Leatherman C305 Review

The C305 is a full-size 3-inch pocket knife that acts like a Swiss Army knife—if you’re into that sort of thing. It uses 420HC stainless steel for its blade, and the same glass-filled nylon handle; rubber is mixed with nylon in the C304/C305′s handle. The handle in itself is a looker and is built like a tank.

Like standard Leatherman nomenclature, the C304 has a straight edge blade, and the C305 has a combination straight/serrated edge blade.

Now for the Swiss knife-like functions (tools): a 1/4″ screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, and that bottle opener/carabiner clip—also seen in the E301. We know it’s not much, so the question left is: How are the screwdrivers? Typical, we could say. Have you tried “screwing” with a Swiss knife? It’s hard because you’re holding a non-round handle. But, sturdiness and strength in mind, the C305 can compete with the best of them.

The C304/C305 sells for about $40, so its really like buying $10 worth of screwdrivers—considering the E301 as a base price.

Leatherman E301 Review

The Leatherman E300/E301 series incorporates Leatherman’s Blade Launcher deployment mechanism. Its nylon handles are reinforced with glass. The knife comes with the strong and favored 420HC stainless steel blade.

The E300 is a straight edge, while the E301 (tackled in this review) is straight/serrated.

The E301 sells for about $30. Although, it is considered a “retired” knife, it is still widely available from sellers nationwide. The blade easily opens with a flick of a thumb. It easily hooks on your belt, and is made of tough stainless steel. The E301 looks very durable, no doubt about it, and is gorgeous as well—especially the handle. The unique selling point of this knife, however, is the foldaway bottle opener and carabiner clip. A feature you do not often see on pocket knives.

The clip looks very durable—it looks like it can carry the weight of an adult human being hanging from the handle, hooked to something sturdy on the clip. As a bottle opener, it takes a while getting used to—just because we were used to home-style flat bottle openers. Not really an issue though.

Below is the knife’s diagram with a summary of all its features.

leatherman e300/e301 diagram