View Full Version : Leatherman Micra vs. Juice vs. neither
Bootstrap
11-01-2007, 13:01
OK, I'm still struggling to think like a lightweight backpacker. I acknowledge my addiction to too much heavy stuff, but I'm not used to thinking like some of y'all. and when I try to, I feel like I'm being just a little obsessive-compulsive. For instance ...
I already have a Leatherman Juice. 5.5 ounces.
I mostly take and use my Gerber knife and don't worry about the Leatherman, but sometimes the pliers would be nice for fixing gear, and I worry about having tools Just In Case. On the other hand, I haven't really used anything but the knife in the last 12 weekend trips.
A Micra is 2.75 ounces, $20.00 out of my wallet, and One More Thing in my gear closet.
Should I just be more relaxed about not bringing the Leatherman at all and be happy with my lightweight knife? Or get the lighter Micra? Or just bring the Leatherman and not worry about the < 3 ounce difference in weight?
Jonathan
take-a-knee
11-01-2007, 13:54
I like the micra because of the scissors (Does the juice have scissors?), I can trim my nails with them and cut and trim stuff for blisters. If they make a juice with scissors I may by one, the pliers would be nice. The larger leathermans are really too heavy for my tastes.
Bootstrap
11-01-2007, 14:24
My Juice does have scissors, the old Swiss-Army style scissors.
Jonathan
Appalachian Tater
11-01-2007, 18:12
Looks like the Juice has stuff you don't need. Do you really need anything besides a cutting blade, scissors, nail clippers, nail file, and tweezers?
Bootstrap
11-01-2007, 18:52
I keep thinking I'll need the pliers, but no.
What I actually carry with me is: (1) a very lightweight Gerber knife, (2) nail clippers, and (3) tweezers. I don't carry scissors. I don't usually carry a can opener either, but when I do, it's one of those tiny little military folding style ones.
I have several Swiss army knives. I don't take them either.
Jonathan
I've got the "Squirt" with scissors. I like it.
My reason for choosing this one; I got a good deal on it where I work and it was the only small Leatherman available.
Scissors, tweezers, blade are great.
Nail file, 2 1/2 inch measure, screw driver tips, bottle opener....don't think I'll ever have a need for them.
....maybe the nail file.
It's very small and light. It did rust a little the first rainy hike it went on. That was a surprise.
Dont think of the delta of 3 Oz as a number. Think of it as a candy bar carried then eaten on the day before you head back into town.
bigcranky
11-01-2007, 20:20
What, exactly, would you use the pliers to ply? If you have gear that could break in such a way that pliers would fix, then bring them. I really can't think of anything that I carry that would need pliers, but that's just me.
I carry the smallest SAK -- tiny knife, tiny scissors, nail file, tweezers.
Uncle Silly
11-01-2007, 23:15
I carry the Leatherman Squirt (pliers version). I need the wire cutters on the pliers for changing strings on the instrument (mandolin, banjo or guitar, whatever I'm carrying). It's not a necessity, but it's handy. I've not found any need to have scissors that a knife couldn't substitute for, but that's just me.
Wanderingson
11-02-2007, 00:41
I never leave home without my micra.
Very useful little tool. The scissors have come in handy multiple times and the file is great from final tratment for toe and finger nails.
Can't recall ever needing pliers. I have improvised a little bit by using stones to pound things.
I found that there are things in nature that can serve as improvised tools. I have even used a sharp rock to cut rope. Learned that trick from a bedouin in Jordan.
The longer I spend in the woods, the more tips and tricks I pick up to improvise from common household tools and items.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-02-2007, 21:12
I've recently switched to a Swiss Card Lite (http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39338339) (they come in other colors from knife vendors, fellows :D) Weighs only an ounce and seems to have everything the micra does except the bottle opener and phillips screwdriver
Sounds like you're not comfortable with less than what you've got, so stick with it.
On the other hand, if you've never used something over twelve trips, why worry?
On the other hand, you have five fingers.
I carry the Micra and it suits my needs. But if you already have a tool that works for you and the weight savings is only a couple of ounces keep what you have. If you buy a new piece of gear evertime you come across an ounce or two savings, hiking will become a very expensive hobby in short order.
