zuludelta wrote: ↑Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:33 pm
Snacktime wrote: ↑Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:03 am
zuludelta wrote: ↑Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:02 am
- Skeletool CX: The multitool I EDC. Its 154CM blade is one of the best I've used in a multitool. To be honest, I could probably ditch my Spydercos & just carry this everyday & be perfectly fine.
Skeletool was a game changer for me, I carried it exclusively for years. It was just light enough for daily carry and had just enough tools to change a wall switch or adjust a carburetor.
"Game Changer" is a good way to describe it. At 5 oz., it doesn't weigh much more than most folding knives but there is just so much added functionality with the pliers, wire cutters, and bit driver with the two included double-headed bits. Pair the Skeletool with a bit kit and you have a pocket-portable tool box. And the 154CM blade on the Skeletool CX model holds an edge just about as well as Spyderco's VG-10, which is more than sufficient for EDC purposes, IMO. And used specifically as a knife, it's just way more ergonomic than any other multitool i've used.
I am the opposite - I could never get into the Skeletool (had two, a combo edge 154 cm and the regular one).
Totally subjective of course, but here is why (especially compared to the Juice models):
- IF I carry a dedicated folding knife (exclusively Spyderco in my case) the knife function of my multitool is pretty obsolet or at best a rarely used backup.
- The Skeletool has a a sturdy, but also really not slicey and not "piercy" blade. The thin, hollow ground Juice blade (though long enough only in the old models!!) performs much better in actual cutting tasks, it also pierces better. So for me certainly better as a backup, but probably also if I´d carry no dedicated folder (though then the one handed opening of the Skeletool would be an advantage)
- The Skeletool actually does not offer much functionality for me in relation to weight and size. Even the Juice S2 offers more (like scissors, mulitfunction bottle-/can opener / scraper, three sizes of flatheads...), is lighter and much less bulky (I never needed that Skeletool carabiner clip, which only increases size for me - even thought of sawing it off). The Juice CS4 is just a tad "heavier" than the Skeletool, smaller in size and has a ton of functionality more (good saw, awl...)
- The srewdriver / bit part of the Skeletool is not very useful in many tasks, cause it offers very little reach in tight spaces. The Juice is a lot better here, especially the very long Phillips driver. Now of course there is that extension part for the skeletool (and Wave...), but this has to be carried as an extra part. Now if one does so, they could as well bring the removable bit driver kit for the Juice: This can be attached to the anyway long Phillips driver, gives a REALLY long reach and all regular bits fit in there.
- Pliers: The Skeletool has small and rather blunt pliers. I don´t like that, but find the also small, but more needlenose pliers of the Juice a lot more versatile (also I´ve read several accounts of Skeletool pliers breaking, but no idea if this has any truth to it).
- What still speaks for the Skeletool? The pocket clip IF I carried it as only-tool (and no dedicated knife). But I have a glued on pocket clip on one of my Juices - holds up perfectly (and actually surprisingly for me!).
Again: The OLD Juice models are better than the current ones - the former seem to be more solidly build and offer a longer knife blade with a tiny bit of belly towards the tip.
Just my two cents of course! No right or wrong here, just personal preference based on my individual use and experiences.