Leatherman kicked off “Wave Week,” with a close look at their “best-selling multi-tool ever.” After clicking through their newsletter, I realized that they had increased the price of the Wave+ multi-tool.
The Leatherman Wave+ is indeed a fantastic multi-tool, delivering high quality, useful functionality, and a very positive user experience.
It has been updated in recent years, such as with user-replaceable wire cutting blades, and as with other Leatherman tools it comes with a 25-year warranty.
Advertisement
The older-style Wave sold for around $60 for a long time. The updated Wave+ multi-tool launched at $99.95 back in 2018, and its price was bumped up to $109.95 around one year ago, at the start of 2022.
The Wave+ is now $119.95, reflecting an increase of $10.
It looks like many retailers have updated their pricing, although some are still offering it for $109.95. At the time of this posting, REI looks to have the best price at $109.95 with free shipping.
If the Wave+ multi-tool was on your 2023 shopping list, you might want to pick it up soon.
Leatherman has been steadily increasing their prices.
Certain models, such as the Micra keychain tool, are only available at Leatherman’s direct store now. I asked them whether this was due to cost considerations, as direct sales reduce the number of parties whose profits margins contribute towards end-user pricing, but they never followed up with an answer.
Advertisement
In 2021, Leatherman launched the Curl multi-tool, which looks a lot like their older Wave model. I consider it to be a “Wave+ Lite.” The Curl launched at $80 and is currently $90. Looking at online price trackers, the Curl increased in price close to the start of 2022.
Leatherman has released other lower-priced tools in recent years, such as the Bond multi-tool, which increased in price from $50 to $60 in mid-2022.
Nobody is happy about price increases. Personally, I’d rather see a price increase than drop in quality.
Ben
“Personally, I’d rather see a price increase than drop in quality.”
Yeah but what they actually do is increase the price AND drop the quality…win-win for the company, and by the time their reputation goes down the drain, the executive is long gone with their performance bonus!
DAVID R CZAPLA
Just received a Wave + purchased direct from leatherman website. Disappointed. More than a few QC issues with this tool.
Craig Smith
Receieved a Wave plus for Christmas and can report that it is perfect in every way.
Quality is exceptional
Renan Berrios
True, they come with a lot of issues. I bought mine a few years back and a piece of the pliers broke, still don’t know why.
Tim
Mine did too, so I returned it to the Leatherman company and just received the upgrade replaceable side cutters, plus a new eyeglass removable bit, along with the removable flat and Philips bit. The tool looks like all parts were returned back with new parts as they open stiff like new. The cost of sending a registered small pack was under $20.00 and the return was free. I personally think Leatherman is one of the few USA companies that treats their customers more than fair. I still have the original PST with adapter for bits.
Jim
Get a Swisstool MX Clip. Better quality
Sekhar Samy
That is so true. Idiots learn this in MBA.
Stuart
Good brand execs aim to preserve their customers’ loyalty.
Michael
Your confusing greed with learning. MBA graduate
MBA_grad
Recent MBA grad. Not at all what is taught. What is taught is to in general choose either high-end/high-price or low-end/low-price…trying to be in the middle is where companies go to die. Never taught to intentionally drop quality and increase price. Additionally, taught to be honest with customer about what product is. Everything we’re taught is to keep customers for the long term, no short-term “tricks”. The lifetime value of a customer is of utmost importance.
Matt Rentz
You have just summarized woke corporate America including the very large company I work for.
Tony E.
Define woke company, as I have seen numerous people complain about it but don’t exactly know what it is.
The price of ingredients in all manufacturing has gone up, everything steel related has increased and as such that increase is passed on to customers because it is better to raise the price than lower quality.
Jay
The older ones perform better and stay sharper ,plus made out of better steal.
Yadda
I find it interesting that Leatherman is promoting Wave Week on Instagram the same week soon after they raise the price of the Wave.
frobo
I have all three versions of the Wave; I bought the original when they first came out many years ago and its successors were enough better that it was worth the money to upgrade. I especially like the replaceable cutters of the Wave+ that make quick work of zip tie tag ends; previous versions struggled a bit with that job.
