The original Leatherman Pocket Survival Tool created a new industry in 1983. Now there are dozens of imitators selling millions of tools per year. Leatherman is still the best and owns more than 50% of the world market.
Most of the major tool makers have copied the Leatherman with varying degrees of success. The closer they copy, the more likely Leatherman will nail them for patent infrigement. The farther they deviate from Leatherman's designs, the poorer the tool. Over the years, I've tried some of the competition.
The mid 90's Gerber Multitools were pretty poor. I have two and stopped using them after the first few tries. Their current ones look better (they look more like a Leatherman) but I've not tried them. I've read some reviews that indicate that they're still not so great.
Shrade made a "me too" tool in the mid 90's called the "Tough Tool" that was pretty lame. I got it on sale at Home Depot and I'm glad it was cheap. It's not a practical, everyday tool, I never use it anymore. They still make it so it must sell well enough for them. They also make models that are much closer copies of the Leatherman.
Probably the best imitations were made (and still are) by SOG. They specialize in gear-drive pliers (compound leverage) and have a unique multi-tool that can angle the pliers head. Now, even Paladin has copies and they price up into the "Cadillac" range - well over $100. They appear to be made by SOG as they have the compound leverage joint design and state that it's licensed from SOG. Paladin has always been a major presence in the telecom market and their multi-tools are specialized for it.. They contain 66 & 110 block punch tools, a UTP jacket stripper, terminal crimpers and other features that telecom geeks will love. They're among the largest of the multi-tools (5" closed - 7.5" open) so probably won't be anyone's EDC tool.
I'm told the Victorinox Swiss Tool is pretty good. I would expect them to produce a quality tool. There are many others, but most are not worth trying. And don't even think about the $10 copies from China. I've handled some of them. Can you spell junk? Stick with the good names in tools.
For an EDC (Every Day Carry) multi-tool, the Leatherman PST and its successors, the Fuse and Blast, are still the best combination of size, weight and tool selection. There's a good reason the PST was such a huge success. Tim Leatherman got it right the first time. Everything since then has been refinement, specialization and embellishment. The successors to the PST answered the only two complaints about the original - the handle edges were hard on the hands and the blades didn't lock. Neither of those issues have caused me to switch. I'll carry my PST until it's totally worn out - and then I've got two more in reserve. I guess I'll die with my boots and my PST on.
The newest tools from Leatherman are specialty items that do a great job of filling niche markets. The Crunch is the same size, folded, as the PST (except for two bumps sticking out) and opens into a 5 1/2" locking plier of the same quality as Vise Grips, the world standard in locking pliers. I marvel at the ingenuity and creativity it took to make a visegrip-like device fold down into a 4" block. I don't carry it on my belt every day like my PST, but it goes paddling with me and rides in my go-to-work backpack. It's so small it can be tucked almost anywhere.
The newest, coolest from Leatherman is the Skeletool. It's basically a pocket knife and pliers. It's smaller and lighter than even the PST and is certainly an EDC for someone who doesn't need all the tools of the PST. Because of its size and weight you can carry it in a pocket rather than needing a belt sheath. It's less than I need in an EDC, but would surely serve most people very well.