I'm not sure if this should go in here, or in the Knife/Multitool section. Since it's a review, I put it here. Anyway, here's my review of the Charge Ti:
First Impressions:
When I first took the Charge Ti out of the packaging, I was struck by how solid it felt. It's pretty heavy, but nothing really that excessive for a full size multitool. I was impressed by the ergonomics of the titanium handles, as well as the laser cut plain edge blade. More on each of these later.
The Main Blades:
The Charge Ti comes with four main blades (although not all are actually blades) which can be accessed without opening the tool. The plain edge blade is laser cut into a drop point shape, with a hole to assist in one-handed opening. The fact that it's laser cut doesn't really matter, aside from the fact that the opening hole can be positioned closer to the spine of the knife than if it had been stamped out. Anyway, the plain edge blade is 154CM, which is a huge improvement over the steel used in the Wave and other Leatherman multitools. As many others have said, finally knife-quality steel in a Leatherman! The plain edge blade is positioned optimally for right-handed people. When opened and held in cutting position, the blade edge is flush with the bottom of the tool, and the blade itself is on the side closest to the thumb.
I'm sure the blade could be a little sharper, but it came with a quite satisfactory edge from the factory. The other blade positioned for a right-handed person is the fully-serrated knife. This blade is not made out of 154CM, but rather the older steel used in the Wave, etc. This blade also came very sharp from the factory, and I particularly like how the serrations aren't too aggressive. Sometimes, I find serrated edges to get caught on rope or whatever I'm cutting, defeating the purpose of the serrations. This is not the case with the Charge Ti. The other two tools accessible without opening the tool are a saw, which I haven't tried yet, and a file. The file has a fine side, as well as a coarse side. I have yet to use either of those, but they look like they'll work just fine.
All four of these blades are secured with liner locks. Due to their small size, the locks are slightly difficult to disengage, but people without massive fingers shouldn't have too much difficulty. Another interesting thing to note about the liner locks is that each of the four locks travels a slightly different amount onto the knife before engaging. On mine, the lock for the main blade engages all the way to the right of the blade, resulting in a barely perceptible amount of blade play in the direction the knife folds. It really is miniscule, and does not effect performance at all.
The Pliers:
The main draw of Leathermans and other multitools is the fact that they also serve as full size pliers in addition to many other tools. The Charge Ti was pretty stiff to open when I first got it, but it's been loosening up a little with use. It's still very secure, just easier to open. The main needlenose pliers are very useful for both small and moderately large tasks. The two jaws meet perfectly. When open, there is not handle play whatsoever. Very sturdy. When closed, there is a small amount of side to side play, but nothing to worry about really. The wire cutters are very sharp and work very well for cutting both soft wire and harder metal. I wouldn't be worried all cutting chain link fence with these. The only thing I don't like about the pliers is that they aren't spring loaded, and it's a little hard to open the jaws back up with one hand. I imagine this will become easier with use, just like unfolding the pliers did.
The Other Tools:
All the other tools of the Charge Ti are accessed by unfolding the handles and flipping out the desired tool. They all have little tab things on them to aid in unfolding, as well as a locking mechanism to lock them in place once open. I haven't quite figured out how the lock works, but it is disengages by pushing the button on the outside of the handle. There's a little bit of back and forth play with these locks, but that's inconsequential since these tools aren't meant to be used in that direction, like a knife, but rather driving a screw in a circular motion. The locks truly are just to prevent injury should the tool slip. On one side is a bottle opener and the main bit driver. I haven't tried the bottle opener. The bit driver, however, I have used. It works quite well, holding the proprietary bits (a set of which are included with the Charge) securely. To change bits, you just pull the bit out and slide the new one in until the little spring engages. I like the idea of interchangeable bits, but I would have liked to see a standard bit holder. This would have required larger handles, however, so it really is a tradeoff.
In the other handle is a large flathead screwdriver, which I haven't figured out yet, given the presence of the bit driver, a tiny bit driver with a miniscule Phillips and flathead bit, presumably for glasses, etc. Finally, a pair of scissors is tucked away in this handle. The scissors are very sharp, spring loaded, and have a little thumb self for comfort. They're pretty small, but work quite well. I haven't used the larger scissors from the old Wave, which some say are better, so I can't really make a comparison. All in all, the Charge Ti has a nice selection of tools inside the handles. They're all useful, not a lot of wasted real estate, which I'm happy about.
Conclusions:
I had been looking for a full size multitool for quite a while, and had pretty much decided on the Leatherman Wave. I had a little extra money when I went to buy one, so I picked up the Charge Ti instead, due to the nicer steel in the main blade. Overall, I'm extremely happy with the Charge Ti. There are some little things I don't like, such as the little bit of handle play when the tool is closed, as well as the proprietary bit holder, but neither of these are really deal breakers. If you're looking for a really great general purpose multitools with a very high quality knife, you really can't go wrong with the Charge Ti. If you're wondering whether to get the Charge Ti over the new Wave, it really depends on a couple of things. The Charge is a little more expensive, maybe $90 versus $65, just as an estimate. The Charge does offer titanium handles, which add a little in size and cut down a little in weight, as well as real knife quality steel in the main blade. If you've got the money, and those things make it worth it to you, go for the Charge. Otherwise, the Wave is also a very nice tool.
