Leatherman Raptor

DesertMedic66 said:
Why should no one ever use the glass breaker?
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Not necessarily "never" but so rarely that you might as well just smash it with whatever if the situation calls (the nose of those shears is potent enough to smash a window) Heavy rescue is usually available, glass going everywhere can create further injuries, the only time you should be using them is in truly dire emergency extrication situations, because any MOI bad enough to make a door unable to be opened is an MOI bad enough to warrant a c collar and more thoughtful extraction. It is fun to hit a glass bottle with though. I get my hands dirty with heavy rescue on occasion. Eastside fire likes to let us get our hands dirty
 
Honeybadger said:
Not necessarily "never" but so rarely that you might as well just smash it with whatever if the situation calls (the nose of those shears is potent enough to smash a window) Heavy rescue is usually available, glass going everywhere can create further injuries, the only time you should be using them is in truly dire emergency extrication situations, because any MOI bad enough to make a door unable to be opened is an MOI bad enough to warrant a c collar and more thoughtful extraction. It is fun to hit a glass bottle with though. I get my hands dirty with heavy rescue on occasion. Eastside fire likes to let us get our hands dirty
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Very minor damage can prevent a door from being opened....

Have you ever broken a window with a glass breaker vs "some other object that you find"? With a very light tap in the correct spot on the window it will break (without glass flying everywhere).
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Very minor damage can prevent a door from being opened....

Have you ever broken a window with a glass breaker vs "some other object that you find"? With a very light tap in the correct spot on the window it will break (without glass flying everywhere).
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Yes I've broken a whole hell of a lot of auto glass.

Very minor damage usually does not result in doors failing to open (deformation of the passenger cell is one of the key restrictions there. Most of the time, even in severe accidents, Doors will open. It's a pretty darn important feature to automakers. Hasnt been an issue since the ford pinto.) And even if it's minor damages, why would you break windows if the occupant can self extricate through a non damaged door? Glass doesnt go flying, but it does drop down all over the door panel and cause places for someone to easily get cut. Every time I've punched a window, we had someone holding in a towel from the back seat or opposite side in order to keep the glass contained, and even then, it was so we could finish cutting the entire door off, and I never use a hand tool like my raptor. The only time I see my raptor's punch being useful is a severe moi with a dangerous scene or a car in a lake.
 
Honeybadger said:
Yes I've broken a whole hell of a lot of auto glass.

Very minor damage usually does not result in doors failing to open (deformation of the passenger cell is one of the key restrictions there. Most of the time, even in severe accidents, Doors will open. It's a pretty darn important feature to automakers. Hasnt been an issue since the ford pinto.) And even if it's minor damages, why would you break windows if the occupant can self extricate through a non damaged door? Glass doesnt go flying, but it does drop down all over the door panel and cause places for someone to easily get cut. Every time I've punched a window, we had someone holding in a towel from the back seat or opposite side in order to keep the glass contained, and even then, it was so we could finish cutting the entire door off, and I never use a hand tool like my raptor. The only time I see my raptor's punch being useful is a severe moi with a dangerous scene or a car in a lake.
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Damage to either the hinge side of the door or the latch side of the door can easily cause the door to not open. Minor, moderate, and severe damage can all cause this to happen.

I'm not saying that I would break glass for a minor TC. I was simply stating that doors may not be able to be opened regardless of the MOI (let's ignore the fact that MOI is a poor indicator of injuries or how critical the patient is).

The major reason we have to break windows out here is for pedis who get locked inside the car. PD, fire, and EMS do not carry lock out kits here, so our only option is to break a window. It's fun to get on scene and see PD swinging their stick of justice to break open a window and failing to do so and then just walk up and break it with a simple tap.
 
Though I severely disagree that moi is not a good indicator for index of suspicion of relative injury (a and b pillar damage, distortion or intrusion of the passenger cell, pedal shifting, airbag deployment or lack thereof, starring windshields and head prints on side windows are all extremely reliable indicators of forces inflicted on the victim) and damaged hinges do, often, very easily wrench open with outside mechanical force like a pry bar, the peds notion is actually a good scenario I had not considered or encountered, so I'll absolutely give you that. And I'd absolutely do the same thing for an animal locked inside, so there you go, a valid excuse for the punch on a leatherman raptor. Still don't like the tool for what it costs, I felt like it could have had the ruler actually etched for quality purposes, mine is already wearing after six months or so. I also feel like it's got a lot of parts and crannies that are hard to clean when you get a particularly bloody patient.
 
