ARC / Leatherman
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The ARC is Leatherman's most resolved full-size multi-tool, built on the magnetic FREE platform and the first to carry a CPM-MagnaCut blade, a premium steel that holds an edge far longer and resists corrosion better than the 420HC most multi-tools use. Every one of its twenty tools is outside-accessible and fully one-hand operable, and locks in place, a real departure from tools you must open up before reaching a single implement. The headline addition is a bit driver, the feature owners of the earlier FREE tools most wanted, which gives the ARC genuine driver range without growing its footprint. At around 8.6 ounces it is a heavy daily carry, and the premium materials carry a premium price, but the result is a complete tool rather than a capable but compromised one.
Design intent
- Adding a swappable bit driver, the most-requested fix for the FREE series, gives the tool far more practical range without increasing its size.
- Magnetic retention holds each tool until deliberately deployed, and every feature is outside-accessible and locking, allowing confident one-handed use of any implement.
Trade-offs
- The driver takes Leatherman's flat proprietary bits; using standard quarter-inch hex bits needs a separate adapter, a problem the format partly creates.
- At about 8.6 ounces it is heavy for daily carry, and the premium steel and construction put it well above the broad market on price.
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- 2 Oct 2023
