Leatherman Vista Hunting Pruner Multitool

The Leatherman Vista Hunting Multitool brings to mind a few truths. Chief among them: 1) Leatherman makes good products, and 2) nothing is perfect.

This is definitely a useful tool, and will take up less space than the pruners I bought to carry in my hunting pack. The downside is that it's harder to handle larger (or tougher) limbs with the Vista, because when you squeeze the handles you're doing so on the narrow edges of the open side of the handles.

But, with a very good saw to handle larger trimming chores, one could use the pruners only on smaller stuff. The other tools make it extra-handy to have on your hip.

Pros

Cons

When handling the Vista, some things become clear. From the get-go, one can see that Leatherman continues to produce thoughtful, well-made products, and they have gotten even smarter and ensured that every blade that should be sharp, is sharp. This was not true of the Leatherman Juice I reviewed a while back.

Important things one must learn with this tool: keep the pruner pivot bolt tight, and don't pinch the palm of your hand between the handles when pruning with it. After that, you're home free with this little jewel.

In initial testing, the pruner would pinch some wood between the blades rather than cutting it. This was cured by tightening the pivot bolt, which requires an allen wrench and pliers (I used a Leatherman Juice) or a wrench.

The saw blade is fantastic. It's of the same design as the one on my Juice, and I have used that one for years on wood and bone and it shows no signs of wearing out. As for the bottle opener/choke tube wrench/flat screwdriver, what can I say? It's a simple tool that will work.

I dislike serrated knife blades, and I can't see a good reason for making the knife so short on this tool. That aside, it's very sharp and easy to open. Phillips screwdriver, check. Huge awl, check. Er, wait a sec here... let's talk a little more about this awl.

I've never seen anything like it. Sure, lots of Leatherman tools have awls, but this is one big honking awl, very sharp, and for some insane reason, features a hole, as if it will be used for sewing or stitching purposes. Well... I guess it's possible one could stitch up some crazy-big stuff using boot laces for thread. If you need to, the Vista's got you covered.

It also works for putting holes in trees for starting screw-in tree steps. It works for this, but would do that job better if it locked open.

All in all, it's a good-quality tool that hunters can use.

- Russ Chastain