Note: I'll get relevant pictures up when I get to it.
First Impressions:
When I first took the Charge Ti out of the packaging, I was struck by how solid it felt. It's pretty heavy, but nothing really that excessive for a full size multitool. I was impressed by the ergonomics of the titanium handles, as well as the laser cut plain edge blade. More on each of these later.
The Main Blades:
The Charge Ti comes with four main blades (although not all are actually blades) which can be accessed without opening the tool. The plain edge blade is laser cut into a drop point shape, with a hole to assist in one-handed opening. The fact that it's laser cut doesn't really matter, aside from the fact that the opening hole can be positioned closer to the spine of the knife than if it had been stamped out. Anyway, the plain edge blade is 154CM, which is a huge improvement over the steel used in the Wave and other Leatherman multitools. As many others have said, finally knife-quality steel in a Leatherman! The plain edge blade is positioned optimally for right-handed people. When opened and held in cutting position, the blade edge is flush with the bottom of the tool, and the blade itself is on the side closest to the thumb.
I'm sure the blade could be a little sharper, but it came with a quite satisfactory edge from the factory. The other blade positioned for a right-handed person is the fully-serrated knife. This blade is not made out of 154CM, but rather the older steel used in the Wave, etc. This blade also came very sharp from the factory, and I particularly like how the serrations aren't too aggressive. Sometimes, I find serrated edges to get caught on rope or whatever I'm cutting, defeating the purpose of the serrations. This is not the case with the Charge Ti. The other two tools accessible without opening the tool are a saw, which I haven't tried yet, and a file. The file has a fine side, as well as a coarse side. I have yet to use either of those, but they look like they'll work just fine.
All four of these blades are secured with liner locks. Due to their small size, the locks are slightly difficult to disengage, but people without massive fingers shouldn't have too much difficulty. Another interesting thing to note about the liner locks is that each of the four locks travels a slightly different amount onto the knife before engaging. On mine, the lock for the main blade engages all the way to the right of the blade, resulting in a barely perceptible amount of blade play in the direction the knife folds. It really is miniscule, and does not effect performance at all.
The Pliers:
The main draw of Leathermans and other multitools is the fact that they also serve as full size pliers in addition to many other tools. The Charge Ti was pretty stiff to open when I first got it, but it's been loosening up a little with use. It's still very secure, just easier to open. The main needlenose pliers are very useful for both small and moderately large tasks. The two jaws meet perfectly. When open, there is not handle play whatsoever. Very sturdy. When closed, there is a small amount of side to side play, but nothing to worry about really. The wire cutters are very sharp and work very well for cutting both soft wire and harder metal. I wouldn't be worried all cutting chain link fence with these. The only thing I don't like about the pliers is that they aren't spring loaded, and it's a little hard to open the jaws back up with one hand. I imagine this will become easier with use, just like unfolding the pliers did.
The Other Tools:
All the other tools of the Charge Ti are accessed by unfolding the handles and flipping out the desired tool. They all have little tab things on them to aid in unfolding, as well as a locking mechanism to lock them in place once open. I haven't quite figured out how the lock works, but it is disengages by pushing the button on the outside of the handle. There's a little bit of back and forth play with these locks, but that's inconsequential since these tools aren't meant to be used in that direction, like a knife, but rather driving a screw in a circular motion. The locks truly are just to prevent injury should the tool slip. On one side is a bottle opener and the main bit driver. I haven't tried the bottle opener. The bit driver, however, I have used. It works quite well, holding the proprietary bits (a set of which are included with the Charge) securely. To change bits, you just pull the bit out and slide the new one in until the little spring engages. I like the idea of interchangeable bits, but I would have liked to see a standard bit holder. This would have required larger handles, however, so it really is a tradeoff.
In the other handle is a large flathead screwdriver, which I haven't figured out yet, given the presence of the bit driver, a tiny bit driver with a miniscule Phillips and flathead bit, presumably for glasses, etc. Finally, a pair of scissors is tucked away in this handle. The scissors are very sharp, spring loaded, and have a little thumb self for comfort. They're pretty small, but work quite well. I haven't used the larger scissors from the old Wave, which some say are better, so I can't really make a comparison. All in all, the Charge Ti has a nice selection of tools inside the handles. They're all useful, not a lot of wasted real estate, which I'm happy about.
Conclusions:
I had been looking for a full size multitool for quite a while, and had pretty much decided on the Leatherman Wave. I had a little extra money when I went to buy one, so I picked up the Charge Ti instead, due to the nicer steel in the main blade. Overall, I'm extremely happy with the Charge Ti. There are some little things I don't like, such as the little bit of handle play when the tool is closed, as well as the proprietary bit holder, but neither of these are really deal breakers. If you're looking for a really great general purpose multitools with a very high quality knife, you really can't go wrong with the Charge Ti. If you're wondering whether to get the Charge Ti over the new Wave, it really depends on a couple of things. The Charge is a little more expensive, maybe $90 versus $65, just as an estimate. The Charge does offer titanium handles, which add a little in size and cut down a little in weight, as well as real knife quality steel in the main blade. If you've got the money, and those things make it worth it to you, go for the Charge. Otherwise, the Wave is also a very nice tool.
Note: I'll get relevant pictures up when I get to it.
