reviews

Leatherman Juice S2

Reviewed by Scott Richmond

Juice S2, by Leatherman. About $50 retail. Available at many outdoor stores, but not at most fly shops.

or years, I haven't gone anywhere without my Swiss Army knife. Whether I'm wearing pants or waders, it's with me. I've used it for cleaning fish, reel repair, opening cans, tying flies (I always buy the knife with scissors), and many other jobs. I've often said, "I can fix anything with a Swiss Army knife and a can of WD-40."

The only thing I won't do with a Swiss Army knife is spread peanut butter when I'm fixing a shoreside lunch. More accurately, I'll never do it again after that first unfortunate, hard-to-clean-up incident.

When the Swiss Army knife was in my wader's front pocket, a big Leatherman multitool was in a case on the wading belt. It, too, has had many uses. It possesses tools that the Swiss Army people only dream about: pliers, a saw, a large knife blade, etc.

But the big multitool now stays in a fishing bag or in the truck, and the Swiss Army knife is in a drawer. I have a new favorite: the Leatherman Juice S2.

Leatherman's Juice series fills a niche between the big multitool and the minitool. Each Juice model has a different complement of tools, so pick your favorite functions. The S2 has pliers, knife blade, can/bottle opener, scissors, three sizes of flat screwdriver tips, Phillips screwdriver tip, and wire cutters.

I've used all the tools for some purpose or other in the last month. The extra small screwdriver has fixed eye glasses and tightened reel seats. The knife has cut hay string and cleaned fish. The pliers have removed hooks and tightened nuts. No matter what task was at hand, each tool worked superbly. This is a quality instrument--really much better than my trusty Swiss Army knife.

The tools don't lock into place, so you can close the knife on your knuckles if you're not careful.

The Juice S2 weighs about 4-1/2 ounces, which is half-again the weight of my Swiss Army knife. However, the extra weight hasn't been burdensome in my pants pocket, and on the stream I'm actually saving weight because I'm carrying one tool instead of two.

Leatherman tools come with a 25-year guarantee and are made from stainless steel. However, as my father, who spent 30-some years at Boeing, once said to me, "Son, at Boeing we call it 'corrosion-resistant steel.' Nothing is stainless." So if you use this tool around saltwater, rinse it under the kitchen faucet at the end of the day, and don't store it wet in its case. And whatever you do, don't use it to spread peanut butter.

Bottom Line: Wonderfully useful and compact multi-tool.  Reviewer Rating: 4

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 02/19/2003.

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