The heads themselves are very similar, with the Reactor’s being slightly stouter than the slender Skeletool’s more pointed needlenose. In fact, the Skeletool has slightly more reach than the Reactor.
As you can see from the photos, it’s pretty minor and I don’t see it being point-worthy so let’s dig a little deeper and notice that the SOG head has more surface area on the cutters. Good cutters are important when you have SOG’s Compound Leverage driving those teeth together, so again it seems like SOG has this one.
But, there’s a twist- SOG’s Compound Leverage isn’t without it’s drawbacks too. For example, while the SOG plier head may open further than the Skeletool’s, the handles have to be much farther apart to allow it, and they are basically nonfunctional in that configuration.
Compact tools such as these are also favored by people with smaller hands and having handles that open too wide limits their usefulness significantly.
This having been said, the Compound Leverage does allow you to use it with the plier handles folded over the head as well as opposite the head in a normal plier position, and that has come in handy on some jobs where clearance was an issue.
Additionally, my father is somewhat past his prime and he loves his SOG pliers because the compound leverage offsets the arthritis in his hands very well, and that alone deserves a point. I could keep poking at this, but in the end we all know this point is going to the Reactor, so let’s just cut to the chase.
SCORE- SOG 3, Leatherman 1
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