Knives & Tools — Head-to-Head
Leatherman Wave+ vs Charge+ TTi: One of Them Was Just Discontinued
This choice used to be simple — same tool, nicer materials, more money. It is not that question anymore: Leatherman recalled some Charge units and has since dropped the line. What is left is the Wave+ at $129.95, current and supported, against remaining Charge+ TTi stock — buy the Charge only at or under the Wave’s price, and only if it passes the recall check below.
How we researched this comparison: We scored 2 products on evidence (30), cost of ownership (25), owner experience (25) and preparedness fit (20), using makers’ published specifications and patterns in verified owners’ reports. Prices on this page were last checked October 25, 2026. One of the two products here, the Charge+ TTi, has been discontinued — the page says so wherever it matters, and its score stands as a record of the tool itself. How We Rate.
Leatherman Charge+ TTi
Score out of 100
Leatherman Wave+
Score out of 100
Buying through the links above may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you — and a commission never changes a score. How that works.
The two tools, side by side
| Spec | Wave+ | Charge+ TTi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129.95 | — * |
| Tools | 18 | 19 |
| Weight | 8.5 oz | 8.89 oz |
| Closed length | 4 in | 4 in |
| Main blade | 2.9 in, 420HC | 2.9 in, CPM S30V |
| Handles | Stainless steel | Titanium scales |
| In the box | Tool only* | Bits, clip, sheath |
| Warranty | 25 years | 25 years |
Prices last checked: October 25, 2026 — the Wave+ price is Leatherman’s own store price, checked that morning. *The Charge+ TTi is discontinued, so it has no set price: remaining stock sells at whatever each seller asks, and we print no figure we cannot verify. Judge any Charge listing against the Wave+’s $129.95. Leatherman’s own listing for the Wave+ now reads “Sheath sold separately” — older stock and some retailer bundles still include the nylon sheath, so check the listing, not the habit. Both tools are made in the USA and carry the same 25-year warranty.
Leatherman Wave+ — 87/100 (8.7/10)
Who it’s for: anyone buying one full-size multitool to keep for a decade — in a bug-out bag, a truck console, or on a belt at work. It is Leatherman’s best-seller for a plain reason: the tool mix is the one people actually use, and every tool on it locks.
What owners praise: the outside-opening blades, saw, and file. You get a knife without unfolding the pliers, which sounds small until your other hand is holding the thing you’re cutting. On Leatherman’s own site the Wave+ holds 4.74 out of 5 across 2,699 reviews, and the praise clusters in the same places: the replaceable wire cutters, blades that arrive genuinely sharp, and warranty service owners describe as no-argument. The 420HC blade steel is the quiet virtue here — it dulls sooner than S30V and comes back on any stone in minutes, including the one in a field kit.
Where they complain: the handles. Squeeze the pliers hard and the handle edges can bite the palm; owners have reported pinched skin at the base of the index finger for as long as the Wave has existed. It weighs 8.5 oz, which is belt-or-bag weight, not forget-it’s-there pocket weight. And the current listing’s “sheath sold separately” line annoys buyers who remember when one came in the box — a pocket clip is an extra-cost add-on too.
Buy it if: you want the current, supported tool with the deepest pool of spare parts, bits, and sheaths — and a blade you can sharpen anywhere. Skip it if: you cut rope, webbing, and cardboard all day, every day; the Charge’s S30V edge, or the Wave Alpha’s MagnaCut, will save you real sharpening time.
Made in the USA. Stainless or black finish. Check the price on Amazon — $129.95 at Leatherman when we checked.
Leatherman Charge+ TTi — 82/100 (8.2/10)
Who it’s for: the buyer who was already leaning premium — and who moves fast, because this is a discontinued tool selling through remaining stock, not a line you can comparison-shop next spring.
What owners praise: two things, consistently. First, the S30V main blade: it holds a working edge noticeably longer than the Wave’s 420HC through rope, strapping, and cardboard, and owners who cut daily call it the whole reason to step up. Second, the titanium handle scales. They are sculpted and smooth where the Wave’s stainless handles are edged, and long-time owners rate the Charge the more comfortable tool in the hand — several forum reports of switching from a Wave to a Charge say the palm-pinch went away. The box contents help too: a seven-bit double-ended bit strip, a pocket clip, a lanyard ring, and a better sheath are included, where the Wave+ now sells them separately.
Where they complain: price, back when it was $199.95 — a $70 premium over the Wave bought materials, not new capability, and reviewers said so for years. S30V is also the harder blade to sharpen; on a basic stone it takes patience the 420HC never asks for. And now there are two new complaints no older review mentions: you have to check any unit against the recall (next section), and when the remaining stock is gone, it is gone.
Buy it if: you find one at or under the Wave+’s price, from a seller you trust, and the blade-tip check below comes back clean — at that money it is simply more tool. Skip it if: the only stock you can find is priced like a collector’s item, or you want the tool Leatherman will be supporting with new accessories five years from now. That tool is the Wave+ — or the Wave Alpha at $199.95, which is where the Charge’s old price point now lives.
Made in the USA. Titanium handle scales over stainless. Check the price on Amazon — the listing price is the seller’s, not Leatherman’s, so read it against the Wave+’s $129.95 before you pay.
Is the Charge+ TTi really discontinued — and was it recalled?
