Leatherman OHT Review: A One-Handed Multi-Tool Nearing the End of Its Run

Introduction

Some tools earn a spot in a collection because they are the best at what they do. Others earn it because they are unusual, and because the window to own one is closing. The Leatherman OHT, in the coyote tan colorway, falls firmly into the second category. It is a large one-handed multi-tool that has quietly been falling out of availability, with several colorways already out of stock on Leatherman’s own site. If you have been curious about it, the reasonable assumption is that it will not be around much longer.

What the OHT Sets Out to Do

OHT stands for one-handed operation, and that is the entire premise. The idea is that every implement folded into the handles can be accessed and deployed using just one hand, a design Leatherman built as its own take on the out-the-front concept. It also emerged as Leatherman’s entry in the market for military-issued multi-tools, going up against designs like the Gerber center drive, though that contract ultimately went elsewhere.

The headline feature is the plier head. It is spring-loaded, which is genuinely rare in this category, and it is the only Leatherman with spring-loaded pliers that also accepts replaceable wire cutters. The plier head can even be locked in place so it cannot be deployed accidentally, a small but thoughtful touch.

The Shortcoming: Small Implements in a Big Frame

Here is the core tension with the OHT: it is one of the largest multi-tools Leatherman has made, bigger than the Surge, yet it carries some of the smallest implements in the lineup. The knife blade in particular looks almost out of place against the size of the frame, and it is shorter than the blade on the MP600 and significantly shorter than the Gerber center drive’s.

The saw suffers from the same problem. A saw really needs to run the full length of the frame to work well, and the stubby version here never reaches its potential. The same logic applies to the main blade. Had Leatherman sacrificed one or two of the smaller tools, like the serrated blade or the can opener, to give the blade and saw full-length profiles, this would have been a much stronger tool with a far better justification for its bulk.

That said, the smaller implements are not all filler. The Phillips driver is genuinely good, there is a useful small flat head, and the tool count includes a serrated blade, a hook cutter, and a can opener. The clever v-shaped cutter and oxygen wrench on one of the tools also stand out as a unique combination you will not find elsewhere in the lineup.

Comfort and Carry

Despite its size, the OHT is decently comfortable to hold. The backs of some tools could use a touch of chamfering to smooth things out further, but for a tool this large the ergonomics hold up better than expected.

Carry is handled via the included sheath, and with a tool this size there is really no alternative. That need for a sheath, combined with the overall bulk, is part of why the OHT never developed broad appeal. It lacks the pocketable fun factor and compact footprint that made tools in the P2 line so popular, and that has clearly shown in demand, with remaining colorways slowly disappearing across retailers.

Buying Advice: Get One While You Still Can

At its long-standing price of around $90, the OHT is not expensive by multi-tool standards, but it is a niche purchase. If you want a ready-made everyday tool with a full-size blade and a well-balanced implement set, there are better-established options to consider first.

But if you want a large, capable modification platform with a unique spring-loaded plier head and replaceable cutters, the OHT is one of the most interesting canvases Leatherman has ever produced. There is ample room to rework the implement set, and converting it into a dedicated outdoorsman’s tool with a bigger blade and a proper full-length saw is a very plausible project. As a stock tool, it is close but not quite there. As a platform, it has real potential.

Conclusion

The Leatherman OHT is a fascinating oddity: oversized, underbladed, and built around a one-handed design that nothing else in the lineup attempts. Its spring-loaded, cutter-swappable pliers and comfortable grip give it lasting appeal for tinkerers, even if the small implements limit it out of the box. With stock dwindling and discontinuation seeming likely, anyone curious about owning one should act sooner rather than later. Once it follows other discontinued Leatherman designs off the website, it will only get harder to find.