Snips alternative?

[yakscientist]

Has anyone found a good alternative to the retractable boomerang snips to clip to a PFD? They say they last a million pulls but I find myself buying them every year, the retractable lanyard always ends up breaking, or the line does, though the steel stays pretty much corrosion free. I've got pliers and a knife too, but the small snips are great for braid and mono. Thanks for the help. 

[BG_NJ]

1 hour ago, yakscientist said:

Has anyone found a good alternative to the retractable boomerang snips to clip to a PFD? They say they last a million pulls but I find myself buying them every year, the retractable lanyard always ends up breaking, or the line does, though the steel stays pretty much corrosion free. I've got pliers and a knife too, but the small snips are great for braid and mono. Thanks for the help. 

I’ve bought some really nice JDM snips and I just put them on a carabiner or Paracord lanyard in my yak. I don’t like zingers for the most part because as you mentioned they just break .. I haven’t tried this but amazon has a lot of options for ships tagged as “tactical” or “military grade” so you could try spending 20-30 for some higher end ones and see if they hold up. 
 

Thinking about tying a bunch of short Paracord lanyards with clips to solve this problem without retractable zingers while avoiding a bunch of loose cord everywhere in the kayak. 

[cheech]

DIY Weed whacker leashes work well. Shock cord can work too.

 

Edited October 6 by cheech

[gellfex]

1 hour ago, cheech said:

DIY Weed whacker leashes work well. Shock cord can work too.

 

I've made those, but these from Amazon work quite well for the small stuff: Booms Fishing T04 Fishing Lanyards Fishing Tool/Pole Safety Coil Lanyard, 6 for $11.

 

[elithefishingguy]

I stick with the Boomerang snips. I haven't had much problems with replacing them, not as much as you've described. I think the last pair I threw out was 3 seasons old at least. They're so affordable I dont have a problem with replacing them if they fail. Granted, I'm not submerging them, but I have a pair on my surf bag, in each of my kayaks, on my freshwater sling pack, and probably two pairs still new in packaging for when one of those gets lost or needs to be replaced. 

 

My favorite pliers (Penn Bullnose) do a great job of cutting both heavy braid and light line, but the snips are more convenient most of the time. My freshwater sling pack also has Loon nippers at the ready, but those don't serve me well above the 20lb line mark.

[TJC]

Boomerang are very convenient but they’re only good for one season of salt water Fishin..between pull cord and snips getting Jammed up..tried others but go back to the boomerang brand.. for the money just buy new pair at start of season 

[cheech]

Not as small, but it handles split rings too.

[gellfex]

FWIW the Harbor Freight $10 heavy duty scissors can cut braid and mono as well as chunk a bunker, cut crabs in half, or snip the throat or gills of a large bass or blue. So handy on the kayak to where my knife rarely comes out.

 

[Africaster]

On 10/10/2022 at 10:13 PM, gellfex said:

FWIW the Harbor Freight $10 heavy duty scissors can cut braid and mono as well as chunk a bunker, cut crabs in half, or snip the throat or gills of a large bass or blue. So handy on the kayak to where my knife rarely comes out.

 

Have used a couple of these based on Jon’s previous honorable mentions … but understand that they rust solid as soon as you start contemplating a salt water session … otherwise perfect all round yak tool as Jon detailed

[gellfex]

16 mins ago, Africaster said:

Have used a couple of these based on Jon’s previous honorable mentions … but understand that they rust solid as soon as you start contemplating a salt water session … otherwise perfect all round yak tool as Jon detailed

True, they're not high quality stainless. I keep a can of WD40 spray grease in the van to keep them (and other stuff) lubed. Mine are at least 6 years old and usable. The discontinued HF fishing pliers were made of better SS, and they can still be found on Ebay.

Edited October 12 by gellfex

[atv223]

If you are going big like that just get a pair of these. SS, crazy sharp, cut up crabs for Tog and anything else. The best part, $11.00 at Walmart. 

[connman]

On 10/5/2022 at 11:09 PM, BG_NJ said:

I’ve bought some really nice JDM snips and I just put them on a carabiner or Paracord lanyard in my yak. I don’t like zingers for the most part because as you mentioned they just break .. I haven’t tried this but amazon has a lot of options for ships tagged as “tactical” or “military grade” so you could try spending 20-30 for some higher end ones and see if they hold up. 
 

Thinking about tying a bunch of short Paracord lanyards with clips to solve this problem without retractable zingers while avoiding a bunch of loose cord everywhere in the kayak. 

BG had a look on Amazon but can’t seem to find any snips listed as tactical or military grade . Got a name brand or something?

[BG_NJ]

2 hours ago, connman said:

BG had a look on Amazon but can’t seem to find any snips listed as tactical or military grade . Got a name brand or something?

I was referring to the options on amazon for retractable lanyards, not snips. I can dig up some links. There should be at least a few heavy duty options with 4oz+ of retraction force.

 

The best snips I've found are all JDM, japanese steel and purchased from Digitaka. If you're not married to a snip style tool specifically, I haven't found anything that comes close to Cuda brand scissors/snips for both braid and nylon, with great durability and corrosion resistance.. there is a 3" scissor, 5" scissor, and 8" heavy snip all on amazon.

 

The only reason I even carry snips is because it's hard to find a better alternative for getting a close cut on your flouro tag end in line to line connections.. so the snips help prevent the knot from catching a guide on your cast and launching your $20 pencil to Portugal.

[BG_NJ]

5 hours ago, atv223 said:

If you are going big like that just get a pair of these. SS, crazy sharp, cut up crabs for Tog and anything else. The best part, $11.00 at Walmart. 

these are awesome.. braid, heavy mono, and clean flush cut through 550 paracord every time. The 5 inch CUDA scissors are also quality for like 8 bucks

[bass-o-matic]

Rescue shears with blunt points would be a safer option.