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For those of you with the Raptor, do any of you have any problems with the shear operation smoothness? I got mine for Christmas, and the shears were always a bit stiff but I thought I would break it in and it would get better. Recently, I used the ring cutter function and the shear operation has gotten worse, with there being a distinctive jerk every time I open/close the shears past the little ring cutting notch. I tried loosening the operation with a torque/star driver and i had to loosen it to a unreasonable amount before the "catching" stopped. I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas or if this is normal before I decide to send it in for warranty.
 
MonkeyArrow said:
For those of you with the Raptor, do any of you have any problems with the shear operation smoothness? I got mine for Christmas, and the shears were always a bit stiff but I thought I would break it in and it would get better. Recently, I used the ring cutter function and the shear operation has gotten worse, with there being a distinctive jerk every time I open/close the shears past the little ring cutting notch. I tried loosening the operation with a torque/star driver and i had to loosen it to a unreasonable amount before the "catching" stopped. I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas or if this is normal before I decide to send it in for warranty.
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Is any of the metal bent on the ring cutter?
 
MonkeyArrow said:
For those of you with the Raptor, do any of you have any problems with the shear operation smoothness? I got mine for Christmas, and the shears were always a bit stiff but I thought I would break it in and it would get better. Recently, I used the ring cutter function and the shear operation has gotten worse, with there being a distinctive jerk every time I open/close the shears past the little ring cutting notch. I tried loosening the operation with a torque/star driver and i had to loosen it to a unreasonable amount before the "catching" stopped. I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas or if this is normal before I decide to send it in for warranty.
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Mine do that too. It's because they developed a bit of free play in the handle mechanism, due to wear on the spring-loaded locking triangles that should have been made from tougher metal (I think they're aluminum).
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Is any of the metal bent on the ring cutter?
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I can see a small chip but I cannot appreciate any bent metal or deformity that would be scratching into the bottom plate.
Underoath87 said:
Mine do that too. It's because they developed a bit of free play in the handle mechanism, due to wear on the spring-loaded locking triangles that should have been made from tougher metal (I think they're aluminum).
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I have tried tightening the torque screw on the blades to adjust how easy it is to open them and there is still that play/snag when it gets to the ring cutter notch. I guess that there has to be a dent in the ring cutter and I will need to send it into warranty.
 
Quick update: I sent my tool in for service under warranty and just got it back. Sent it on the 9th, received it back on the 18th going cross country from GA to OR. Extremely happy with Leatherman customer service. Filled out an online form taking 2 minutes, no proof of purchase/receipt required, sent it in, and they sent me a fixed/new tool. The tool came in a padded envelope with padding via UPS. Can't tell if the tool is new or repaired, but whatever it is, its even better than brand new out of the box. The Raptors I got sent back already had the tension adjusted to a perfect level (for me) whereas the new out of the box Raptors were a bit stiff. I know it is a little thing, but it shows their attention to detail.

I know its starting to sound like an ad, but if you're debating purchasing the Raptors, Leatherman will stand behind their product no question, no hassle if you manage to break it doing something that you probably shouldn't be (I think I messed up mine trying to cut through a pair of hemostats with the ring cutter :D).
 
Leatherman has an awesome warranty program. They've fixed or replaced my wave several times really efficiently.
 
I think theyre a pretty good piece of equipment I've used them for a few years with no problems!
 
Anyone here a Leatherman Pro User member?
The raptors have not been in stock for as long as I can think of. Anyone have a solution to this?
 
Ivan_13 said:
Anyone here a Leatherman Pro User member?
The raptors have not been in stock for as long as I can think of. Anyone have a solution to this?
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They're backordered. I'm looking at getting some myself, but they're backordered at a good chunk of their retailers as well.
 
I *almost* bought one earlier, but at $70 new, and the cheapest used for $55 that I could find was a bit pricey....even GovX wasn't showing $35, where do you get that discount applied?
 
Search leatherman pro deal ans apply from there
 
Yeah but the problem is leatherman is out of stock they have been for at least a few months so we can't get the discount
 
REI has a 25% off discount for All Leatherman Products now. They sell the black, and red (exclusive). The sale lasts until 5/30
 
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