I’ll start with a revelation, I don’t know what OHT stands for. I’m pretty sure the first two initials are for ‘One Hand’ or ‘One Handed’ but I don’t know what the T stands for. I’m going to guess it’s ‘Tool’ which would make sense. Leatherman aren’t saying.
The OHT isn’t Leatherman’s only one hand opening tool though because a lot of their multi-tools have tools that you can open with one hand. A lot of their models you can deploy the knife with one hand for example. What I think Leatherman are trying to draw your attention to with the OHT is that it’s the only multi-tool they make that has one hand operable pliers.
Leatherman is in competition with Gerber’s MP600 and SOG’s flagship Center Drive for one hand opening pliers superiority. So is it the best one-hand opening multi-tool on the market?
Carry-ability
An average full-size multi-size weighs in around the 8 oz (227 gms) mark. The OHT’s fighting weight is 9.9 oz (281 gms) which puts it in the slightly overweight category but at least not 12 oz porky like the Leatherman Surge.
A common closed length for a full-size multi-tool is about 4 inches (10 cms). The OHT is half an inch longer at 4.5 in (11.5 cms). So overall, the OHT is a bit heavier and longer than the average but not overly so.
There’s no pocket clip and Leatherman doesn’t sell one as an option for the OHT. It comes with a MOLLE sheath in two colors – black or brown.
Multi-Tool-Set
Let’s kick off with the main tools and the number one party trick of the OHT – the one hand opening pliers. These are needle nose and have a bolt/nut gripper section and hard wire cutters with replaceable blades. And they’re spring-loaded.
The next of the main tools are the two knife blades – one a straight edge and the other a serrated edge both measuring 2.4 inches (6 cms). The knives are outside accessible as is the saw and it’s the same length.
That’s it for the main tools. The secondary tools have another cutting blade in the strap cutter. There’s a cutout in it that’s an oxygen tank wrench. Flathead screws are well served with small, medium and large sizes covered by 3 sizes of flathead screwdrivers. You can also handle Phillips screws with a 3D Phillips head screwdriver.
Rounding off the secondary tools is a can opener, a bottle opener of course and a place to screw in your #8-32 cleaning rod/brush adaptor. A claimed total function count of 16.
Use-ability
Leatherman’s claim for the One Hand Tool is that it’s produced an industry first. They base this claim on the fact that you can open the pliers with one hand AND you can open the knife with one hand. Most multi-tools they say you can open one or the other, not both.
They reckon no other brand has been able to offer the functionality where you can open both the pliers and the knife one-handed. Well, it might have been true when Leatherman first released the OHT a few years ago but it’s not true today. Gerber’s flagship multi-tool, the Center Drive, can do the double trick – pliers and knife. And some would say the Center Drive does it better but we’ll test that later on.
The Pliers
The pliers extend out of the handles by pressing and sliding both locking tabs forward. They are initially a little ‘sticky’ and don’t deploy very smoothly, but they do loosen up over time. Even after a lot of use, I still wouldn’t describe them as extending and retracting perfectly smoothly unless you master a couple of better techniques I have discovered.
One of the ways of opening the pliers Leatherman don’t even tell you about and it’s the easiest and quickest way to open them. Holding the pliers in a particular way, you can flick your wrist and the pliers snap out and lock. The other way that Leatherman doesn’t talk about is to grab the locking tabs on both sides of the handles and use the weight of the handles to slide the pliers into position.
The plier head is quite narrow compared to many other multi-tool heads. That’s a design decision Leatherman have made to keep the overall width of the OHT down. I haven’t tried to break or bend the pliers and I haven’t seen a problem with them in use. There is one user who has been able to twist the pliers but he’s a tradesman and admits he’s very hard on his tools. No one else has complained.
The plier head has the usual bolt gripper section with serrations and the hard wire cutters have my strong preference for being able to replace the cutting blades. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be in the situation of wrecking my cutting blades and not being able to do anything about it.
The pliers are spring-loaded. A lot of multi-tool pliers aren’t and a lot of dedicated pliers aren’t spring-loaded either and I couldn’t care either way. But as the OHT is designed to be easy to use with one hand, I guess spring-loaded makes some sense here.
The last thing to note about the pliers is that they don’t completely shut. The tips of the needle nose are designed so that the flat section of the pliers don’t quite touch. It’s not a manufacturing fault, Leatherman has done it on purpose. I don’t know why that is but if you know, can you let me know in the comments below? I checked all my other multi-tools and they close perfectly flat.
The Other Tools
All the other tools are outside accessible on the OHT. Each handle has 2 cutouts on each side giving your thumb a total of 8 spots to deploy a tool. That means that if you juggle the OHT around in your right hand you can open 4 of the tools. Juggle it around in your left hand to get to the other 4. So if you’re in a MacGyver situation dangling from a long rope by your left hand, you’re going to need to switch your grip to the right hand if you want to deploy your serrated knife!
An icon of the tool that’s deployed by that slot is shown on the handles so you can see what tool you’re putting your thumb on. Which is a good thing because otherwise, they would all look pretty much the same.
One handle holds both knives – a straight edge with a not very generous 2.4 inch (6 cm) length. The other side of the handle has the serrated knife of the same length. The outside accessible tools design of the OHT means that Leatherman had to fit 2 tools end to end inside the handle, so they couldn’t afford the space to make the knife blades very long. I’ve found the length enough for most tasks but if you want a generously sized knife, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
The knife steel is 420HC which on my multi-steel knife steel scale gets a “Good” rating – an average rating. A couple of users have reported breaking off the tip of the knife but it’s hard to say whether this is the knife’s problem or user error but it’s something to think about. It’s why I like a good awl on a multi-tool because you can use it instead of endangering your knife tip doing something with it you probably shouldn’t. The OHT doesn’t have an awl.
The other handle has a saw, again, for the same reason as the knives, the saw isn’t very long. More interesting is the inclusion of what are typically First Responder/EMT tools. There are a combined strap cutter and oxygen tank wrench. If you are a First Responder, these will probably come in handy, unless you carry more dedicated tools with you instead.
Some user feedback says this tool has had little or no use and something like a good wood/metal file would be a better inclusion for the OHT. The strap cutter can be useful for a number of different more general purposes and it includes a medium sized flathead screwdriver as well. And to be fair to Leatherman, the O2 tank wrench is really just a thumb hole to deploy the cutter but I would personally still prefer a file.
That leaves 4 tools and three of them are screwdrivers. One of them is a 3D Phillips head. The ‘3D’ description is multi-tool manufacturer talk to say it’s a fully formed Phillips head like a dedicated Phillips screwdriver. It’s not a ‘flattened’ one like Leatherman and others can do on some of their other tools as a way of saving space. There are also small and large sized Flathead screwdrivers so you shouldn’t have any problems tackling a flathead screw.
The last tool is a combined can opener and the multi-tool compulsory bottle opener. Nothing special here except the first time I used the can opener, it scuffed the black oxide coating. I guess it just looks tougher now! Also shows that the black oxide finish can be scruffed or scratched.
What’s not to like?
It’s hard to know who Leatherman are pitching the OHT at. Their marketing only talks about how great the one hand opening tools are and I have to agree with them. They also mention that’s it’s a tough multi-tool but it’s not the toughest in their range. Have a look at their heavyweight Surge I reviewed and gave it the best Heavy Duty crown on the Recommended Multi-Tools page. Leatherman also has the SuperTool 300 – both are tougher tools than the OHT.
The tool that doesn’t quite seem to fit the toolset is the strap cutter and O2 tank wrench. Some users would have preferred another tool. Take your pick. But every multi-tool is a compromise and it’s impossible to build a multi-tool that will meet the needs of every user.
Some tools are deal breakers though so if your multi-tool must have these tools, you’ll have to look elsewhere:
- scissors
- bit driver
- file
- awl
All of the tools lock into position held by a liner lock. Since becoming a Multi-Tool MacGyver I’ve also become a fan of folding knives so I’m used to liner locks and it’s very natural for me to use them. I like that every tool releases the same way instead of other multi-tools that have release tabs in different places that work in different ways. Thumbs up for Leatherman for the liner locks.
The biggest complaint and the one thing just about every owner of the OHT talks about is the MOLLE sheath. The sheath just doesn’t last. Reports from as early as one month of everyday carry and the users complain about the bottom of the sheath ripping. Others are onto their second sheath. And don’t forget the sheath isn’t covered by Leatherman’s legendary warranty.
The problem seems to be the base of the sheath is just one layer of nylon while other parts of the sheath are double. Of course, all the weight of the OHT is resting on the base and as you move around, the OHT moves up and down in the sheath wearing through the nylon.
But I suspect there is another cause of the problem here. The OHT isn’t the heaviest multi-tool in the range and Leatherman’s other MOLLE sheaths, like the one for the MUT has a single layer nylon base, for example, don’t have the same problems. I think there is an issue with the sharpness of the plier end of the handles. Something sharp is causing the nylon to be worn quickly.
There is no pocket clip or harder wearing leather sheath that fits the OHT on Leatherman’s options list so this is could be a problem for you. One solution is an aftermarket sheath.
The One-Handed Battle
Leatherman believes they have the best one-hand opening multi-tool and Gerber aren’t shy about how good they think their Center Drive is. You can read my full review of the Center Drive but it’s interesting to just compare which of these two multi-tools has the best one-handed operation.
Pocket It or Pawn It
Leatherman has done a good job of making a multi-tool that you can open all 8 tools on the handles plus the main party trick – the pliers. There’s something satisfying about being able to get to all those tools with one hand. It’s a great design but with a few compromises.
If you want a Crocodile Dundee knife, you’re going to be disappointed by the knives on the OHT. They just aren’t very big but big enough for most things you’re going to want to do. The weight, feel and quality is up to the usual Leatherman standard and the OHT should last you a very long time. This is a great all-round everyday carry for boy scouts to professional tradespeople and everything in between. Just watch out for the wear and tear on the MOLLE sheath. You don’t want to lose it out the bottom of the sheath!
The Leatherman OHT is the best one hand opening multi-tool because it gives you one-handed access to the most tools of any multi-tool available on the market. So with some small reservations, MacGyver says POCKET IT!
Check the current price of the Leatherman OHT on Amazon
Multi-Tools – Don’t Leave Home Without One!