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As chairman of the Association of Certified Pocket Tool Nerds, I have a special announcement:
[Trumpet fanfare] The Leatherman Skeletool you see here has replaced my folding knife as the ultimate every day carry tool.
There, I said it.
Okay, actually the folding knife is very close by, in my shoulder bag, just in case. But the Skeletool so far has done everything my folding knife can do. And much more. For this nerd, it is pocket tool heaven.
Like my folding knife, Skeletool is a folding knife. In fact, I can open the 420HC combo knife with one hand, just like my folding knife. A liner lock holds it open securely, just like my folding knife. The rest of the Skeletool serves as a handle and is designed in such a way that you get good purchase with no pokes or weird gaps or anything.
Like my folding knife, Skeletool clips to my pocket. For folding knife carriers everywhere, the advent of the pocket clip made carrying a knife a thousand times more handy. And in conjunction with the ability to open one-handed, ten thousand times more efficient. Skeletool preserves all that with a well-designed pocket clip to keep it at the ready. You can remove the pocket clip, but I wouldn’t. Alternatively, you can use the built-in clip / carabiner to hook the Skeletool to a belt loop, a backpack, or your key ring.
Unlike my folding knife, Skeletool is also a pliers, screwdriver set, wire cutters, and bottle opener. And here’s where Skeletool pats my folding knife on the head and sends it on its way. With Skeletool’s knife more than capable for the cutting tasks I’ll ask of it on a daily basis, the rest of the tools only add tremendous value and efficiency. And that’s because all the tools are high-quality, excellent. One isn’t superior over another. They’re all great. The pliers are super strong and comfortable to use; the screwdrivers — two flat, two Phillips — are robust and store on board; the wire cutters actually cut wire; and the bottle opener, while hardly necessary, is a nice touch, doubling as a clip / carabiner.
Skeletool is four inches long when closed, five ounces in weight, with a 2.6 inch blade. Retail is $64.85 with no sheath. And you don’t need one. Just clip it in your pocket and join this nerd in carrying the Skeletool instead of a folding knife.
— Mark Kakkuri
