Leatherman Sidekick, Wingman, and Rev: Which Entry-Level Leatherman Makes Sense Right Now

Introduction

Leatherman’s entry-level lineup has been around for more than 25 years, and it usually gets very little attention. That changed recently when one of these tools showed up in a warehouse store at a price that makes the whole category worth a second look. If you have ever wanted a genuine Leatherman with the company’s warranty behind it, without paying full retail, this is the window to pay attention to.

There are three tools in this conversation: the Sidekick, the Wingman, and the Rev. All three sit in what you might call the B-tier of Leatherman’s range: inexpensive, accessibly priced introductions to the brand’s 25-year warranty. But they are not equally good deals, and one of them is clearly the standout right now.

The Deal That Changes the Math

The Sidekick normally lists at $70, and the sheath it used to include is no longer part of the package, so buying one through normal channels means adding roughly $20 more for a sheath sold separately. At $50, with a sheath included, that is effectively a $40 swing compared with buying the tool and sheath separately. And that $50 is the base price, not a sale. In fact, as stock dwindles these tend to drop slightly rather than rise, though there is no guarantee they last long enough to hit that discount window.

This matters against the backdrop of recent lineup changes, where most accessories and pocket clips were stripped from nearly everything in the range. A tool that still ships with both a sheath and a clip, at a lower price than before, is a genuine outlier.

There is also variety beyond plain stainless: alongside the standard version, there are two Cerakoted colorations, and the packaging presentation is good enough that picking between them is genuinely difficult.

Check the Pliers First

One caution applies to any of these spring-loaded plier tools. Manufacturing defects in the spring-loaded pliers are a known issue. Sometimes the jaws do not come together completely, and if the gap is so wide that squeezing the handles still leaves them short of a full close, the pliers stop being useful.

The fix is simple: check the pliers right away. Squeeze the handles fully and confirm the jaws meet. A slight initial gap that closes under a firm squeeze is passable. A tool that never fully closes should be exchanged while the return window is easy. In a previous batch purchase of 20 units of a similar model with the same plier head, nine had to be returned for plier defects, so this is not a rare edge case. Keep checking it over time, too.

Leatherman Sidekick

The Sidekick is essentially an upgraded version of a previous warehouse-store model, with a saw added. Same general layout, same plier head, plus a tool the older option did not have. Of the entry-level tools in this comparison, it is comfortably the favorite.

The combination of a $50 price, an included sheath, and a pocket clip makes it a breath of fresh air in a lineup where those extras have mostly disappeared. The main downside is availability: based on how these warehouse-store exclusives have been handled before, it will likely be stocked for a period, discounted to clear, and then gone.

Leatherman Wingman

The Wingman is the obvious alternative most people will compare against, and it is hard to recommend. The core problem is the scissors, which have been weak for as long as they have existed. The cutting geometry is the issue: the angle of approach sits too far above the line from the pivot instead of running closer to parallel with it. That forces the material you are cutting out of the blades rather than through them, whether or not you apply lateral pressure.

In practice, the scissors struggle badly with basic materials, noticeably worse than small premium scissors, and you often have to stretch the material and saw at it to get any cut at all. If a scissor needs tension on the material to cut, it is not doing its job.

The much-praised package opener is also overrated. It is essentially the standard Leatherman can opener with a slightly different sharpening on the last fraction of an inch, and the can opener on other models handles the same task well even unsharpened. The Wingman trades a genuinely useful serrated blade for that feature, which is a poor exchange.

Leatherman Rev

The Rev sits below the Sidekick in this comparison. It lacks the one-handed opening blade, which is a real annoyance in daily use, and its pliers are not spring-loaded. It is a capable tool with a decent pair of pliers, but it is not really part of the same value conversation at the moment, and there is little reason to choose it over the Sidekick while that deal exists.

Buying Advice

If you can find the Sidekick at this price, buy it. It is the best of the three by a clear margin, it includes the sheath and clip that the rest of the lineup has lost, and the effective discount versus buying direct is substantial. Inspect the pliers immediately after purchase and exchange any unit whose jaws will not close fully under a squeeze.

Skip the Wingman unless you specifically want its tool selection and can accept weak scissors. The Rev is a reasonable fallback if the Sidekick is unavailable, but the missing one-handed blade and non-spring-loaded pliers make it a step behind.

One last note on availability: this looks like a limited run rather than a permanent change, following the same pattern as previous warehouse-store versions that were stocked, discounted, and then discontinued. If you want one, do not wait for a deeper discount that may never arrive.

Conclusion

The entry-level Leatherman market rarely offers a genuinely good deal, but this one does. The Sidekick with an included sheath at $50 undercuts its own normal retail by a meaningful margin while keeping the clip and sheath the rest of the lineup dropped. The Wingman’s long-standing scissor problem and the Rev’s missing conveniences leave both a step behind. Check the pliers on arrival, and if the deal is still in stock, it is an easy recommendation.