The price increase is just a reflection of the inflation that is affecting most everything these days; nobody likes it, but as Stuart says, better to increase the price than decrease the quality. In comparing the three Waves that I have, I thankfully don’t see any decrease in quality over the years. If anything, I think it has gotten better.
Glen Micallef
Considering how good the Chinese clones and multitools are becoming, and some Chinese makers actually innovating, this isn’t looking good on Leatherman. From my point of view outside the USA, Leatherman tools are simply ridiculously priced; the Wave+ is €159 from Leatherman Germany, which converts to about $170.
Jay
Well said
RD
Hopefully it’s just a price increase and not any other changes. Are other Leatherman tools going up in price? After really enjoying a Skeletool I bought in 2021, I just grabbed a Charge TTi from REI during their last sale, and yikes…the quality control department clearly fell asleep during this unit’s run. Uneven grind on the knife, clattering/wiggle between sides when using exterior tools, and machining shards all throughout the tool’s pivot points.
Stuart
Wow – I hope you sent it back!
I bought a FREE during an REI member coupon sale last year, Juice tools from the last-call sale, and a Garage Parts tool (https://toolguyd.com/leatherman-parts-knife-garage-series/).
The Leatherman Parts was extremely disappointing, especially for its whopping $215 price. I returned it for a refund minus shipping fees.
The Juice tools are okay – no better or worse than the one I tested a few years ago.
I have learned over the years that Leathermans are working tools, and to accept minor cosmetic flaws. However, clattering, wiggling, and machining shards are completely unacceptable.
RD
Sure did, just packed it back up yesterday! Glad you got your money back on the Parts – a lot of the Garage tools are very cool in theory, but not sure how much I’d like many of them. And I wouldn’t feel good about their price.
I expect my multitools to get banged up. If they’re wiggling after I’ve been using it for a couple a years… that’s fine by me, but not when I first get ’em.
Jay
Harborfreighr tools to me do just as good a job and last as long if u take care of them and less expensive ,I use a lot of tools in my shop.
F.G.R.
Harborfreight home of the gold dipped pliers. Anything from that place that I’ve seen used or have personally used on any job falls apart after the second time. Place is a joke if you’re actually using the tools and not just looking at them.
Sean
I own a juice cs4 and a rebar and enjoy both tools very much. I thought about a wave+ for a while now. The proprietary bits turned me off as well as the 2D bits.
Lately, I had the bug to buy the Leatherman wave+ right after the price hike to $109. The additional $10 price hike killed my bug.
I love Leatherman tools but…
I’m just going to stick with my Rebar and juice.
max
What is the use of a multitool? none. It only serves as an ornament and to believe that one is a macgyver.
better to have a kit of basic tools and you can do the job better than that overvalued useless tool.
Stuart
Will a bag full of basic tools work better than a multi-tool? Absolutely! But can you fit them all in your pocket?
skfarmer
i agree stuart. i own an older wave along with probably 5 other leatherman multitools.
they are all very useful and certainly not useless. they are not the best at everything but the tool you have in your pocket beats every tool that you don’t have, hands down.
i most often carry a skeletool. knife, 2 phillips, 2 flats, bottle opener/carabiner, multifunction pliers and a combo smooth/serrated blade. all on a smallish tool that clips to your
pocket/belt or snaps to your belt loop. just enough but not too much.
on the topic of leatherman bits, they are actually quite good in my experience and certainly not outrageously priced. replacements or additional bits are readily available in a wide assortment of sizes and styles and sets through their website. they can occasionally be found in stores as well.
John
Also on the subject of Leatherman bits: the Leatherman tool group doesn’t want to sell more than one bit set to each customer… so even though the bits appear to be available online, they actually are not. In my opinion, Leatherman has been going out of business ever since they closed their store in Portland Oregon… and now they really don’t allow other stores to sell their products either. My collection of Leatherman tools is probably as complete as it’s going to get, especially because they treat their paying customers like crap.
