thats hard to believe i have an original leatherman and i also have 2 micras and they have all been through hell. actually one of the micras is no more because it was confiscated at the airport by the wonderful security people who took it out of my carryon opened it up with that official scoffing look and said "what about this knife!!!" so i said "what are you afraid ill peel grapes during the flight?" but they didnt see the obvious humor in the 3/4 inch grape peeling blade or whatever so i am minus one micra. anyway they hold up great and my sample of one original leatherman and leather sheath has been through everything and has not broken or rusted. for over 10 years i have been living on the mediterranean and if it doesnt rust here it doesnt rust. so i dont know what happened to yours but you ought to take pics and send them into the company and see what they have to say. i also had a gerber i used in the desert for years and it was ok and smoother on the hands the leatherman does bite you but it didnt have the character. bottom line definitely leatherman. definitely.
No secret that Leatherman leaves a slightly rougher finish on it's multi-tools. Mine isn't the only complaint of rust that you'll find. The tools work very well. Just not very rust resistant. And that's with several Leatherman tools I've owned. Big exception being the Wingman. But the much shinier finish is very evident on that one.