I’m into longboarding a lot these days.
I love to clean the wheels, chase the squeaking away, switch bearings, … In short, I need tools.
The T-shape tool does it all
No luck with the Grind
No luck with the Jam
I treated myself with the Grind by Leatherman ($20). I love it. It’s design, small, light, in two part so perfect when I need to tight the trucks to the board.
The Grind presents a total of 8 tools
- a grip tape file,
- 9/16″ open end wrench,
- truck key,
- 1/4″ hex bit driver,
- 1/2″ open end wrench,
- 3/8″ open end wrench,
- 1/2″ flat/philipps screwdriver
- and of course … a bottle opener.
It’s a great tool to drop in the pocket of my bermuda, but I already lost it once (I bought a 2nd one), then I discovered the Jam ($20) still by our friends from Oregon Leatherman.
The Jam is a 5 tools in one with
- a gripe tape file,
- 1/16″open end wrench,
- 1/2″ open wrench,
- 3/8 open end wrench
- and … the bottle opener.
the Jam does the job
the Grind too
so does the T-shape
What I really do like about the Jam is that you can use it as a carabiner too … I don’t loose it as easily as the Grind and I hang it at my backpack. I always have with me even if I switch bermuda 😉
Then I needed to change my bearings and I couldn’t do it neither with my Jam nor Grind as my wheels are deep … I had to go back to the standard T-shape skate tool with its wrench (starting price $5 on Amazon). I unscrewed my wheels in no time, using the wrench.
To sum up, the Grind and Jam are cool, stylish and easy to carry around but the one really doing the job is the t-shape skate tool (that I keep home). Use the metal allen key in the t-shape tool to pop the bearings out (can’t be easier).PS: both the Grind and the Jam are TSA compliant!
Don’t forget to check out
- I met Pete, my visit to Pete iand Hamboards HQ in Huntington Beach!
- Hamboards official website
- The Grind and the Jam on the Leatherman official website
PS: Thanks Pete for all your advices!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: bearings, california, florida, grind, hamboards, jam, leatherman, leatherman grind, leatherman jam, longboard, sk8, skateboard, tool, truck, tshape tool, wheels