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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Good unit but know what it's really meant for Mar 17, 2009
By Hedley Lamarr
"Toto"
The PT-540 is well-built. For a data person like me it's very handy. There are some things I dislike about it but overall it's a great tool.
Getting to the tools in the handles requires you to open the tool up, swing open a metal door and then extend the tool you wish to you. That metal door is somehow annoying. I wish, like with Leatherman's Surge, that they just beefed up the handles and not bothered with the metal covers. I've popped off one of them a couple times already.
The pliers and in fact the whole opening of the tool is gear driven. That's nice. It feels very solid which is a big plus. It's easier to work one-handed than a Leatherman with articulates in several spots to accomplish the same thing. I haven't gotten the little jaw stop to work quite right yet. I just stick a couple fingers between the handles and let them guide how closed the tool goes, just like I was stripping a small wire with a pair linemens or side cutters.
I have the same gripe about how the case fits on your belt as I did with the Leatherman surge. It sticks up too high about the belt. I wish they'd come up with a way of lower it down so the top of the case, where the flap extends, is no more than an inch above the belt. Making it adjustable would have been a great addition too.
I haven't gotten the 1/4" adapter to slide onto the bit yet. It appears to be too tight. I don't really plan on using it for that anyway so no big loss. I also haven't figured out how to get the adapter out of the elastic pouch under the knife in the sheath without taking off the sheath and slapping the pouch across my hand. Still no big loss for what I want it for.
Finally, to explain the title of my review, understand that the PT-540 is a multi-tool first and a knife second. The knife blade is rather lightweight and hard to use. I like how my Leatherman Surge blade is stronger and tougher. I also wish Paladin had made the knife blade accessible without opening the tool at all. The blade, the most used tool, should be something you can open up and use one-handed without opening the tool, the metal cover, extending the blade, closing the metal cover, and closing the knife to form a solid hand (but an offset handle too). As a knife it's not very good. As a multi-tool it's very nice.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Best multitool out there Nov 13, 2008
By Jesse L. Bucholtz
I was a leatherman diehard for many years. I bought this one on a whim one day and I have never looked back. It is more for telephone/data installers, but I use it for everything. The compound pliers is the best feature. It never feels like it is going to slip. The punchdown tool of course isn't impact, but it still works well. The wire strippers are phenominal for any solid copper (Cat5/6 or phone)
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 The scissors suck... Jun 29, 2010
By InAfghanistan
This is a nice tool. Very beefy and solidly built, but the scissors absolutely suck. Won't even cut string without the material binding up in them. How the rest of the tool could be so good, and the scissors be so bad, I dunno. Maybe they'll get better at it. Maybe not. The fold out covers pop off at the slightest provocation, but they're almost unnecessary. It also would have been much handier with at least one gizmo that would accept different bits, like some of the Leatherman tools do.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A Fine Multi Tool for the IT/Telecom professional Mar 28, 2010
By SavedByTechnology
I purchased this tool from Amazon well over a year ago, and can say I am pleased with its performance. Mind you, it does not excel at any one task, but does a good job at many. And it is expensive, but in my mind is worth not having to tote along my tool bag for many jobs.
Pros:
WOW factor when customers/other contractors see this thing
Easy opening/closing
Multiple stripping gauges
66/110 punchdowns :)
Scissors
Limited Lifetime Warranty (Paladin replaced the first tool free after losing the stop lock lever because of a lost hex screw)
Cons:
Doesn't strip too well on the 66 Blade (fortunately the 110 blade strips better)
3/8 & 7/16 nut driver in handles are useless to me (suggestions on how to use them properly would be much appreciated)
1/4" adapter is a pain with the included bit (this has been documented by a number of users)
The knife's combination straight/serrated blade is difficult to sharpen
Summary: This tool is good at many things, but an expert at none. It does not replace a good tool bag, but comes in handy when arriving on site during initial survey and finding only a simple fix is needed. A better value is the PT-525, which is essentially the same tool minus the scissors and ROMEX gauge strippers near the pliers and cost $30 less.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Amazing! Can't live without it! Jan 04, 2010
By Jason S. Antman
I work in IT doing quite a bit of network maintenance, and also end up doing a fair bit of electrical work and installations. I bought this just because the PowerPlay tools are the ONLY multi tools with 110 and 66 punch-town tools, used for terminating network and telephone connections, and it's also made by SOG, whose ParaTool I loved. It's got about every tool I could need, for every job from network connections to 120/240V installations to cutting drywall (or anything else relatively lightweight).
This tool is utterly indispensable for me, and has surely saved my clients more than its value in time I would have spent running back to the truck for tools. Not a full replacement for a good set of tools, but wonderful for those quick fixes when you're "just taking a look".
My only three complaints:
- The wire stripper had a little tab to stop the pliers from closing down. It flipped out from one of the handles and essentially just stopped the handles from closing more than a set amount. When using the tool straight up, it would often fall open and prevent the pliers from closing. Luckily, it fell off at some point, because I thought it was a gimmick anyway, and was more of a pain than a help.
- One of the screws that holds the plier head to the handle on one side fell out after a few months of heavy use (this is probably when the stopper tab for the wire stripper got lost). Though SOG includes a nice manual with care and repair instructions, and a parts list, this part wasn't on the list. I e-mailed their customer service, and they send me THREE new ones by 2nd Day Air.
- The leather belt case lost most of its black finish in a few months of wear, but I just cleaned it up with some black shoe polish.
See all 18 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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