This is your last chance to buy a Leatherman OHT multi-tool.
Leatherman discontinued the OHT and said they put together one last production run of about 1000 units. They add that this is a last call – “get one before they’re gone.”
I reviewed the Leatherman OHT multi-tool around 11 years ago, and it quickly became one of my favorite multi-tools. It has held up well over the years.
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Leatherman bested Gerber at their own shtick, with quicker and less finicky one-handed pliers deployment. The OHT delivered convenient and hassle-free one-handed pliers deployment.
All of the other tools, which are outside-accessible, are decent too, but the pliers are the best and sole reason I continue to use my OHT.
My Leatherman Free multi-tool opens quickly enough to where my OHT has been seeing even less use. I have had zero regrets about this tool. Would I buy the OHT again today? Well, that depends. On a limited budget? Yes. On a limited budget where I could afford a Free series multi-tool? No.
If money is no option, this would be the third or fourth Leatherman multi-tool I’d buy, following at least a Free series multi-tool, and a Skeletool.
All that said, I very much recommend the Leatherman OHT multi-tool, I just wanted to make it clear this is a niche tool you should have a reason for buying. If you’re not sure, Leatherman has many other recommendable multi-tools.
Surprisingly, its price had barely budged in the past 10+ years, which cannot be said about most of Leatherman’s other multi-tools.
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Price: $89.95
Robert
Stuart, you say:
“ If money is no option, this would be the third or fourth Leatherman multi-tool I’d buy, ”
So if 3 or 4 versions of multi tools are needed, then it doesn’t seem an EDC.
To your credit you don’t say EDC in this article, but I’ve seen the term EDC in other articles and threads about multi tools.
By the name of EDC, a true EDC would seem to be the sole Multitool one needs to ever carry. A jack of all trades device able to do all the tasks the user needs, for which they chose that particular Multitool, at the trade off of not doing at least some of the tasks superbly. I get that there may be some holes in capabilities of some multi tools others are needed for. But
this whole EDC/Multitool things has seemed to become an arms race of gadgetry much like interchangeable lens cameras have become.
Mr. X
EDC for a carpenter/electrician/plumber is different than EDC for an accountant. EDC for camping is different than EDC for gardening. EDC for a get-home bag is different than EDC for hunting. EDC for… Get it?
CJ Caufield
Yup. Touché.
Stuart
According to who?
I said what I said out of a compulsion to put speed bumps in readers’ purchasing decisions. This is a fantastic multi-tool. I still highly recommend it but, given the choices available today, it moved down on my list.
Interchangeable lens cameras have been around for decades. What’s the problem?
EDC is a term that describes the age-old practice of carrying stuff with you.
One person might “EDC” a wallet, phone, and keys, while others practically have a Batman-style utility belt even if they’re just going to the grocery store.
Robert
Hi Stuart,
“ a true EDC would seem to be the sole Multitool one needs to ever carry
According to who?”
Judging by the spelled out terminology; “Every Day Carry” that implies a default just grab and go that you don’t have to worry about exactly what’s in it. That in a foggy minded pre-coffee state, you fuzzily have confidence you don’t have to think, it’s your every day carry in your pants pocket. Versus an extensive set of tools in a Pack Out case.
“Interchangeable lens cameras have been around for decades..”
Very true, my own collection is testimony to that.
“What’s the problem?”
As a one of the center of discussion by what I feel are knowledgeable users (not say you are not) on forums is that because phones have usurped the place of ILCs for the vast majority of photo takers, ILCs have resorted essentially to snob appeal by touting increasingly saturated performance specs. The most obvious is the megapixel arms race, considerably past what is useful. You won’t visually noticed a difference in a print out quality past 20 Megs, nor will you notice that on an any electronic screen other than a home theater. And the increasing Meg pixel size are difficult to manage, driving increases in storage and processing power and bandwidth, all increasing cost. Yet you are seeing 40 to 60 megs as the new bar. A lot of the new features of new ILCs really need post processing, either on the camera or on a computer. And do the preponderance of people really need autofocus on a horse’s eye? That arms race is driving up even entry level ILCs prices, and that’s even taking inflation into account. Even a Nikon Z5 with a modest zoom lens kit is $1900 at B&H video. Yes, it’s nice that the Z mount lens have the greater light gathering capability of the 55m diameter, but that’s still a ton of money for an entry level camera. At least it’s the entry level camera for the mirror less full frame family.
Cheers.
Oleg K
Buying a discontinued tool? Smart… Because the reason they discontinued it was because it was so popular they couldn’t keep up with demand? No, they did it because nobodh wanted it and they decided it would be best to cut their losses.
No thanks!
BTW 3rd or 4th best? That’s some solid endorsement right there…
Stuart
The OHT is the best at what it does – one-handed opening of tools and pliers. But the FREE tools are more functional beyond the pliers.
If I lost all my multi-tools today and had to replace them, I’d buy a FREE and a Skeletool. After that, maybe the Wave and then this one, or maybe this would be third after the FREE and Skeletool.
My goal’s not to endorse the OHT or drive sales, but to ensure that readers who want one or have been thinking of buying one are made aware that it won’t be available. Leatherman has indicated that it’s being retired and once it sells out, they won’t be making more.
