Leatherman Wave+ vs Gerber Center-Drive

Leatherman Wave+ vs Gerber Center-Drive is a full-size multitool fight: 18 tools and outside-accessible blades on one side, a real center-axis screwdriver and a 12-piece bit set on the other. If you want one tool that opens a blade and pliers without unfolding a circus, buy the Wave+. If the job is screws all afternoon and you want a driver that lines up like a screwdriver, buy the Center-Drive. Most packs should own the Wave+. The Center-Drive is the truck-and-camp screwdriver that still has pliers.

Short version. Yesterday’s Mini 2 still wants a plan. This page is the pliers you press when a zipper slider walks off. EDC knives are a different pocket. An ESEE 3 is a fixed blade. Check live prices. A keychain tweezer is not a Wave. A Wave is not a splitting axe.

This is a comparison of two USA-made full-size tools you can still buy. It is not a 12-function dump and it is not a credit-card tool. Wave+ is Leatherman’s current Wave: replaceable wire cutters, outside blades, spring scissors, 25-year story, about 8.5 ounces, 4 inches closed. Center-Drive is Gerber’s current driver-first tool: 3.2-inch center-axis magnetic bit driver, 3.25-inch outboard blade, one-thumb pliers, a 12-piece bit set and a sheath in the box we named. Confirm Wave Plus, not a leftover Wave without the plus. Confirm Center-Drive, not Center-Drive Plus unless you wanted the Plus.

Confirm Wave Plus / 832533 or 832524-class, and Center-Drive / 30-001194-class. A leftover Wave without Plus is the older cutter. A Center-Drive Plus is a different Gerber. Stainless Wave+ is the card we named. Black exists.

Who should buy the Wave+, and who should buy the Center-Drive?

Buy the Wave+ if you want one tool in a pack that opens a blade and pliers with one hand and you already trust Leatherman’s warranty. Buy the Center-Drive if the week is screws and you want a driver that does not feel like a folded apology. Buy neither if the job is a baton and a ferro. That is a fixed blade and a fire kit. A 72-hour kit still wants pliers you have opened at home.

A survival kit is the pouch. This is the tool inside it. EDC is the other pocket. Two blades on a belt is a choice. One honest tool you will carry is a better choice than three you left in a drawer.

What the Wave+ is actually for

Wave+ is Leatherman’s current Wave: needlenose and regular pliers, replaceable wire and hard-wire cutters, a stripper, 420HC plain and serrated blades you can open from the outside, a saw, spring scissors, a ruler, can and bottle openers, files, large and small bit drivers, a medium screwdriver. Closed about 4 inches. About 8.5 ounces. All-locking blades. Portland. 25-year warranty is Leatherman’s sentence. Replaceable cutters are why the Plus exists.

The LEATHERMAN Wave Plus we named is the live stainless Wave+ with a sheath. Confirm Wave Plus. Check live prices. Black with a nylon sheath is the other common box. A leftover Wave without Plus still cuts. The Plus is the cutter you can replace when you have eaten a fence.

Do: blades outside, pliers when you need them, cutters for wire — not for a nail you should have punched. Don’t: a pry that belongs on a bar. An axe is the split. A Wave is the zipper and the stove screw. Camp tools is the longer list.

What the Center-Drive is actually for

Center-Drive is Gerber’s driver-first full-size tool: a 3.2-inch magnetic bit driver that opens on the center axis so you can actually put torque on a screw, a 3.25-inch 420HC outboard blade, one-thumb spring pliers on an X-channel rail, a pry, an awl, a bottle opener, wire cutters, a 12-piece bit set, a sheath. Closed about 4.7 inches. Made in Portland. The point is the driver. If you do not drive screws, the Wave is the lighter story.

The Gerber Center-Drive with bit set and sheath is the live 30-001194-class we named. Confirm Center-Drive — not Plus unless you wanted the Plus. Check live prices. Bits in the box is why this page exists. A driver without bits is a handle.

Car trouble still wants a real driver. The Center-Drive is the one we would put in a glovebox next to a headlamp. A flashlight is the other hand. This is the screw.

Outside blades are the Wave. Outboard length is the Gerber.

Wave+ lets you open the plain and serrated blades with the tool still closed. That is the pocket story. Center-Drive’s outboard blade is longer and still one-hand. Both lock. A tool you have not locked at home is a tool you will learn on a thumb. Practice the lock. Practice the close. A spring you have not felt in a kitchen is a surprise on a ridge.

Serrated is packaging and rope. Plain is food and a clean cut. Two blades is why people finish on a Wave. If you already carry an ESEE, you may not need a second plain edge. Then the Center-Drive’s driver is the honest extra.

A tool is still a knife where a knife is a problem

Blade length, locks, and where you stand change the rule. A Wave in a courthouse is a conversation. A Center-Drive in a checked bag is a different conversation. Read the building. Read the carrier. A tactical pen is a different pocket if the job is a building that hates blades. The tool stays home when the building says so.