TomD
It’s sad that people who bag on multitools don’t at least quote Aristotle’s Politics:
“[Nature] recognizes different functions and lavishly provides different tools, not an all-purpose tool like the Delphic knife; for every instrument will be made best if it serves not many purposes but one”
Mike
I can carry a multitool and , on the go, repair a lot of small things through my buildings ( i am a maintenance) or I can see the problem and go back to work shop to take the tool, go to the problem, repair,return the tools to the shop,go back and continue the tour. Of course I will not carry the tool bag with me. Now there is one question here, will the employer value this time saving? One of mine didn’t!
Jim Felt
Sadly many in “management” are book smart but pretty much oblivious to the actual workings of their physical work environment.
Glad you found a better place to macgyver.
blocky
If there’s one thing macgyver teaches us, it’s to remain flexible. The true multitool is your mind.
Sindri
I carry my leatherman wave every day. The use of multitool is enormous. For small things I don’t have to go get my regular tools and when I have my regular tools I am still using the wave alongside the regular tools. Doubting the usefulness of a leatherman is strange to me.
Jared
Another price increase. Oh boy. I find them expensive already, but Leatherman isn’t all that different from their competition.
I wish there were more lightweight options. My Skeletool is ok, but 5oz is noticeable in my pocket. I keep meaning to check out the SOG Flash MT in person to see whether the 0.3oz weight savings is worth the swap.
I’d like to see something 3.5oz or less that isn’t a mini. I’m confident Leatherman or a competitor could do better than the 5oz Skeletool.
Sure, it’s got a bunch of skeletonized parts for weight savings, but the backsprings and liners don’t have any cutaways. Maybe use some titanium hardware for the pivots? More holes? Maybe swap some metal parts for composite materials – like the blade cover for example?
blocky
I’m not confident anyone can do a half step better in form or function without doubling or tripling the price point. I use my Skeletool medium-hard and have recently begun to marvel at its design.
I sit on the blade cover in my back pocket while driving – I do not want that piece to be composite – besides, it’s one piece with the liner lock. The tusk-shaped spacer could be some other dense material, which they did for the CX, but that’s it really.
The pliers are about as tough for their size and weight as could ever be expected. I’ve pushed it on occasion to the point of noticable flex without the tool permanently deforming or snapping. I do know what it takes to break pliers and knives. I’ve done so before. As it stands, any reduction or change in material would be a trade-off against the tolerances of the design.
I’ve used the back edge of the blade with enough force to defeat the blade lock, but it did not snap or bend catastrophically. (Don’t do this!)
I routinely use the backside edge of the carabiner to score cardboard and use the entire tool body as a doorstop. One time, someone walking behind me didn’t see how an aluminum door was wedged, and violently forced it shut, putting tremendous leverage on the skeletool. The bits flew and the blade guard bent in slightly, but the tool suffered no loss of functionality, and it was only a moment’s work to unbend the guard with no visible damage.
I don’t generally abuse tools. For small tools, I’m cognizant of their limitations, but this one certainly earns its keep, and I can examine the tool part by part and see how well chosen the materials are to their function. I’d be hesitant to carry $150-200 skeletool with modern plastics and titanium, and use it the way I do. I have knives that are more elegant and fun, but they rarely leave the house these days.
I’m a weight-weanie until that starts undermining practical utility.
Even with a full bag of tools in the room, up on a ladder, or crawling underneath something, this is always within arms reach.
The only other multitool I’ve tried that also hits excellent value marks on my weight/ utility curve is the Swisstool Spirit. It weighs 7.4oz, but has even stronger pliers, a very good file, solid prying tools, etc. I don’t care for the belt case. It lives in my toolbag, saving three times its weight versus the tools I’d be carrying without it.
If I could make one change to the skeletool, it would be move the pivot to slightly, but not dramatically improve leverage – 33% maybe. If I could make two changes, it would be flat grind rather than hollow grind on the blade.
