Best Saltwater Multi Tool

FisherTim

Active Member
Hello,

My leatherman rebar, even though it's stainless steel, and I rinse it after every trip is rusting... What's the best(reasonably priced) multi tool that will stand up to the tough saltwater conditions, without rust, corrosion, or other failures. I'd prefer to be able to keep it on the boat without rinsing every day...

and by reasonably priced, I mean under $150...

What do you use?

-
Tim
 
Hard to find a good knife, pliers that will close the eye of a big hook, and a metric sockets in one tool, so I keep a decent tool collection in a dry box. I throw in some silica gel packs to minimize rust. For pliers, I expect to buy a new set of needlenose every year.
 

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I have a leatherman multi tool, it was only $40 but it's small and more for smaller fish. I also just this year picked up a set of aluminum fishing needle nose pliers. They are light, strong, and after 6 months of abuse in the salt chuck, are still moving freely with no signs of binding up. I made the choice to switch to aluminum fishing pliers after having several sets of Berkley needle nose bind up and seize on me after only 2 trips each. Should have bathed them in oil I guess, but the aluminum ones I have now require no maintenance...
 
Island Outfitters carries the ones I bought, the brand is P-Line. However you can order better ones(made in the same Chinese factory with different brand on them) for the same price I paid for mine off a sight called aliexpress.com just search "fishing pliers" the ones on that sight have the snap ring tool on the end, the P-lines don't. The cutting blade on both versions of aluminum pliers is SS. They work wonderfully.
 
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It really sounds like you are looking for titanium pliers. And you are not gonna find Titanium for $150. I also have a Leatherman multi, had them for years. I love them but I've realized they are not salt comparable at all. I washed them and oiled them and still got the rust issues. Try looking on Ebay....maybe there are some good Titanium Chinese knock-offs available now that weren't available a few years ago. Right now I am using a SS plier, think I payed around $79 a couple years ago. Good (enough) braid cutter and I've only needed to oil(wd-40) them a couple times. Seemed the best compromise for me. I have never needed the various tools on the Leatherman 'sept the knife and the pliers so it stays home now. I'll have a poke around and see what I can find....***** and giggles and all that.
 
A handy can of WD-40 works for everything. No need to rinse, just give it a squirt. Even the best Stainless steel tools will corrode over time.
 
Sorry for you guys.... I have a Leatherman Wave that was a retirement present from my hunting buddies. It is now in its 14th year of being abused . It goes everywhere, salt or otherwise. It is showing NO sign of rust at all, even after being lost for 2 months in the bilge well in the boat. I have never babied it. It opens prawn bait cans as well as skins deer. The scissors are still sharp and do a great job on my toenails.... I often forget to rinse it in fresh water when I get back from a fishing trip... but other than having a shoemaker restitch the leather case, I have done nothing to maintain it. Makes me wonder if Leatherman is being now made in China???
 
My leatherman juice I carry all the time is the only Leatherman I have had a problem with. The spring things for the blades broke. I called Leatherman. They said send it in and they sent me a new one. No rust. My wave is still good. Maybe send the Rebar in and get a replacement.
 
Sadly almost everything we as consumers buy, is all made in China now days. The original prototypes of things might be made in North America, some things may still even assembled here in North America, but most all of the manufactured parts are made in China...
 
Sadly true. But we have an EPA that stifles a lot of manufacturing, plus we have priced our labor out of the market. Years ago, we probably paid 3x what a 3rd world wage was. Now probably 25x when you include in all the government mandated fees. Not against those fees. But is a cost of business. Here we have the Rapid Transit drivers with a high school diploma or equivalent getting a $90,000 plus benefits of about $40,000 a year. Janitor makes $53,000 plus full medical for life and a pension. This is at BART.gov
 
I read a tip on here a while back that I use all the time, can't remember who posted it. When your pliers seize up, hold them in the salt water for a few minutes until they free up. Might take a few dips. I've been using the same cheap pliers for a long time now.
 
I have a leatherman super tool 200 pushing 10 years old, it's been everywhere and rarely rinsed off, it's currently sitting on my boat where it's been the last 2 months opening cans of tuna and being rinsed in saltwater and then put away. It occasionally gets slight surface rust that I can literally wipe away with my shirt. I can still operate everything smoothly and the knives are still razor sharp. Leather makes a great tool for the saltwater enviroment.
 
I's got the Leatherman Wave and Skeletool. The Wave was a birthday gift from my wife the year we were married (16 years ago), and the Skeletool was a Fther's Day gift from my kids. I use them both CONSTANTLY in the salt and neither has any signs of rust or significant wear. Love these things.
 
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Just reading the reviews - all seems happy - the one comment I liked was "Another bonus, when these get dropped in the ocean they don't require the same amount of mourning as the Van Staal's I lost" LOL
 
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