About the Leatherman MUT - Off Duty, Technology - Navy Times

About the Leatherman MUT

Carrying

The MUT’s sheath is soft-sided, PALS-compatible and Velcro-fastened with slots for the included ½-inch and 3/8-inch combo wrench and the optional bit holder.

It has a uniquely shaped, removable pocket clip that will snap onto PALS webbing or a gun belt securely thanks to its shape and titanium construction.

The MUT itself weighs 10-7/8 ounces; with the sheath and wrench, it weighs 14æ ounces.

Jaws

The MUT’s jaws are made from 420 stainless steel, feature a second bolt rounding profile, and are a little narrower and open a bit wider than those on the MTs2. They have replaceable 154CM wire-cutting blades with a wire stripper cutout. The sides of the jaws are threaded to accept a cleaning rod when open or closed. Below the jaws is a small crimper.

The 420 stainless should resist corrosion well, but our prototype developed a lot of surface rust over a month in Afghanistan. Leatherman says correcting this issue was the reason the MUT was a few weeks late to market.

Tools

The MUT’s tool selection is wide enough to get a gun going, fix the A/C on an MRAP, build a fighting position or cut the clothes off a wounded patient.

There’s a removable pin punch threaded for use with Otis cleaning tips, brass carbon scraper, locking 3-inch half-serrated knife, locking saw, six onboard drive tips, a hammer, a shroud cutter and a bolt override tool for remedial action.

All the MUT’s tools but the wrench are stored onboard. Like the castle wrench on the MTs2, the bolt override is a marquee tool on the MUT.

You’re stuck using only Leatherman’s rectangular driver bits, but the included bits will handle 80 percent of the uses you’ll encounter. A $15 accessory kit will add every bit you’ll ever need, and it fits right in the sheath.

Handling

The MUT’s edges are rounded and comfortable to grip. Cutouts in the handle provide traction.

All the tools can be accessed while the MUT is closed, which cuts down the time from pocket access to tool use.

Leatherman made the driver bits long so they would reach past rails and handguards to get at obscured screws without having to pull a bunch of parts off the weapon.

Performance

The MUT prototype was used for six weeks by a group of Marines, soldiers and Navy corpsmen in Afghanistan. It was used to maintain M4s, M16s, M2s, M240s and M249s. Everyone loved the shape of the brass carbon scraper. One of the first guys to use the tool was a chief corpsman who used the cutter to expose a wounded Marine’s leg after an IED strike.

Soldiers commented that the tool kept the features they used most on their Gerbers while adding useful weapon-maintenance tools.

The MUT has some serious field utility built in. It’s highly polished and useful and can adapt to nearly any task with the proper accessory bits. It costs $120-130 at Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores.