Skip to content

ARC vs Wave Plus

2 tools, measured the same way from the same sources. 16 of 28 rows read the same on all of them; the ones that differ are what follows. A rust value is the better one in that row, grey is the worse, and a dash means we have not verified the field rather than that the tool lacks it.

Comparing
2 of 101
Leatherman ARC
Leatherman
ARC
244 g · 20 tools
Leatherman Wave Plus
Leatherman
241 g · 18 tools
Size & weight
Weight
244 g
241 g
Closed length
107.9 mm
101.6 mm
Width
33 mm
30.5 mm
Thickness
17.3 mm
17.8 mm
Tools & blade
Tool count
20
18
Blade steel
CPM MagnaCut stainless steel
420HC stainless steel
Blade length
70.1 mm
74.2 mm
Ownership
MSRP
$249.95
$129.95
Cost per tool
$12.50
$7.22
Manufacturer
Leatherman
Leatherman
Availability
In production
In production
Tools
Pliers
Needlenose pliers
Regular pliers
Wire cutters
Knife
Plain-edge knife
Serrated knife
Screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Bit driver
Bottle opener
Can opener
Scissors
Saw
File
Awl
Ruler
Verdict
Buy if it carries 2 more tools than the other; it works out at $12.50 per tool.
Buy if it saves 3 g over the other; it is the cheaper of the two at $129.95, and it works out at $7.22 per tool.
Verdicts are built from the measured fields only. They are conditional by design: which tool wins depends on what you are carrying it for.