EDC still wants a clip you will actually use. A 8.5-ounce Wave in a running short is a joke. A Wave on a belt sheath is a camp. Pick the carry. Then the tool.

Bits are the Center-Drive’s box. The Wave’s driver is a smaller story.

Center-Drive includes a 12-piece set. Use it. Label the holder. A bit you dump in a pack is a bit you will not find. Wave+ takes Leatherman bits if you buy them. The stock Wave driver is fine for a stove screw and a glasses-kit screw. It is not a deck-screw afternoon. That is the fork. Do not buy a Wave and then be angry it is not a drill.

ATV rigging still wants a real driver. The Center-Drive is the one we would clip to a UTV bag. A stuck vehicle is a rope. A multitool is the pin you dropped.

What this fight is not

It is not a fixed blade. It is not an axe. It is not a tomahawk. It is not a skinner. It is two full-size multitools, plus a kids’ knife when the user is a kid. Confirm Plus. Confirm Center-Drive. A 12-function dump titled as a Wave is a dump.

A kit still wants a light and a way to make water. Sawyer versus LifeStraw is the water. A pliers does not filter a creek.

Oil the joint. Do not dishwasher a tool you liked.

Rinse salt. Dry. A drop of oil on the pivot. Replace Wave cutters when they are round. Gerber’s bits wear. That is a bit, not a new tool. A dishwasher is a rust story. A wet sheath is a rust story. Hang it. Inspect the lock before a trip, not at the lot.

A tool you have never opened at a table is a tool you will fumble with gloves on. Open every implement once. Close every lock once. Then the pack. The 72-hour kit still wants a tool you have touched.

A sheath on a belt is a camp. A Wave in a running short is a joke.

Wave+ boxes include a nylon or leather-class sheath depending on the SKU. Use it. A 8.5-ounce tool in a hipbelt pocket will chew the fabric and then fall out on a log. Center-Drive’s sheath holds the tool and the bit holder. Keep the bits in the holder. A loose bit in a pack is a bit you will find with a sock. Clip the sheath where a seatbelt will not eject it. A glovebox is a home if the other Saturday is already a truck. Camp tools still want one honest tool you will actually carry.

Two tools on a belt is a choice. If you already carry an ESEE 3, the Wave’s second plain edge is optional. Then the Center-Drive’s driver is the extra that earns the ounces. If you carry neither, the Wave+ is the one tool we would put in a 72-hour pouch. That kit still wants a light and a way to make water. Pliers do not filter a creek. Sawyer versus LifeStraw is the water page.

Replaceable cutters are why the Plus exists

Wave+ cutters are a part you can swap when you have eaten fence or a coat hanger. That is the Plus. A leftover Wave without Plus still cuts until the edge is round, and then you own a plier. Order the cutter kit from Leatherman when the cut gets sloppy. Do not grind the old pair into a spark. Gerber’s cutters live on the plier. They are not the same service story. If you eat wire every week, the Wave+ is the tool. If you drive screws every week, the Center-Drive is the tool. That is the whole fork.

Scissors on the Wave are the packaging and the blister you will not wait to get home to pop. Spring scissors are why people stay in Leatherman after they have owned a dump 12-function. Center-Drive does not try to be scissors. It tries to be a screwdriver. Believe the box. A survival kit still wants a tool you have opened at a table, not a tool you learned on a thumb in the rain.

Portland is the stamp. A warranty is a serial you kept.

Both of these are USA-made full-size tools. Leatherman’s 25-year sentence is the reason a lot of packs stop shopping after a Wave. Gerber’s warranty is real and still wants a receipt or a serial you photographed. Register the tool. A rusted joint you ran through a dishwasher is not a warranty. A broken spring after honest work is a conversation. Rinse salt. Dry. Oil the pivot. Then the sheath. Inspect the lock before a trip.

A first-open at the trailhead is how people meet a tool they do not understand. Open every implement once at a kitchen table. Close every lock once. Then pack it. The Mini 2 is the other Saturday if the job is a message, not a screw. This page is the pliers.

So which multitool should you buy?

Buy the Leatherman Wave+ if you want one pack tool with outside blades and replaceable cutters. Buy the Gerber Center-Drive if the week is screws and you want a real driver and a bit set in the box. Our default for a hiking pack is the Wave+. Our default for a truck and a camp box is the Center-Drive. Lock the blade. Carry the sheath. Check live prices. A keychain tweezer is a different pocket.

The Mini 2 still wants a plan. A light still wants batteries you dated. A tool in a junk drawer is a receipt. A tool on a belt at a stuck zipper is a trip.

Also in the magazine

Keep going with the ESEE 3, EDC knives, a survival kit, and a 72-hour kit. Check live prices.