I have kicked myself over not buying certain Leatherman tools when I could, such as certain varieties of Squirt and Juice tools. I suppose those also weren’t very popular, but that doesn’t change the fact that they would have been well suited for my needs. I balked based on the price, and always kept thinking there would be another time, until they disappeared after being quietly discontinued.
Kris P
Listed unavailable on the linked Leatherman website. I had a Gerber years ago but never really liked the slide out pliers. During my workday if I carry one I like the Wave, personal time I carry Style CS or Skeletool.
Leigh Ratcliffe
The OHT is comfortably the toughest tool Leatherman has ever made, and that’s coming from from someone who uses and abuses a Supertool 3 every day at work. Which is very much my benchmark for multitools .
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Stuart
It’s back to being available again (9/22 at 3pm EST).
Rob H
I like my OHT a lot. I bought it because I like the deployment of the Gerber tools but the OHT is much nicer. I think I bought it on account of an article here, in fact. For everyday use I carry a folding Leatherman, but when I’m outdoors I carry the OHT.
Nathan
I have the OHT but i quit carrying it in favor of Gerber’s Center Drive because of the screwdriver and it has a file which the OHT does not. However, needle nose pliers are just not good for me as edc so i bought the new Gerber Dual Force pliers but i sure do miss the single hand opening of the other two.
JoeM
As a Leatherman devotee, I can see the appeal of the OHT. All of Leatherman’s best features, in a body that is specifically designed to open everything with one hand, hence its name One Handed Tool.
But I feel it necessary to remind people that, even at the release events that announced the OHT into the lineup, Leatherman admitted the design was only really put together due to Leatherman users often complaining that they couldn’t flip open their Wave, Surge, or old PST or SuperTool like a butterfly knife. So they created a tool that genuinely did require that butterfly action. To flip out the pliers anyways. This tool, otherwise, is just an inside-out version of most of their other tools released at the time, since it doesn’t fold in, everything opens on the outside. In theory: The OHT should have been a better seller than it was. Leatherman users should really have bought whatever other Leatherman tools, plus an OHT while they’re there. If they had an OHT already, they’re buying it for someone else, or it’s in a scale colour they don’t have. The OHT should have been all of our backups. Just so happens… The Skeletool, Crunch, Wingman/Sidekick, and nearly every single tool released since the OHT, has had that same appeal. They’re worthy of being our backup tools.
I’ll be sad to see the OHT go. It satisfied a lot of people’s need to abuse a Leatherman tool as a Fidget Toy, as well as producing excellent results in the pliers. Now we’ll see a resurgence of people trying to turn our Wave, Surge, and whatever other tool we own, into makeshift Butterfly Flippers, because… I don’t know why actually. Just that I don’t let people touch my Leatherman tools anymore, when I know they are trying to flip them open or use them as toys.
Oh, and Stuart? Correction Goblin here: Second-to-Last Paragraph of the Article. “If you’re not sure, Leatherman many other recommendable multi-tools.” Should really be “Leatherman has many other recommendable multi-tools.”
Stuart
The OHT pliers don’t fold open like a butterfly, it just kind of drops out with a gravitational flick action, similar to Gerber’s like-styled tools, but with better action.
(Thanks, *fixed*)
JoeM
I know. But a simple flip of the wrist to extend the jaws satisfies that “Flip Toy” issue I mentioned. Still not a butterfly flip, obviously, but the OHT only has that flip feature because the early forms of Wave and Surge were being used like butterfly knives. This was before the “revised” versions of these two tools, that also had the handles modified with that friction lock that they have now. It’s that wedge shape in the joint, that locks the handles in place, so that it can’t be loosened into a flip toy. Before that little wedge shape was added to the pattern, the Wave family needed to have the bolts tightened, or reassembled, to undo the damage from the flipping actions.
The OHT doesn’t butterfly, at all. But it satisfies the need. The Wave V.2.0 and “Improved Blade Changer” on the Surge, were released at the same blade show as the OHT. Along with the improved replaceable blades for the jaws for the Surge, and the change in tools built in, replacing two of the screwdrivers for flatheads instead of the philips, and the eyeglass bit holder for the now-standard Flat-Hex Leatherman Bit socket.
Yeah, sorry… I kinda “nerd out” on Leatherman stuff. Sorry for the miscommunication over the butterfly thing being on the OHT, when I meant it just flips to statisfy the fidget toy element. It flips out. It doesn’t flip over like a butterfly knife.
Neil
Where did you get the information that it is discontinued, is the source reliable?
Could be a clever marketing stunt to sell more units!?!
Stuart
Leatherman sent out a “last call for OHT” newsletter saying the OHT was “designated for retirement” and that they “produced one final [production] run,” before ending with “get one before they’re one.”
In my opinion, there’s only one way this can be interpretated.
Neil
Ah I see, okay. But they did not place it in the retired section yet, even though there are no units left on the website. Still not sure what to believe to be honest, but we’ll see.
Stuart
It’s still available in black.
I expect for the page to be up until they exhaust all inventory. They did similar with the Juice last year – last call and then it was gone.