All 3 products bear an obvious similarity to each other, and all make use of the same upgraded stronger elliptical plier head. (In company with the Leatherman Charge and Leatherman Wave).
The pliers on the Leatherman Fuse are identical in width to my old Leatherman PST, but the pivot area is the much wider and tougher. Using the Fuse on several odd jobs at home, I didn't feel that this extra width started to get in the way. With a bigger wire cutter area as well, I feel the latest plier head design is a vast improvement.
If you are more familiar with the first generation of Leatherman range, the first thing that is clearcut with regards to the Leatherman Fuse is its handles. Plastic grips with rounded edges have been molded in down the sides, making the pliers far more easy to grip than the old plain steel sides. A series of finger grooves has been added as well, which will prevent the pocket tool from sliding in wet and slippery hands.
Situated in one handle, the Leatherman Fuse features a pair of scissors, a Phillips screwdriver, plus a cap lifter/can opener/wire stripper combo blade. The scissors are pretty decent, but they are a step backwards in my opinion. For whatever reason, Leatherman Tool Group has made them smaller than the original Wave's scissors, with a noticeably shorter cutting stroke. I preferred the previous ones better.
Much improved however, is the Phillips screwdriver. Unlike those on less expensive imports, it has a good, well thought out appearance to it. It's also plenty long enough to target recessed screws situated in the battery compartment cover on my kid's latest toys.
The opposite handle has a clip point knife blade and two flat head screwdrivers, also a good length.
Speaking of long tools, this balde should be titled the Crocodile Dundee of multi tool blades, with significantly more reach than that of early multi tools in its sector. Now that's a knife!
But in comparison with its less expensive sibling the Kick, the one extra tool the Fuse benefits from is its scissors. In my opinion sucks. I think Leatherman should have left the pointless lanyard ring off the Fuse, and replace it with a decent diamond file. I regularly us a file, and if I had the choice, would not carry a multi tool without one.
One important point about the Fuse blades; they have safety locks. As it has the same rocker switch lock that Leatherman originally fitted to the Crunch, each tool locks securely into position with an audible click. I know, I made us of the original PST without locking blades for more than a decade. But it's like power steering on cars; as soon as it's an option, it doesn't make any sense to do without. Locking blades are totally necessary in my view.
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