In case you missed the original post, the Leatherman Tread is a new wearable multi-tool, available in stainless steel or with a black DLC finish, and there will also be a watch option.
Basically, the Leatherman Tread is a multi-tool bracelet. I started testing one today, and have been wearing it for a couple of hours so far. I have also tried maybe half of the screwdrivers, hex sockets, and other functions.
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This is going to be a short initial review, and I’ll update it or follow up after I’ve worn and tested the Tread a lot more.
Initial Impression
Oh my gosh, it’s HUGE! And it’s ripping out all of my arm hair! This is what I said before I had removed enough links (2) to properly size the Leatherman Tread wearable multi-tool to my wrist.
After getting the sizing right, I compared the width and weight to some of my metal-banded watches. It’s larger than all of them, but I can’t tell if it’s heavier and I’m not about to whip out a scale. That’s a good thing – about the bracelet not being noticeable heavier than a men’s metal-banded watch.
Comfort & Sizing
Once I removed two links and slapped the bracelet onto my wrist, my initial impression melted away. If I swing my arm around widely, a link will snag an arm hair. But that’s only if I wave and twist my wrist and arm around frantically. It feels just like a regular watch during regular everyday motions.
Actually, I forgot I was wearing the thing! I had taken it on and off for initial tests, and started working on something else. I looked around for the Leatherman Tread test sample for a good couple of seconds before I realized I was still wearing it.
I thought that the tools would poke my wrist. They don’t. I thought that the width of the Tread’s links would make them uncomfortable. They aren’t. I thought that the Tread would look a little silly on my wrist. It does, a little – more on that in a bit.
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Use & Performance
Is this a multi-tool one could actually use? Yes it is!
When you take the tool off your wrist, opposite sides can be folded together so that just the bit you need is poking out the top. This also increases the rigidity a little.
The bits and sockets are actually usable. I would want to use these in “I’ve got nothing else with me” applications, but they feel like they can endure some casual use.
Because of the curvature of each link, it will usually be comfortable to hold and use the Tread in one direction over the other. If a tool is pointed up, I flip the entire thing so that it’s pointing down.
I also want to mention that the Tread works a lot better for quick adjustments, tightening, or loosening, rather than full fastener installation or removal. You can’t twirl it, at least not easily, and so you’re turning fasteners maybe 90° or 100° at a time, all without adjusting your grip of the tool.
Jewelery or Tool?
To be frank, now that I have a Tread in-hand, I would consider it to be more akin to functional jewelry than a strictly-business multi-tool. That’s not a bad thing. But you’re not going to take this thing on and off your wrist as many times a day as you might use a multi-tool.
Is a wearable multi-tool that could be considered functional jewelry any different from wearing a watch when you check your smartphone’s clock most of the time?
I think that the watch version is going to be more practical, but the $500 (stainless) and $600 (black DLC) pricing for the watch is somewhat prohibitive. I would really like to see some adapters so that I can use the Leatherman Tread, or at least most of the links and clasp, as a band for one of my other watches.
Who Should Buy it?
That’s a hard call to make. Will you wear it everyday and take it off to use on occasion? This might be for you, if you’re okay with the $150 pricing for the stainless steel Tread. Hopefully the street price will be a bit lower.
Will you travel with the Tread once or twice a year? You’d probably be better off buying a cheaper multi-tool and take the knife out, or buy a knifeless multi-tool or mini multi-tool. But it’s your wallet and your decision to make.
If I hadn’t received a review sample for testing, I might have bought one. I don’t always have hex keys, wrenches, slotted, or Phillips screwdriver bits when I need them. And even when I have a multi-tool on my belt or in my pocket, the most screwdriver bit sizes they cover are Phillips, usually #1 and #2, and one or two slotted screwdriver sizes.
Overall Impression
I like it. This is only my Day 1 impression, but I’ll give the Leatherman Tread more time and use before I can officially recommend for or against it with. I don’t think my impression will change, but I suppose that depends on how many questions or weird looks I get in public.
Overall, the Tread is comfortable, and it has blended into the background as I go about my normal daily activities. That’s how it should be.
And hey, it already came in handy when I had to change the batteries on one of my son’s toys! But here’s the important part – I unscrewed the door to the battery compartment with the Leatherman Tread, swapped in fresh batteries, and then walked over to my toolbox to grab a small Phillips driver to close up the battery compartment.
If we were visiting family, and nobody had a Phillips driver I could use, the Leatherman Tread would have saved the day. But don’t for a moment think that you could use the Tread in place of standalone tools – when other such tools are available – as you can usually do with one of Leatherman’s other multi-tools.
Pricing
The Leatherman Tread will be available soon, and will be priced at $150 for the stainless version and $200 for the black DLC version. There’s no explicit mention of where the Tread is made, which usually means it’s made in the USA with domestic and global components.
