Skeletool CX

I used to carry a Leatherman around with me all the time. But after a bad car accident, paralyzation, and a lot of physical therapy; I hadn't carried one in a long time. I decided it was time to start again, so I purchased the biggest roughest one I found from Leatherman, the Surge. Plus all of the add-ons possible. And that thing was fun. A whole toolbox on my belt. Came in handy at work (telcom engineer). But after a while, I realized I don't use it as often as I remember, and that Surge (with all the add-ons) is surprisingly heavy! Plus, it just has too many tools on it that I'm never going to use. So I sat down and thought about it: Which tools on my Leatherman do I really ever use? Turned out, there was only three: Knife, Pliers, Screwdriver. That's about it. So I did some looking around, and came across this specific model of SkeleTool (as there are many variations that have different tools on them). This one literally only has the three tools I wanted! (I'm not counting the bottle opener. ANYTHING is a bottle opener if you're inventive enough.) And it's SO MUCH lighter! I'm fairly certain that the "carbon fiber" parts are just a gimmick (so they can call it "space age" and "lighter than steel"), but they don't add any bulk or take away from the tool at all, so no loss there. I'm not sure if the tool is incredibly light for how strong it is, or if it's incredibly strong for how light it is; both, I guess. But it is incredibly well designed and made. It is much lighter in hand than it looks, yet is very sturdy and strong. The jaws of the pliers are smaller than the full-sized Surge, but still big enough to get the job done. Because it's so light, I decided to go ahead and toss some add-ons in for it. So I got the belt pouch, and stocked it with the double flat-bit set, and the bit extender. That way I've got all of the most used bit drivers. (Which can be customized if you like. Also, if you don't get the bit set, the multitool itself comes with two bits, one in the driver, and one stored in the handle; so both bits are always with the tool.) I also tossed some Band-Aids in the pouch as well (as I've learned from experience. By the way guys, it's not a bad idea to keep a few Band-Aids in your wallet.) I am happier with my SkeleTool purchase than any other multitool I've ever owned (and I've owned quite a few in my time, across several brands). It is my EDC tool, and is always on my belt. I'd buy another one without a second thought if I could just come up with a reason to need a second one. UPDATE (May, 2025): I have carried the Skeletool on my belt everyday for several years now. And it gets used almost every single day. It's a genuine rarity when a whole day goes by and I didn't whip out my Skeletool for something. Everything is still working perfectly, and the tool is showing no signs of wear or tear. I genuinely expected it to be fairly worn down after this much use, but the tool could be cleaned up a bit, and it could pass as a brand new unit; it's *that* well made. I keep fighting the urge to buy another, but this one is in perfect order, so I have no reason to spend the money. Leatherman quality is second to none. I can whole-heartedly recommend this product to everyone. Happy shopping, all!

For the money, this is I’d have to say probably one of the best lightweight multi tools that are on the market. I do wish it had scissors but other than that this has all the basics that you need. I carry one of these every day and while I do carry a separate pocket knife, many times I find myself just using the 154CM blade that’s included on this version. The ergonomics are great when using it as a knife. It is a bit stiff to open when you first get them, but they break in fairly quickly with regular use. The pliers are great for what I need to use them for which is pinching Ribbon to pull it out of bearings or to grab pins or just to tighten or loosen small bolts on my machinery at work. The bit driver is a nice touch and I like the fact that I can store an extra bit in this one so I keep the T6 T8 bit in the storage and then I keep the flathead bit in here as well in case I need to do some very minimal light prying with this. The Leatherman bit kits that I purchased to go with this are nice enough, however considering how thin they are, I do worry that they may break so I’m not gonna go cranking on anything trying to pry with this, but I have used several the other bits just for small tasks here and there and it works very well. I like the idea of a multitool with the pliers, but to be honest, I carried a Swiss Army knife for years, so having the weight of a full sized wave or charge just seemed a bit much and tended to weigh me down a little bit too much. I keep one of those in my work bag, but this is probably my favorite multitool that I’ve used other than my Swiss Army supertinker. Now this is one of the cheaper Leatherman’s out there and while I could’ve gotten a bond, I like the idea of having quick access to my tools where I don’t need to open the whole thing up, and I bought it because of the bits. I do also like that the knife on this is a liner lock, so I don’t have to worry about it closing up on me overall very good knife and set up pliers.

