Tinkerers are never satisfied, and Tim Leatherman is no different. In 1975, before “Leatherman” was nothing more than a curious surname, he and his wife, Chau, bootstrapped their way across Europe on a no-frills, post-college vacation.
Along the way, the couple encountered the types of nuisances many of us would accept as the hazards of travel, like leaky hotel plumbing and stubborn, borrowed automobiles. But where you and I might quietly curse these inconveniences and soldier on, Tim found inspiration — inspiration that would become his life’s work and the eponymous multitool brand known around the world.
Today, Leatherman (the brand) pays homage to that trip and imagines other problems it can help travelers of today solve with the launch of the EUROPE75. The latest release from the Leatherman’s Innovation Garage, the EUROPE75 is an extremely limited-quantity one-off production. So once this unique multitool is gone, it — like Tim’s vacation — is history.
Leatherman EUROPE75 Multitool
Despite its backstory, the EUROPE75 is anything but a throwback. Most notably, this knife-based multitool benefits from Leatherman’s FREE platform, the magnetic architecture that allows one-handed operation.
Plus, the brand adds modern production materials and processes not available in the ’70s. For starters, Leatherman adds cerakote coating to the tool’s frame and assist. That “assist” refers to the bronze-colored lever that aids the EUROPE75’s noteworthy corkscrew — because, you know, Europe. This ceramic coating helps resist wear and tear over time.
And if your vacation takes you to Germany instead of France, there are also bottle and can openers to accompany that corkscrew. A 420HC, 2.2-inch blade serves as the tool’s foundation, but the EUROPE75 packs plenty of other functionality: scissors, a variety of drivers, an awl, a ruler, and a wire stripper.
And as a bonus, each EUROPE75 multi comes with a made-in-America cotton bandana, so you can represent the ol’ U.S. of A. while you “Mind the gap.”
You can grab a EUROPE75 for $125 while supplies last — Leatherman said the previous three Garage releases sold out “within mere minutes.”