Thank you to Leatherman for providing the review sample unconditionally.
Nathan
would it help usefulness if it had some sort of clasp or latching mechanism to keep the 2 folded pieces together?
do the socket – wrench items work well?
I think it would be nice if they offered an adapter or sorts so you could use it as a watch band for a watch you already own.
Will
That’s a pretty good idea. I went through a (dumb and expensive) watch phase a while back, and there are many after market manufacturers of stainless steel watch bracelets. It would be nearly impossible to make enough adapters to fit every brand of watch, but they could make flat end links that could fit 18, 20, 22 and 24 mm lugs.
I’d like to see this!
Pete
It looks cool, has lots of featues. But as most multi tools, something that Is good at everything is a master of none.
I couldnt justify buying one for that price.
Toolfreak
I’d like to see Leatherman get involved with pushing back on the stupidity that cause the Tread to get invented in the first place.
If Disneyworld security and TSA agents taking swift action against people who have multitools, pocket knives, can openers, nail clippers, tweezers, etc. was UNACCEPTABLE (perhaps even made to be UNLAWFUL), we wouldn’t need ultra-compromised things like the Tread in the first place.
It’s an interesting response, but too much like a shrug and “oh well, nothing we can do about it so guess we have to just live with this kind of barely useful wristband multitool now.”
Will
I understand your reserve about this product, but isn’t necessity the mother of invention?
These new regulations aren’t likely to go away, so I’m inclined to think a multi-tool, even if it’s in the awkward-to-use form of a watch band, is a pretty decent response to the nonsense we’re going to have to deal with for years.
Heck, if nothing else, it’ll be a cool conversation piece when we’re old and have to explain the need for something like this to youngsters, like when our grandfathers told us about going to school uphill both ways.
You’re right about the price, though.
Toolfreak
There’s a difference between actual necessity and a fabricated “need”.
The only reason this thing exists is because the CEO of Leatherman was going into the Disney World park and security “escorted” him back to his hotel room to drop off his Skeletool since it presented such a danger to everyone around.
I don’t think the solution to people pretending that multi-tools are weapons is to make new multi-tools that are more like expensive jewelry.
I think the solution is to point out how crazy those people are and have them removed from their positions in society so they can’t impose their craziness on anyone else.
Mike
As for the country of origin I’m pretty sure all the stuff Leatherman makes is machined and assembled in their Portland factory.
PW
Unless something has changed in the last few years, that’s probably true. I’ve toured their factory in the past, and been impressed with the level of US content and manufacturing.
Some of their components are foreign-sourced. (On the factory tour I took, they talked about German-sourced files.) However, most of the parts are domestic, and finishing steps, assembling and packaging was in their Portland facility.
Unfortunately, the “Made-in-USA” label is actually vague. Is a tol with 10% foreign content “Made-in-USA”? It comes down to a legal interpretation.
Leatherman was involved in a series of lawsuits over this in the recent past. (*cough* class action ambulance chasers *cough*) I think the experience made them scared about how to label their products. Since then, their packaging has been vague even though their manufacturing has not changed.
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2006/01/23/story7.html?full=true
andy h
Aside from the cool factor. This is a legitimate multi tool. Well worth the asking price. Mine gets used several times a day. Once you get on the mechanics involved in using it. It’s a breeze!!??
Jack
I’m a Man and I wanna wear my tools ! Yeah !
Mountain Biking Alaska
I need this. Two of them. One for a watch band. Like a man I know how to use a tap and die set.
Ben
I was excited to receive mine early from Cabela’s, but my excitement didn’t last long. The links are held together by tiny screws, which the packaging suggests can be loosened with a coin. I was only able to get a few of the screws loose before realizing most of them were over tightened. I went through several different coins, which ended up with destroyed edges. No problem, I thought, I’m holding several flat head screwdrivers in my hand. I went to loosen the screws and both flat heads bent. If the tread doesn’t even work on itself it’s useless. Needless to say I sent it back.
Speedycat3
This is a great multitool for my trips. I fl all over he place as airline crew, and have needed some kind of tool bit for a quick fix either for luggage, or even in some of our B777 freighter floor hardware. It might not be worthwhile for someone who has quick access to a regular leatherman everyday, but for someone who has to go through TSA several times a week and sometimes more than once in a day, this is extremely handy. As far as price, it depends on your wallet and needs. When you can get something expensive fixed quickly and on the fly while you are away, it might make all the difference in the world.
I travel with photo cameras and tripods sometimes, and have been able to fix some pretty expensive equipment in a heartbeat with what’s otherwise just a bling bracelet. That makes it extremely worth it for me.
Sergey
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