Leatherman Free P2 Review

Leatherman spent decades building multitools you opened with two hands and a prying fingernail. The Free line threw that out. Every tool on the Free P2 opens with one hand, from the outside of the closed frame, and each one snaps shut on internal magnets instead of a stiff detent. It is the most significant rethink of the pliers-based multitool in a generation, and the Free P2 is the full-size, pliers-first version of it. The question worth answering is whether that one-hand-everything convenience earns the weight and the roughly $140 asking price when the locking-classic Wave+ sits right next to it for less.

The magnetic architecture is the whole point

Older Leatherman tools, the Wave+ included, hold their tools closed with friction and springs. To open an inside tool you pried at a nail nick, and your thumbnail paid for it. The Free platform replaces that with magnets: every implement is held shut by a magnet in the handle, so it opens with a controlled swing and closes with an audible snap. In practice this does two things. It makes one-hand deployment possible for tools that used to demand two hands and good fingernails, and it makes the whole tool feel engineered rather than merely assembled. Fidget appeal aside, the magnets are the enabling technology for everything else the Free P2 does well.

One-hand everything

On the Wave+, the two main blades open one-handed from the outside, but most of the inside tools, the screwdrivers, saw, and file, require you to open the handle and fold them out with two hands. The Free P2 makes every tool outside-accessible and one-hand-openable, and each one locks independently once deployed, so you are not fighting a slip-joint while you work. For anyone who uses a multitool one-handed while the other hand holds the workpiece, up a ladder, under a sink, in a crawlspace, this is the difference that justifies the platform. It is a genuinely faster tool to work with, not just a faster tool to show off.

The toolset

The Free P2 carries 19 tools: spring-loaded needlenose and regular pliers with replaceable wire cutters, a 420HC plain blade, spring-action scissors, a package opener, an awl, a pry tool, bottle and can openers, a wire stripper, and a stack of flat and Phillips drivers. That is a full-size complement, enough to handle assembly, repairs, cordage, food, and package duty without reaching for a toolbox. The 420HC blade steel is the same sensible choice Leatherman makes across the line: not a supersteel, but tough, corrosion-resistant, and easy to bring back to a working edge with a basic sharpener. It is the right trade for a hard-use tool you touch up rather than baby.

Weight and carry

The Free P2 weighs about 244 grams, 8.6 ounces, which is full-size multitool territory and essentially identical to the Wave+. That is a belt-sheath or bag weight, not a forget-it-is-there pocket weight. Most people will carry it in the included sheath or a pouch rather than clipped in a pocket. If you are weighing where a tool this size actually rides, our guide on how to carry a multitool walks through belt, pocket, and pouch trade-offs. The honest read: the Free P2 does not save you weight over the Wave+. What it buys with those same 8.6 ounces is the one-hand-everything workflow.

Where the Free P2 sits in the Leatherman lineup

Three tools bracket this one. The Wave+ is the locking classic: same weight, fewer one-hand tools, a lower price, and the reassurance of a design proven for decades. The Arc is the Free P2's own platform upgraded with a CPM MagnaCut blade and a removable bit driver, in effect a premium Free P4. And the Skeletool strips the concept to the seven tools most people actually use at around five ounces. The Free P2 is the middle path: the full modern toolset and the magnetic one-hand action, without paying for MagnaCut. Our Leatherman Wave+ vs Free comparison puts the classic and the new platform head to head.

Who it's for, and who should skip it

Buy the Free P2 if you use a multitool one-handed for real work and want every tool, not just the blades, to deploy fast and lock. It is an excellent anchor for a hands-on loadout. Skip it if you rarely open anything but the main blade, in which case the cheaper Wave+ gives you the same weight and most of the utility, or if you want premium blade steel, in which case the Arc is the tool to stretch for.

Alternatives

If you want the same full-size capability for less and do not need every tool to open one-handed, the Wave+ is the value pick and still the category default; its blades open one-handed even if its inner tools do not. Check the Leatherman Wave+ price on Amazon. If 8.6 ounces is more than you want on you every day, the Skeletool CX distills the concept to seven tools at around five ounces. Check the Leatherman Skeletool CX price on Amazon. You can see how the full lineup compares on the best EDC multitools hub.

Verdict

The Leatherman Free P2 is the best expression of Leatherman's one-hand, magnetic platform at a sane price. It does not save weight over the Wave+, and it does not carry the Arc's premium steel, but it delivers the full-size toolset with an action that genuinely changes how you work one-handed. If that workflow matters to you and MagnaCut does not, this is the Free to buy. If you want this exact architecture with a premium blade that holds its edge far longer, the Arc is the upgrade worth the stretch. Check the Leatherman Arc price on Amazon.