One of the items my experienced traveler friend Craig told me to buy was a leatherman multipurpose tool.
Since there are a gazillion models, he took pity on me and sent me an Amazon link for the Leatherman Wingman.
I laughed.
I said, “What do I need this for? I have an entire garage full of tools that I’ll be taking with me on the road.”
He replied, “Get rid of all of your tools except for a hatchet, a good knife and the leatherman. These will cover you in 99% of all situations.”
Despite my hesitation, I bought the leatherman. I asked him if he carried his with him and he told me he wore it on his belt all the time. He said I’d be surprised how much I would use it.
Hmm…doubtful.
I put it on my belt the next morning. I was surprised that within a few minutes I needed to cut open a box and used the blade. Then as I was packing up photos and removing them from frames, I needed to use the philips head screwdriver to open a frame. A few minutes later, I was cutting zip ties off of something. Then I needed the pliers to pull a picture hanger from the wall.
All told, that first day I used my leatherman over 30 times.
And I hadn’t even begun my trip yet.
The leatherman doesn’t have the world’s best knife, screwdrivers or pliers.
They are pretty good though. More importantly, these tools are right there on my hip all the time.
It beats running to the toolbox 30 times a day or more.
It also beats breaking fingernails, trying to bite through a roll of tape, tearing up packages and all the other half-assed techniques I used to do when I was in a hurry.
I’ve used my leatherman no less than a dozen times a day ever since I got it.
I used to think that guys who wore a leatherman on their belt fell into two categories:
- Real men who knew how to fix stuff and had blue collar jobs like electrician, plumber, or carpenter.
- Wannabee men who really wanted to wear a pistol or a Bowie knife on their belt but instead had to settle for a leatherman.
It never occurred to me that this tool might be useful for everyday life. Or that it would save time, frustration and endless back-and-forth running to the toolbox.
So I guess there’s a 3rd type of guy I need to consider:
3. The dude who wants to always have a tool on hand that makes life easier and is smart enough to wear it on his belt.
If you don’t carry a leatherman (or Gerber or whatever multitool floats your boat), I’d recommend checking out the Wingman.
And for Craig if you’re reading this, once again – you were right.
PS. I did not get paid to write this post. I am not an Amazon affiliate. Leatherman is not a sponsor. Homey don’t play that.
