If you have an adventurous Mom and are looking for a useful Mother’s day gift that you know she’ll use and love, then a Leatherman multi-tool could be what you’re looking for. We’re not into giving gifts that are going to sit on a shelf or in a box collecting dust. That’s not very useful for our gift-recipient and is a waste of space, money, and the resources that went into making the product. So, we’re always excited to share useful gift ideas that are going to stand the test of time, as well as serve a useful purpose in adventures as well as everyday life.
Being a multi-tool, the number of uses and applications for a Leatherman are numerous, so to provide some specific examples of when an adventurous Mom may find a good reason to use her Leatherman, we’ve put together this list of 5 practical reasons why a Leatherman makes a useful Mother’s Day Gift.
My Leatherman is the Leatherman Signal, which is specifically designed for outdoor activities, such as hiking, camping and backpacking, and is one of the smaller and lighter ‘full size’ Leatherman designs available. It comes in a range of colors, which is helpful when it is stashed in a backpack or you’re looking for it in the dark, as the colored options are easier to see than the plain black or metal styles, and you can customize the blades with text or graphics options, which is a great feature if you’re giving the multi-tool as a Mother’s Day gift (or a gift for a birthday or another special occasion).
For a full list of the tools featured on my Leatherman Signal, click this link to jump to the bottom of the page, and for more images of the Signal multi-tool itself, click here.
5 Reasons a Leatherman Makes a Super-Useful Mother’s Day Gift
1. Becoming a master of the campfire
No multi-tool is worth having with you on a hiking or camping trip unless it can help you build and start a campfire!
The Leatherman Signal comes with a striking flint that you can remove and strike with the back of the saw tool to create a fire-starting spark. The knife and saw tools are also perfect for cutting and shaving tinder and twigs needed to help the fire get started.
Tip: a few small cotton wool pads are also great to have with you to help with starting a fire. They take a spark and ignite easily!
2. Cutting cheese, fruit and bread on impromptu picnics and camping
If you have a Leatherman and a spork, then you’re most of the way there to a basic camp picnic! I use the knife on my Leatherman to cut fruit, bread and cheese. It also has a diamond-coated sharpener that you can use to sharpen the blade if it gets blunt over time.
For the everyday, a Leatherman is also useful if your mom is on a road trip and need to eat, then rather than having to consider pre-made sandwiches or unhealthy take-out, you have the option of picking up some basic supplies from a supermarket and having the tool you need to make your own snack.
3. Fixing gear and making cool stuff
The Leatherman Signal includes pliers, a knife, an awl, and screwdriver, so if a piece of gear tears or breaks, it can be used to channel your inner MacGyver and a bit of creativity to make repairs on-the-fly. It also helps to have some duct tape and paracord handy, which can easily be cut with the knife tool.
Examples of gear that may need fixing while out adventuring are: zippers, boot eyelets, tarpaulins, tents, camp cookware, backpack straps… the list goes on!
More exciting than fixing things is making things, and if your mom is always ‘doing stuff’ around the house and yard then this is a useful gift that she’s bound to use all the time. The uses are only limited by imagination. I recently used my Leatherman Signal to build our two house-cats a ‘catio’, which is essentially an enclosed outdoor area where they can chill outside safely and without escaping. The pliers and wire cutters, in particular, came in helpful when putting this together!
4. Wilderness manicures… or more importantly, first aid
The awl tool is great for getting dirt out from under my nails, and I don’t see any reason why the diamond sharpener can’t help with quickly filing down a snagged nail when you’re out on an adventure!
It is, of course, important to be prepared for an emergency that is more serious first aid than a broken nail! A Leatherman multi-tool can be handy for cutting tape for bandages, making splints for injured limbs, and pulling out large splinters and spines from gear and bodies (I’d use the pliers for this). Oh, and the Leatherman Signal includes a whistle (attached to the fire-steel tool), which could also come in handy for drawing attention in the case of an emergency somewhere wild.
5. Campsite preparation and innovation
How many times have you been camping and forgotten, or opted not to carry, a mallet for the tent pegs? Seriously, I always forget to bring a mallet camping – and our current ultra-lightweight tent will only stay up if it is robustly staked out – if a key peg comes loose then half the tent will fall down!
Fear not. If you’re with your adventurous Mom then she can use her Leatherman to hammer the tent pegs into the ground, as well as use the pliers to remove them, if needed. I keep mine clipped to my backpack so it’s easily accessible – you can either use the belt-clip or the carabiner attachment, depending on how and where it is going to be attached.
Similar to at-home DIY and projects, a Leatherman has so many uses for camping, hiking, and outdoor adventures. One of my favorite examples is how you can easily use it to convert a piece of wire or a paperclip into a fishing hook. Combine that with an internal thread from a stretch of paracord, and a branch that you can cut using the saw tool, and behold, you have a basic fishing setup.
So there you have it! Five reasons why a Leatherman is a very useful Mother’s day gift for adventurous moms.
About Leatherman – American designed and made
A bit about the company behind these iconic multi-tools. Leatherman is named after its founder, Tim Leatherman, who designed the first Leatherman tool, called the ‘pocket survival tool’, and launched it first in 1983. The brand was born, and still lives, in Portland, Oregon, where its products are manufactured.
Leatherman Signal – Useful tools included in this model
- Needlenose pliers
- Regular pliers
- Wire cutters – regular
- Wire cutters – hardwire
- Wire stripper
- Diamond-coated sharpener (also useful as a nail file)
- Straight/serrated hybrid blade
- Saw
- Awl (small knife for making holes with) with thread loop
- Bottle opener
- Can opener
- 1/4 box wrench
- 1/4 hex bit drive
- 3/16 box wrench
- Hammer
- Whistle
- Ferro Rod/fire steel (use back of the saw to strike)
- Screwdriver (both flat and cross-hair bits will fit and you can buy a separate bit set with different sizes)
- Carabiner
Leatherman Signal size and weight
- Blade length 2.73 inches
- Weight 7.5 oz
- Closed length 4.5 inches
Leatherman Signal Photos
