Post by Jeffrey on Dec 29, 2021 20:09:59 GMT -8
I was a young soldier when multitools first appeared on the scene. The model? A Leatherman PST, or Personal Survival Tool. The name alone practically guaranteed it would be a hit with the military. Before long, it seems nearly everyone had one on his belt. It was a marvel of design—small, lightweight, well engineered, and durable. At the time, none of the tools locked, but we loved them anyway. What's more, they had a no-questions-asked warranty that we soldiers (ahem) abused regularly. We'd break the knife blade prying rocks from the sidewalls of foxholes, or snap the pliers trying to cut a too-heavy piece of wire. Then we'd shamelessly return them to the Portland factory for replacement. Not only would Leatherman replace the broken bits, they would clean, lube, and sharpen everything before sending them back. The turn-around time was quick, too, given that we were stationed just up the road at Ft. Lewis, Washington. Leatherman enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the multitool scene, until about ten years later when Gerber got into the game.
By then, most of us were fiercely loyal, so they devised a clever giveaway strategy to lure us away from our beloved PSTs. Just before deploying to Egypt in 1998, each and every soldier in my battalion received a free Gerber MP (for Multi-plier). And the best part? They were the stealthy black oxide models which Leatherman didn't have yet. That fact alone was enough to win over every private and PFC in my unit. But NCOs like me were more than a little skeptical, so we put them through hell while training in the Sahara. And the verdict? We broke all but two in my company alone.
Shortly after we came home, that same rep arrived expecting to hear a chorus of rave reviews about it. Instead, I handed him a garbage bag full of broken tools, and unceremoniously walked out the door. He left our battalion as broken as those lousy Gerbers were. Some time later, Gerber announced that they had fixed their brittle steel problem, but most of us never looked back. Leatherman's reputation for quality and dependability was (and is) the stuff of legend. And to this day, I won't leave home without it.
--Jeffrey (whose EDC Leatherman is a Wave+)
By then, most of us were fiercely loyal, so they devised a clever giveaway strategy to lure us away from our beloved PSTs. Just before deploying to Egypt in 1998, each and every soldier in my battalion received a free Gerber MP (for Multi-plier). And the best part? They were the stealthy black oxide models which Leatherman didn't have yet. That fact alone was enough to win over every private and PFC in my unit. But NCOs like me were more than a little skeptical, so we put them through hell while training in the Sahara. And the verdict? We broke all but two in my company alone.
Shortly after we came home, that same rep arrived expecting to hear a chorus of rave reviews about it. Instead, I handed him a garbage bag full of broken tools, and unceremoniously walked out the door. He left our battalion as broken as those lousy Gerbers were. Some time later, Gerber announced that they had fixed their brittle steel problem, but most of us never looked back. Leatherman's reputation for quality and dependability was (and is) the stuff of legend. And to this day, I won't leave home without it.
--Jeffrey (whose EDC Leatherman is a Wave+)
