Leatherman Wave+ vs Free P4

Leatherman spent decades building multitools you opened with two hands and a prying fingernail. The Wave+ is the polished endpoint of that classic approach and the best-selling full-size multitool in the world. The Free line threw the approach out: every tool opens one-handed from the outside and closes on internal magnets. The Free P4 is the large, pliers-first flagship of that new platform, with the Free P2 as its slightly smaller and more affordable sibling. Same weight class, same warranty, two very different ways of getting a tool into your hand.

The architecture split is the whole decision

On the Wave+, tools are held closed by friction and springs, and to open an inner implement you pry at a nail nick, which your thumbnail pays for. Its two main blades open one-handed from the outside, but the screwdrivers, saw, and file need you to open the handle and fold them out with two hands. The Free platform replaces friction with magnets: every implement is held shut by a magnet in the handle, so it swings open with a controlled motion, snaps closed audibly, and locks once deployed. That single change is what lets every tool on a Free open one-handed, not just the blades.

If you mostly reach for the main blade, the Wave+ already opens it one-handed and the difference barely shows. If you routinely work one-handed while your other hand holds the workpiece, up a ladder, under a sink, in a crawlspace, the Free's every-tool-one-hand action is a real workflow upgrade rather than a party trick.

Deploy feel and long-term action

There is a tactile difference worth naming. The Wave+ opens with the firm, mechanical resistance of a detent, a reassuring snap that has not changed in decades and rarely loosens. The Free platform trades that for magnets, so tools swing out light and snap home with an audible click, which most owners find genuinely satisfying and faster to work with, but it is a different feel: less spring tension, more controlled float. Over the long haul the Wave+'s friction-and-spring design is about as simple and durable as a multitool gets, with fewer parts to ever service. The Free's magnets and independent locks add complexity, though in practice the platform has proven reliable, and the locks are the payoff, since every tool stays put under load instead of folding on your fingers. Neither is fragile: the Wave+ is the more mechanically conservative choice, and the Free is the more engineered-feeling one.

Toolset and blade steel

Both are full-size complements that handle assembly, repairs, cordage, food prep, and package duty without reaching for a toolbox. The Wave+ carries 18 tools including plain and serrated blades; the Free P4 carries 21 and the P2 carries 19, with the extra count going to more drivers and dedicated implements. All of them run 420HC blade steel, the same sensible choice across Leatherman's line: not a supersteel, but tough, corrosion-resistant, and easy to bring back to a working edge with a basic sharpener. For a hard-use tool that opens boxes, trims cordage, and preps food, that is the right trade, a blade you touch up rather than baby. In daily terms both cover the same jobs: the pliers handle stubborn fasteners and hot cookware, the drivers deal with battery doors and furniture assembly, the scissors and package opener earn their keep more often than the blade for most people, and the file and saw sit in reserve for when you genuinely need them. If you want a premium blade that holds its edge far longer, that is the Arc's job, which we get to below.

Weight and carry

Here is the part the marketing skips: the Free does not save you weight. The Wave+ is about 8.5 ounces and the Free P4 and P2 are about 8.6, essentially identical. This is belt-sheath or pouch weight, not forget-it-is-there pocket weight, for any of them. What the Free buys with those same ounces is the one-hand-everything action, not a lighter carry. If you want to shed weight, that means dropping to a smaller tool, not switching platforms. Our guide on how to carry a multitool walks through belt, pocket, and pouch trade-offs for a tool this size, and either one anchors a hands-on loadout well.

Price and where each sits in the lineup

The Wave+ is the value play at around $110 and remains the category default for good reason: proven design, full toolset, one-hand blades, and the reassurance of a tool that has been refined for decades. The Free P2 runs around $140 and the larger P4 around $150, and what that premium buys is the magnetic one-hand architecture across every tool. Above both sits the Arc at around $230, which is the Free platform upgraded with a CPM MagnaCut blade and a removable bit driver, in effect a premium Free P4 for people who want the one-hand action and a blade that holds its edge. Our Leatherman vs Gerber comparison covers how this whole lineup stacks up against the other big name.

Verdict: classic value or one-hand workflow

Buy the Wave+ if you mostly deploy the main blade, want the proven full-size default, and would rather save the money, since it gives you the same weight and most of the everyday utility for less. Check the Leatherman Wave+ price on Amazon. Step up to the Free line if you genuinely work one-handed and want every tool, not just the blades, to deploy fast and lock. The Free P2 review covers the affordable full-size Free in detail.

If the one-hand action is what you are after and you want a blade that outlasts 420HC by a wide margin, the Arc is the buyable top of the Free platform and the upgrade worth stretching for. Check the Leatherman Arc price on Amazon. And if 8.5 ounces is simply 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. See the full field on our best EDC multitools hub.