Perfect companion for light work. The pliers are sturdy and work well for doing some minor electrical, hobby work, or pulling out a splinter. The knife comes very sharp and holds and edge well. I have snapped one of these blades before, but I was using it to pry with so it was entirely my fault. The lock for the blade is secure with no slop, and the magnet does a good job of keeping the blade from opening in your pocket. The bit holder has a tendency to feel less secure with frequent use, although I haven’t had a bit fall out yet. The pocket clip has good retention without making you struggle to draw the tool. You definitely get what you pay for in terms of quality and finish. It may not have the most gadgets like other leathermans, but it’s more than enough for your day to day

I'll start by saying I'm not one of those dudes with tactical utility stuff strapped all over their belts. I typically find leatherman tools heavy and filled with stuff I never use. Something to keep in the car for emergencies, not a daily driver. I bought this because I was looking for a knife with an integrated clip for my keychain. Now, this isn't it. It's a bit bigger than I expected, too big for my car keys. To be honest I liked the colors and didn't look at the size. But I have a big utility keychain and it's going there. This thing is awesome. I had mixed opinions at first. It's a bit pricey, it's pretty minimal on the tools (why do we always think more is better?), it's definitely not keychain sized or something most people will carry in their pockets daily (unless you wear cargo pants). But those opinions soon changed to pure appreciation. Yes it could probably be 50% or 75% the size and it would be more portable. But the size actually makes the pliers and knife much easier to use. Huge benefit. The tools themselves are extremely high quality. I bought it for the knife, and this thing is definitely "a knife with benefits" instead of "a wad of random tools that happens to include a knife" like most leatherman tools. The knife is EXTREMELY sharp and high quality. It's sharper than the folding utility knives I use and I cut my hand almost immediately, just by grabbing the blade wrong. That's a real knife. The size and shape make using the knife great. Any smaller would compromise the awesome grip you get on this thing. And instead of being this fat metal brick with a knife sticking out, the thickness feels more like a perfect knife handle. Not too thick, not too thin. Just great. The screwdriver includes 2 sizes each of phillips and flat head. They look like they will actually work well because they're not just thin sheets of metal, but actual bits. I'm a bit concerned because they look proprietary so losing one would be a pain. But overall they look far more functional than the screwdriver on any other multitool I've ever seen. The pliers seem sturdy. Haven't used them. They aren't spring loaded but that's alright. More parts is more stuff to break, so better to keep it simple. The weight is great. It's very light for the size. This is going to be my new go to tool, it has what I need without all the extra junk. I'm honestly having trouble thinking of what other tool I'd add. A bit driver maybe, but how often do I have the bits without a driver? All things considered this is perfect. If they made one 50% of the size I would buy it in a heartbeat. But they would also need to make it proportionally thinner or it wouldn't be good for a keychain. And if they got rid of the tools it would just be a knife....of which there are plenty of existing options. It's pretty much perfect as is, only improvement I can think of would be that the action when opening the pliers is not the smoothest I've felt. However, the knife is buttery smooth to open and it can easily be opened and closed with one hand. I'd buy again in a heartbeat if I saw it on sale.

I’ve been carrying the Skeletool CX for a few months now, and honestly, it’s become my go-to EDC. The build quality is exactly what you’d expect from Leatherman—solid, precise, and no rattles or loose joints. What I love most is that it’s just enough tool without being bulky. The knife is razor-sharp right out of the box, and the pliers feel sturdy enough to handle real work. Lightweight, sharp, and tough. The Skeletool CX has all the essentials—knife, pliers, screwdriver—without the bulk. Feels solid, looks great, and fits in your pocket like it belongs there. Worth it if you want quality over quantity.

I love this multitool. I use it as a replacement to carrying a larger pocket knife and I feel it fits the roll it is designed for. I have a SOG Powergear multitool that it great as well but it is quite a bit heavier and I found that carrying it in a belt sheath gets annoying after awhile. The leatherman skeletool CX has all the tools I need to use on a regular basis without the extra bulk and I can skip carrying my old pocket knife as well because the knife on the CX is easy to open and is great for opening boxes which is the main reason I carry a PKnife. The screwdriver setup is great because I can leave the large flat driver set as default and then I can use it to open access boxes easy. I keep my larger SOG in my IT bag for emergencies and cary my CX with me everywhere else. Is it worth the extra cost for the CX vs the standard Skeletool? For me, yes because I hate combo blades and the 154CM is a much better material. Plus I prefer the black coating. The carbon fiber insert does nothing except give it a bit more of a marketing hype and should not be a factor for consideration in my view. The nit-picky: I wish the wire cutters were a bit bigger and better suited for cutting CAT cable but if I am cutting CAT then I will usually have the proper tool to do so and in a pinch this will work. The swoop of the bottle opener/carabiner makes using the pliers slightly awkward, but only a very little and not nearly enough to be uncomfortable using it as intended, as a light duty tool. Over all if I were to lose this tool I would buy it again. If I was thinking of buying this for a friend and did not know their preference for combo or straight blade I probably get them the standard Skeletool. If I was buying my best friend one for their birthday I would spring for the CX without hesitation.

