. 4. Adjuster screw needs to be removed to access the hex-bit driver. All in all, it's an exceptionally useful tool with a few minor quirks. I plan on carrying it on my belt, between my Surge and the bit kit.

This is hands down my favorite folding EDC tool I’ve ever had. Having a set of locking pliers in my pocket at all times is an awesome feeling. A fun tool to play around with as well. Once you are able to open it up with one hand, you have leveled up to pro status. It comes with a beautiful sheath but I don’t always like to carry it at my hip. I made a cool mod to it by attaching a leatherman aftermarket pocket clip for $7 and taking out the two pin screws with two sets of locking pliers. I had to use a washer and it was a little tricky but it can be done! With the addition of the pocket clip it makes my tool super versatile and easy to carry with me at any time. If leatherman were to make any adjustments to this basically perfect tool, it would be the addition of a stock pocket clip and the addition of scissors, similar to the Ps style tools. This could be achieved by taking out one of the 3 flat heads and the lanyard hook. Also, having a box opener would make it legendary. Overall though, these mods can be performed by the owner if they really wanted to, but for the premium price and time this device has been on the market, it would be nice for leatherman to make these stock changes themselves. Nonetheless, this tool is a winner and would make a truly unique and amazing gift for anyone. It is so robust and literally has no weak points that would make it break or fail. Should last forever, great investment. Buy it!

I do wish the blade were a bit bigger but the pliers and size of the tool are great. I bought the Surge along with the Crunch the Skeletool, the Sidekick and the Charge. I also bought 2 LED flashlights and the bit set. I talk about the flashlights and the bit set below. I've never owned a multitool but have alway carried a pocket knife. I wanted to try a few and justified the expense in all sorts of interesting ways. Maybe this review will help you avoid some expense and the whole justification exercise. :) Of all of the tools I bought I like the Surge and the Charge the best although there are a few things I didn't like about the Surge. First, all of the outside surfaces have a sharp edge that is not comfortable. I filed and sanded them, now they're better but still not as good as the Charge. The Skeletool has this problem as well but a bit worse. The metal in the handle of the Skeletool looks too thin to file the edge so I didn't try. I gave the Surge 4 stars and the Charge 5 stars, because of the way they feel in my hand out of the box. You really shouldn't have to finnish a tool with a file for it to feel right in your hand, in my opinion. The second thing that could use some improvement is the sheath. It's functional, I guess, but it is more bulky than it needs to be. The Surge and the Charge have the same style sheath and have the same flaws. The Charge sheath is a little smaller because the tool is 1/2 shorter but it sticks out just as far from your belt. The extra bit set make the sheaths stick out even further as the elastic in the sheaths expand to accomodate the 2 bit holders. I looked around for some alternatives to the shealth for the Surge. I ended up buying a horizontal leather cell phone case. It's from Case Logic and called the Universal Pouch CLP188SMT. I think other styles for iPhone 4 or large PDAs will work as well. A small flashlight and bit extension fit nicely in the bottom with the extra bits that I removed from the two black plastic holders they came with and put them in 2 small ziplock bags for pills I think. I bought the bags at Walgreen's in the pill organizer section. They are clear and about 2.5 inches wide and cost around $3 for a bunch of them. The surge fits snugly on top of all of this in the pouch and the magnetic clasp hold it all securely. Here's what I think of the other multitools: Charge ALX: Smaller and lighter but more expensive. It does come in a nice tin though with a small bit set and some other accessories. Handles feel better. It is also 1/2 inch shorter. I bought the ALX so it has the saw in place of the scissors. If I had to buy just one multitool, knowing what I know now, this would be it. I will likely give it to someone as a gift. Crunch: Nice vice grips, good size, tools somewhat limited but we'll see how often I use the stuff on the Surge. I may switch to carrying this in the future. Sidekick: Best value of all of them. Has a lot of functionality and I like the spring loaded pliers. It looks a little less well made but good enough for me. Skeletool: My least favorite. It has sharp edges where you don't want them and the clip takes up a lot of room for it to be on something where every bit of real eastate should have something useful. I know the Freestyle eliminates this clip but i really dont like the way this tool is put together or how it feels in my hand. The Freestyle looks like it would feel the same. Also for such a large tool, it seems to have limited functionality. I know weight can be important to some people. And this tool is light for its size. It just isn't worth the tradeoff for me. Flashlights I bought 2 small LED flashlights, each powered by a single AAA battery. The Leatherman Serac S2 and the Fenix E01 The Fenix E01 is better, smaller, brighter and cost 1/3 the price of the Leatherman. Bit Set I like it. It looks like it has a good variety of bits. Although, I needed to find an alternative to the plastic holders the bits come in. Carrying both sets in this configuration makes the Surge stick out further in the orginal leather and nylon sheath. Also, I couldn't find a way to carry both sets of bits. Tucking one set behind the multitool in the sheath allows them to fall out whenever I take out the multitool and requires 2 hands to put the multitool back into the case because the bit set is loose in the shealth. I think maybe a clip on the front side of the bit holders may work well to hold them at the tops of your pockets. The bit holders are thin enough that they shouldn't interfere with reaching your hand into your pockets in this configuration and would minimize looking like a dork. A constant struggle for me. If the bit holder were flexible it would be even better like a silicone rubber holder. Then they could probably go into the back pocket as well.