Yes on both counts, and this is the section most comparisons skip. Leatherman’s own recall page covers the Charge Plus and Charge+ TTi: units purchased between July 2024 and March 2025 were voluntarily recalled with the CPSC because the knife blade’s tip can sit visible when the tool is closed. The check takes ten seconds — close the tool, lay it flat with the logo facing you, and look at the blade from the side. Tip hidden, the tool is fine. Tip showing, Leatherman repairs or replaces the blade free, prepaid label included. Since the recall, the Charge has come off Leatherman’s site, and its old links redirect to the Wave Alpha. None of that makes a clean unit a bad tool — the 25-year warranty still stands behind it — but it does mean “remaining stock at a discount” is the honest frame, and it is why the Charge’s cost score above is figured on its old $199.95 tag, not on any one seller’s remaining-stock price.
Which blade holds an edge longer — S30V or 420HC?
The Charge+ TTi’s CPM S30V blade holds an edge longer — that is the clearest single difference between these tools. S30V is a powder steel built for edge retention; 420HC is a sound, ordinary stainless that trades staying power for easy sharpening. The trade runs both ways, though. A dull Wave+ blade comes back in a few minutes on a basic stone; S30V asks for more time and a better abrasive, and in a field kit that difference is real. Our sharpening guide walks through the grits for both kinds of steel. If your cutting is a few jobs a week, you will never notice the S30V advantage. If it is fifty cuts a day, you will notice it by Thursday.
Which one is easier on your hands?
The Charge+ TTi is easier on your hands. Its titanium scales are sculpted and rounded, and owners who have run both tools say the Charge can be squeezed hard without the handle edges digging in. The Wave+’s flat stainless handles are the source of its oldest complaint — pinched and bitten palms under hard plier work, reported by owners across twenty years of forum threads. Neither tool is uncomfortable for ordinary jobs. The difference shows up in the tenth hard squeeze, not the first.
How heavy is each one on a belt?
Nearly identical — and the titanium tool is the heavier one. The Wave+ weighs 8.5 oz; the Charge+ TTi weighs 8.89 oz, despite the titanium. Titanium scales save weight against solid stainless handles, but the Charge spends the saving on its bit kit hardware and denser scale work, and ends up 0.39 oz ahead. Both are 4 inches closed with 2.9-inch blades. If weight is the deciding factor in your kit, neither of these is the answer — our bug-out bag multitool guide includes a 5-ounce pick for exactly that reason.
What do you actually get for the Charge’s extra money?
At the old prices, the Charge+ TTi’s premium bought you four things: the S30V blade, titanium scales, a strip of seven double-ended bits, and a pocket clip and sheath in the box. It did not buy you a different tool — the pliers, replaceable cutters, saw, scissors, files, and drivers are the Wave’s set, plus a cutting hook on the serrated blade. When remaining stock is priced at or under the Wave+, the arithmetic flips: the extras come free and the blade steel is a bonus. That is the entire decision. Same toolbox, nicer steel and grip — worth a premium to a daily cutter, worth nothing extra to an occasional one, and worth moving quickly on while discounted stock exists.
Honest caveats
- Check the recall before you pay. Any Charge bought between July 2024 and March 2025 can be an affected unit. The blade-tip check is above; Leatherman’s fix is free either way, but know which unit you’re holding.
- Discontinued means the price will wobble. Remaining Charge stock was cleared at deep discounts this fall and full-price listings sit beside them. Compare the number in front of you against the Wave+’s $129.95, not against the Charge’s old $199.95 tag.
- Counterfeits ride on popular models. Both of these tools are faked. A listing sold by the Leatherman storefront is the safer route; a too-cheap no-name seller is how people end up with soft steel and a fake logo.
- Tool counts are marketing arithmetic. 18 vs 19 “tools” counts every notch and cutter surface. Judge these two by blade steel, handles, and box contents — the differences that survive contact with actual work.
Questions readers ask
Is the Charge+ TTi worth it over the Wave+?
At its old $199.95, only for daily cutters who’d feel the S30V edge and the kinder handles. When remaining stock is priced at or under the Wave+’s $129.95 — it was cleared at $99.98 during Amazon’s October Prime event — yes, for anyone: same tool set, better blade and grip, extras included. The catch is the recall check and finite stock.
What replaced the Charge+ TTi?
The Wave Alpha, at $199.95. It pairs a MagnaCut main blade — a step past S30V for edge retention and rust resistance — with G10 handles and the largest scissors Leatherman has put on a Wave. Its old Charge links redirect there. It is the current premium pick; this page compares the two tools the queue actually asked about.
Does the Wave+ come with a sheath?
Not from Leatherman’s current listing — it reads “Sheath sold separately,” and the pocket clip is separate too. Some retailer bundles still include the nylon sheath. The Charge+ TTi included a premium sheath, the bit strip, and the clip in the box, which is part of its value while stock lasts.
Will either blade rust?
Both main blades are stainless — 420HC on the Wave+, S30V on the Charge — and both shrug off ordinary wet use. Stainless is stain-less, not stain-proof: owners who put a Wave away wet in a sheath for a season report light surface spots that wipe off. Dry it before long storage and neither tool asks for more.
Which one belongs in a bug-out bag?
Either — they are the same size and near the same weight. Most bags are better served by the Wave+ at its regular price, with the savings spent on the rest of the kit. Our dedicated multitool for a bug-out bag comparison scores four picks on bag duty specifically, including a lighter option and a purpose-built survival tool.
Keep reading
This head-to-head sits in our Knives & Tools hub alongside the fixed-blade comparison and the Garberg vs ESEE-4 matchup. A multitool does not replace a fixed blade — it covers the jobs a fixed blade can’t, which is why most kits in our bug-out bag comparison carry one of each.
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