Trinity Dan
I’m a big Leatherman fan and I definitely agree that an increase in price is better than decreasing quality, or worse, outsourcing the tools to be made in another country. I have a MUT, Signal, Wave, Micra, Style, c33tx, Skeletool, and more and have had no problems with quality control on any of them. I will remain a customer as long as they maintain their quality and don’t expand the number of outsourced products in their line. My biggest beef with Leatherman are the non-Made in USA sheaths. They can increase the price another $10 if they start making the sheaths in the USA as far as I’m concerned.
Travis
I agree about the sheath’s. That quality of them has just dwindled over the years. I received a Free P4 for Christmas and the sheath is just shy of worthless. Seems like an odd place to cut corners.
RCWARD
I paid 119 last year so I guess it’s not a big deal in my case.
Rick
I don’t mind giving leather man a raise, so long as their employees get a raise as well. They also have seen an increase in expenses.
Chuck+Forster
I would pay 50-100% more for Leatherman tools with better tolerances, better blade steel, better form factors, and more size options. For years I juggled an original Charge TTI and original Skeletool containing the straight blade. I wished there was some middle ground between the two, and desperately hoped they’d come up with something, or expand into the Skeletool styling with a Skeletool XL version. No innovation since then. I can’t blame Leatherman for sticking to cash cows, but if they charged more while offering more options…lean into the knife collectors market, they’d make a lot of money off me. I was a multi tool collector before I was a knife collector. There’s been so few innovations and design leaders in multi tools for a long time now. Missed opportunity in my opinion.
Juan A Menchaca
Yo tengo una para la garantía dónde puedo enviar
Stuart
Leatherman can help you with any warranty claims.
Rush
This is on my side all day in its holster. When I’m not near my toolbox it gets used and abused. It has to be my favorite tool.
It was a father’s day gift a number of years ago.
Jeff C
Sportman’s Warehouse has the Waves bigger brother Leatherman Charge + with G10 scales on sale right now for $119.87. Sign up for their e-mails and receive another 10% off.
https://www.sportsmans.com/camping-gear-supplies/knives-tools/multi-tools/leatherman-charge-g10-multi-tool-orange/p/1773819
Clay
I have carried a Wave about everyday since it came out in 1998.
Previous to that, I had had 2 Gerbers, a Victorinox, and a few other Leathermans, but nothing compared to the Wave.
I think I am on my 3rd one as I have sent it back 2x under warranty (one was deformed wire cutters as the first ones were really soft; the other time was the scissors spring). Each time, they sent me the newer model as a replacement. My current one looks like the one above only without the replaceable wire cutters.
I did like the scissors on the older models better as they were bigger.
Not sure how many sheaths I have gone through, but I gave up and use the belt clip now.
Hate to see the price go up, but everything seems to be going up. Hoping that that ends soon.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but the Wave has been the perfect multi-tool for me for a long, long time, and I am glad it is still around.
Emilio+Gonzalez
Many companies are raising prices even though their costs haven’t gone up. Its just a pure greed trend today. Record profits show the true story. Companies are just taking advantage of the current situation. They see that people keep buying so they keep raising prices. The Japanese and German brand tools are more reasonable. SnapOn is just pure greed. So are many others.
Ben
100% this. People need to stop buying from companies that raise prices, let them hurt for a quarter or two, and magically they will find a way to lower prices again.
eddie sky
Re: Leatherman, I ordered 4 sets of reBar leatherman multi tool as Xmas gifts (Yeah, I’m a good Santa).
Of those four, only one was spot on perfectly working out of the box. The others, I was told by their recipients – along with one I witnessed open and had hard time with, were not 100% QC’d.
All were black color and all left a film on the user’s hands. One in particular, would not close. I mean, one side folded in perfect but the other handle was stuck. Using a ridiculous “better not break!” amount of force, it finally closed. Seemed that these aren’t going through QC to get out for Xmas… which I appreciate the latter, but when you are spending $120 each… there are other tools for less out there that are as good or better.