Functional Chic: Bracelet Doubles as a Tiny Tool Belt

Hey guys (and ladies, too), forget the Apple Watch. The Leatherman Tread may be the only item you want around your wrist.

It’s a sleek, stainless steel chain-link-style bracelet that holds 29 tools, including a bottle opener, cutting hook, carbide glass breaker, oxygen tank wrench, pick/Sim card tool, and several different sized screwdrivers and wrenches. Plus, the wrist band follows TSA guidelines, so you can get it through airport security with no problems.

Leatherman President Ben Rivera created the Tread after his multitool was confiscated when he went on a trip to Disneyland with his family, according to Ozy.

Rivera told Business Insider Australia:

“I’ve been wearing a Tread myself for more than a year. Many people in our company have been wearing them for about six months and in the last two months we’ve had about 100 in circulation, which have been through airports around the world hundreds of times, and we haven’t had any instances where a gate agent has decided it’s an unsafe thing to take on a plane.”

At $150 to $200, the Tread is not cheap, and some would argue it’s not practical either. Ozy said:

Though it was designed for anyone, it may not appeal to everyone. Because really, how often are you going to use that oxygen tank wrench or carbide glass breaker?

According to CoolestGadgets.com, the links on the tread are interchangeable, so you can customize the bracelet according to what tools you use the most.

Rivera told BI the Tread has broad appeal:

“Typically we don’t sell a lot of Leatherman tools to women, not because we don’t want to but because they perceive it’s a more masculine product, and they’re saying this is something that they could wear. We’re also finding that it appeals to techie, gadget people. Our other tools do, too, but this appeals in a different way… it’s more of an urban-type multipurpose tool.”

The Leatherman website says the Tread will be available in stainless steel or black at Cabela’s in June and on its website and other retailers in August.

You can also make the Tread into a functional watch, though you have to buy Leatherman’s timepiece. If you purchase the two together, called the Tread QM1, the retail price is $500, Ozy noted. The watch face will be available in the fall.

With Father’s Day is just around the corner, I think the Tread would be the perfect gift for my husband.

What do you think about the Leatherman Tread? Share your comments below.