When I was getting married some American friends asked me what I would like as a gift, I said a genuine Leatherman please which I happily received. (I was I the military but had to give my issue Leatherman PST back when I left.) I am now a professional firefighter and always wear my Leatherman on my belt (even wear one when off duty). I always find the tool invaluable, whether it be cutting seatbelts at car crashes, installing smoke alarms or even opening Christmas presents (we all know how hard some of those can be to get inside). Anyway I work at the central fire station and in September we had a 7.1magnatude earthquake rock the city, no one was killed but there was widespread damage, my Leatherman came in handy for opening lift doors, cutting ropes and many other tasks. Then in February we had another big quake that did a lot more damage, there were multiple fatalities (182) and many many injured, my crew were the first responders at the PGC building (a 5 story office block that collapsed) and initially got to work with only the tools we could carry (ladders, first aid, sledge hammers, axes and of course my trusty Leatherman), we lost 18 people on that site alone and many more across town that day, however we also assisted in rescuing a lot more. During that day and night I used my Leatherman for lots of different tasks including snipping wires from previously suspended light fittings to reach trapped people, cutting clothing to access wounds and even removing a ring from a young lady who had lost most of her fingers. In the following days, weeks and months since that earthquake (we have had over 7000 aftershocks) I have always kept a Leatherman by my side. My friends and family always ask "have you got your MacGyver knife handy ?" (Which is what they call it) if there is a box to open, a screw to tighten or any other suitable task. Thank you Tim Leatherman for making such a fine tool and a real Lifesaver

- Greg B.

Canterbury NZ