I've become a bit of a Leatherman fan over the last few years. I picked this up because I wanted something a little smaller than my other multitools and the skeletool fit the bill. It's lightweight and the fact that it has a built in carabiner and pocket clip make it good for different modes of carry. I think the best use case for a skeletool is fishing. The pliers are a good size for pulling hooks and the carabiner also functions as a bottle opener 😉 It's a little tight to open, so if you've used a free series you might be disappointed if you like one handed opening. This isn't really intended for heavy duty usage so I wouldn't recommend it as a workhorse. That said, I think it's well built and I'm not concerned about breaking it. The CX is a little more pricy than the standard model, but it's worth the extra money to have a non-serated blade.

I like to carry a knife with for my Every Day Carry (EDC). I wanted a multi-tool that was small and has just about every tool I would typically need for everyday use. This tool comes with a knife, pliers, a wire cutter, a bottle opener, and a bit driver with a slot for an extra bit head. Those are the tools I tend to require throughout the day. Other multi-tools have unnecessary tools like a saw or a can opener. Honestly, most of the tools the other multi-tools offer can be substituted by the other tools on this multi-tool. The Knife is a 154CM Straight Blade. 154CM steel is a good quality steel, it offers good edge retention though it can be difficult to sharpen. Luckily the knife came razor sharp; it is able to cut hair. The knife has a liner lock that is centered pretty well. There is no play with the knife. The knife is deployed with a thumb notch which works perfectly. The Pliers are pretty typical, it comes to a very defined point. They're not heavy duty but they're not light duty. The pliers are not spring loaded so they do require you to physically manipulate both handles. The pliers also have a wire-cutter built in. The wire-cutters are not replaceable but I don't really use them often so that is not a concern to me. The Bit-Driver is pretty nice. It uses 2D Bit-Heads and the tool comes with 2 sets, a double sided Phillips-head and a double sided flat-head. There is an additional Bit-Kit that comes with different Bit-Heads that can be bought. I bought it to expand the tools capabilities, and I love it. The Bit-Driver has a lock to keep the tools in place. I recommend filing down the notch on the bit-heads a bit just to allow the bit-driver to lock in better. Some people have complained that the awkward design of the tool makes it difficult to use the Bit-Driver. I have not encountered the problem, you can use the Bit-Driver perfectly fine with the tool deployed straight out or in a pistol shape. As a side note, the Bit-Driver cannot be used while the tool is closed unlike some of the other Leatherman tools. The final tool is a bottle opener/carabiner clip. There isn't much to say about the bottle opener. I have used it often and it works well. The carabiner clip however is used to hang the tool onto something. It is not used for climbing nor do I recommend it be used for climbing. The tool is perfect for me. The size is small enough to carry daily while also being big enough to be useful. I am often asked if I would get the Skeletool or the Skeletool CX. I personally like the straight blade the CX offers as opposed to the combo (serrated halfway and straight halfway) blade. If you don't mind a combo blade, I recommend you get the Skeletool. Though keep in mind it uses 420 steel, a much more inferior steel to the CX's 154CM. However, the 420 steel is able to be sharped much easier than the 154CM. If you want a simple tool for EDC buy the Skeletool CX, if you want a larger multi-tool with a bunch of features, go for something like the Leatherman Wave as they are both comparable prices. It should be mentioned that the tool was first stiff when I got it. It was difficult to open and close the tool. It didn't take long to break in the tool but I no longer have that problem.

Es una multiherramienta que para su tamaño y material es ligera, se siente de buena calidad y bien ensamblada al abrir la hoja o las pinzas no tiene ningún tipo de juego tiene un embellecedor de fibra de carbono real es un bonito detalle las pinzas cierran perfectamente a tal punto que puedes coger un papel. Tiene los accesorios que para mí son los más útiles es un desarmador que le puedes cambiar las puntas phillips y plano una navaja con muy buen filo y buen acero. las pinzas tienen muy buen agarre y no se doblan al aplicar fuerza. Me gustó mucho la multiherramienta la recomiendo al 100%

Ich schließe mich den "1 x"-Bewertungen an. Es scheint sich auch in meinem Fall um Betrug zu handeln.

nice tool, but risky, it fell from a short height and knife opened

Excelente herramienta y de muy buena calidad