New toys! Gerber Leatherman and Surefire 6P Range Reports

[fightingquaker13]

Gander Mountain is evil. They keep having sales! >:(I was strong enough to walk away from the $1K Armalite AR-10 largely because I can't afford it, but still, I walked away.   I did not, however manage to make it past the Surefire or Gerber cases. As it is still daylight, I cannot give a range report on the 6P other than to say that its built like a tank and for $60 on sale it was too good to pass up. ( UPDATE: the ambiguous range report is in a following post).
The Gerber, I am really excited about. I have wanted a Leatherman style tool for years, but couldn't find one that had the tools I wanted at the right price and quality. This one wins. I got the "Suspension Multiplier". Its actually about their cheapest one, but thats not why I chose it. Its small, about three and one half inches folded. It also has some spring tension on the pliers and a pair of scissors. Perfect! Its aluminum (titanium coated) construction with windows cut out so water and sand should pass through. It feels heavy and solid in the hand. Other than an asinine "saw" (for very leeeetle trees ) there is nothing there I won't use. Two screw drivers, a straight blade, a serrated knife, can opener/bottle opener, lanyard anchor, "saw", and scissors. The wire cutters in the pliers are pretty solid (though not ideal) as well. Basically I'd rate them good enough for off shore fishing, not good enough for an electrician. Its also a lockblade. The only downside is the switch to unlock the blade is a ittle small and took a shot of Rem Lube to get working without brute force. Once it was lubed, its perfect. All in all it was the best $32 I've spent in a while.
FQ13 who has mixed feelings about the Surefire, but loves the Gerber

[deepwater]

first off. the saw, you will be surprised at what those little suckers will cut through and how easily. second, if it doesn't have the bottle opener/cork screw it's useless and you'll never carry it. 

deepwater

[Timothy]

I have two Gerbers myself.  One is nearly 20 years old and still works flawlessly though it's not a locking style.  The other is of a similar design but all blades and fold out's are locked after extension.  Carried and used nearly every day and I second Deeps comments!

Never cared for the Leatherman's though they look solid.

[fightingquaker13]

first off. the saw, you will be surprised at what those little suckers will cut through and how easily. second, if it doesn't have the bottle opener/cork screw it's useless and you'll never carry it. 

deepwater

The lack of a corkscrew was almost a deal breaker, but it does have the bottle opener and a can opener. Thus I can stay fed and inebrieated. What more do you want for 32 bucks?
FQ13

[deepwater]

one of my ex-captains of some ex company I worked for, was new to the job and wanted to buy our approval at Christmas, (read bribe), so he bought us all 'Leatherman Juice'. which is a small tool, but carries the important stuff, knife, scissors, awl, screw driver bits, can opener, cork screw, and needle nose pliers. all very useful. have used all. some more than others. and it was cheap. the captain bought them online from some publicity company for very little. engraved with the company name (he was REALLY desperate for approval).  

deepwater

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

Range report on the Surefire 6P.
 Ehhh . I'd give it a solid ok. Construction is rock solid. It does have a feature that will "safe" the on switch so it doesn't burn your luggage up if it gets accidently turned on. It also is small and will fit in a rail mount.Likewise you get an hour run time at 60 lumens. Still, its just not that bright. My Gander house brand out performs it for $40, minus the "safe" feature. At $60 for a flashlight I expect a lot. This one will let me look into the flower beds across the street, about 30 yards. Thats about a 4 D cell mag light performance. For a pocket light, its very solid. Question, do I say good enough? Do I buy the 120 lumen option, which drops run time to 20 minutes and costs me an extra $30? Do I say thanks, but no thanks and look at a Stream Light? I mean honestly, I'd give this light a solid B/B-. But for the money and hype I was hoping for more. I mean it doesn't even have an attachment point for a lanyard. As a fisherman this is a big deal. However, I have never been one to let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough. This seems like a lifetime light. Just wondering whether I could do better else where. Otherwise this one will do. 
FQ13s

[billt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-NKC4dQXnQ

The only hi tech flashlight I have is the Nova Tac 120T that came with my LWRC CSAT rifle. It works well, and has a lot of different settings. I'm seeing more and more LED type hi tech lights as the LED technology improves.  Bill T.