I got this mainly because I felt like if I was going to need a plier out there in the field to fix something, it's probably because that thing is messed up and needs to be fixed ASAP, or it needs to be fixed ASAP and I don't care about messing it up in the process. For that, a locking plier is an invaluable asset, and that's why I was excited to pick this thing up! Along with my leatherman Mako, it's already carried me through a field repair on the cones of my bike wheel, which would usually require a dedicated set of wrenches to fix (I don't exactly intend on carrying a wrench set on my bike, heh). It's built solid; I haven't had the issue where the wrench head is sized incorrectly or the handles are slightly bent inwards. However, the locking mechanism for the screwdrivers and knife are definitely on the tight side on mine. Other gripes, the rather thin lanyard loop feels a flimsy, but it's steel, and I'll trust that it'll hold up for now. Finally, no bit holder. You're stuck with the philips and three flat heads, which is pretty standard for a multi tool though. If you want to have a hex head on you though, you need to carry bits (the leatherman 40 bit set is a nice slim bit set though). Few things that I liked, well, obviously it's a locking plier that fits in the small pocket on your jeans. The hex bit holder actually has a spring in it that retains your bit when you're using it, which is a nice touch. Finally, I expected taking out the handle tools to be a bit weird. Actually, the handle with tools will rest/lock on top of the plier head when the pliers aren't deployed. Just pull the handle out, park it on the plier head (forming a L shape), let the other handle with the pliers swing down (the handle stays parked on the plier in an L), and pull your tool out. Makes it much less cumbersome.

Wow there is so much good to say about this tool. I have been carrying one with me every day for the last 15 years. I’ve lost a few but always I need my vice grips. The blade is serrated and once you get used to flipping it out it can come as second nature. The grips them self connect a cool way as it has been a great fidget toy. The tool is stainless but not unbreakable so don’t use as a pry tool. I haven’t needed a holster as it fits perfectly in that watch pocket in my jeans. Just saying if loose this one I would definitely buy another one

I have a Leatherman supertool 300 and a Crunch. Both are excellent, but I've found that I prefer one over the other depending on the situation. When it comes to around the house, the car, or at the office, I prefer the Crunch. The pliers are very strong and have excellent grip. I've used the file more than I thought I would and, this isn't explained very well, but if you unscrew the thumbscrew on the end, there's a socket that will accept any standard hex bit. The Crunch does have a small phillips and two flat end screwdrivers built in, but the socket is really handy (the version I bought did not include any extra bits, but Leatherman does sell a small holder with assorted bits - as does any home center). Also, the stainless steel appears to be top grade - this thing can take a great deal of abuse without a problem. Mine did not have any fit and finish issues. (It does happen - the handles on my supertool 300 don't line up perfectly when folded) The Crunch folds down into a very compact package, which naturally results in some compromises: - Unfolding the Crunch and adjusting the screw to the appropriate setting takes a few moments, so it's not as convenient as having the individual tools on hand. - The handles are only about 4-inches long, so there is a limit to the amount of pressure you can bring to bear. - The jaws are reasonably large, but you'd be hard pressed to get a good grip on anything with a diameter over 1-1/4 inches. One criticism: The standard leather sheath that comes with the Crunch is a little large. It's never fallen out on me, but it's bulkier than it needs to be, yet doesn't appear large enough to also accommodate Leatherman's separate hex bit holder.

This is a nice item, it works fine and it is really small and easy to fit in the pocket. But it started getting some rust a couple days after I bought it, and I had not even used it by then! I keep it in my backpack on its own pocket, it has no direct contact with water or aggressive liquids and still its getting more and more rust on it! I chose this instead of a Victorinox multitool because of the locking pliers, but the quality of the steel is really far from that of Victorinox knifes!!! REALLY FAR!!! It is still useful, that is why I'm not rating it lower, but it looks crappy.

This is truly one of the greatest tools I have ever used. I have it along with my leatherman wave and my irwin blade storage utility knife on me at all times. This thing is handy, and if you saw how beat up mine was you'd believe me. I have used this thing to take out 1 inch bolts, use it daily as a wrench for all things I'm to lazy to go get a real wrench for. Folding it out is something you get used to provided you use it. I am a floor installer by trade, and with that comes a lot of heavy equipment such as grinders, turbo strippers, terminator (bulldozer that will fit through a doorway) and almost always the warehouse guys will forget to send a tool box with those. So the first time you gotta tighten something that rattled loose or swap out blades your stuck with whatever you have with you, we all know pliers leave really ugly marks if they don't strip the bolt head outright. These are actually strong enough that you can grip with just the tips on a 1/2 bolt and damn near stand on them. I also ride motorcycles in my free time, and with that comes taking bikes down. This thing will nearly remove every bolt on my dr650. So lets talk hypothetical say your out riding and you crash in the middle of no where just to find that your clutch handle snapped off, no problem clamp this down on whatever is left of the handle and away you go. One thing I'd change is straight blade instead of the serrated, hard to sharpen.

Excelente producto

Works well