Bootstrap
11-03-2007, 05:01
I carry the Micra and it suits my needs. But if you already have a tool that works for you and the weight savings is only a couple of ounces keep what you have. If you buy a new piece of gear evertime you come across an ounce or two savings, hiking will become a very expensive hobby in short order.
That's precisely what I'm fighting. I need to lose weight, but without spending tons of money or cluttering up my gear closet with 5 variations of every piece of equipment ...
Jonathan
On the cycling forums my husband frequents, people often ask about saving a few grams with this or that expensive piece of gear. (Backpacking is very cheap compared with cycling--those guys are major gear junkies!) One predictable response is: Unless you have pared every spare ounce off your own body weight, don't worry about a gram here and a gram there on your gear. You just can't justify spending the money.
For backpacking, I think it makes sense to work on your big items (no matter what your body weight is!)--sleeping system, cooking system, backpack, and clothing system. Figure out how little water you can get away with carrying for your body and the conditions you're hiking in. Get your food to a reasonable weight, so you're neither arriving home with loads of uneaten food, nor starving yourself.
Once you've got that down to a relatively comfortable weight, buy new minor items (like the new knife) when you either see one that is so cool you just have to have it, or when you're lost or destroyed your old one.
Bootstrap
11-03-2007, 07:22
For backpacking, I think it makes sense to work on your big items (no matter what your body weight is!)--sleeping system, cooking system, backpack, and clothing system.
And shelter, of course.
That makes sense, and I'm doing it right now. In the last month I've swapped out my sleeping pad, my backpack, and my cooking pot for lighter alternatives, and I've made an alcohol stove and am about to get a canister stove that's lighter than my Whisperlite. My clothing is pretty lightweight, but I can leave more of it behind, and probably should.
Figure out how little water you can get away with carrying for your body and the conditions you're hiking in. Get your food to a reasonable weight, so you're neither arriving home with loads of uneaten food, nor starving yourself.
Yes, I agree, these are the big picture items, and this is good advice. (This part I've gotten pretty good at, I think, though some people carry a lot less water.)
Once you've got that down to a relatively comfortable weight, buy new minor items (like the new knife) when you either see one that is so cool you just have to have it, or when you're lost or destroyed your old one.
Thanks - this is helpful. I'm not at that point yet ;->
Jonathan
Thanks for bringing this subject up. Old dogs can learn new tricks! :D I'm going to retire my Swiss Army knife after the Leatherman Micra arrives that I won on eBay last night - price for new one was $8.60 including shipping! ;)
I have a Micra and a couple of SAK knives (Victorinox, not Wenger - I don't like the Wenger can opener). I haven't been out on the Trail for much more than a week at a time, so I don't need to use the Micra's most useful feature, design-wise - the scissors, specifically for nail trimming. I trim my toenails a couple of days before a hike at home. I imagine if I ever found the time for a thruhike, I'd probably choose the Micra over my Swiss knives. Of my Swiss knives, I most often take the one with the locking blade, the Adventurer. I've had a pocket knife blade fold back on my fingers once while using it at dusk when I should have had my headlamp on.
T.
I've hiked for years with nothing but a toenail clipper and a jack knife with a 3 inch locking blade. I've never found a critical need for anything else, though once or twice tweezers would have been nice. I may stick a pair in my pack if I think about it.
A cockscrew is nice occasionally for use in town, when I weaken and buy a bottle of wine to pour into an empty soda bottle. I have a simple one that weighs about an ounce that I carry occasionally.
Weary
At 1.7 ounces, the Micra should knock at least 8 ounces off my pack weight (difference between it and my medium # of gadgets Swiss Army knife - guess-timated weight 10 ounces.)
earthbound
11-06-2007, 20:00
speaking of knives, does anyone know of a knife that has just the blade and sissors? I was thinking of replacing my 3oz Swiss Army with the Spyderco ladybug (<1oz and better blade), but its hard to think of not having the sissors. Since they are the only two things I use, it would be great if something had both. Thoughts?