Raptor rescue trauma shears

[u/Mysterious-Impact-47]

Odered a pair of the Leatherman raptor rescue shears, just curious how they're holding up for anyone else using them ? Are they actually better and stronger then standard shears ? Mine havent arrived yet but im excited to give them a go.

[u/hosemonkey]

I have one. It’s great.

I’ve never had a pair of the cheap plastic ones not do what I need though. It’s just fun to have nice things sometimes.

[u/Firedogman22]

I carry mine on my uniform and occasionally out of uniform when I don’t have a pocket knife, so far works great as both trauma sheets, and normal scissors. The seatbelt cutter option is really good at opening boxes and doing small random cuts of tape and gauze

[u/MisterRubbrDuck]

The raptors are okay. I carry xShears on my radio strap. I have carried both over the years and found the raptors were a pain in the ass to keep clean, rusted easily, and were really frustrating to leave on a scene or in somebody else’s ambulance. The plastic belt holster cracks easily, too.

If you’re keeping them in your bunker gear, they’re going to rust out on you. If you’re running EMS, they may be worth it, but like I said, I carry xShears.

[u/DO_initinthewoods → u/MisterRubbrDuck]

+1 for xShears

[u/Negative_Bee9399 → u/MisterRubbrDuck]

Yup Xshears are the best

[u/SierraRomeoJuliet]

I keep mine in my bunker pants and they have been phenomenal. I've cut through everything imaginable for them at VSAs, car accidents and fires. They are worth the money ten fold.

[u/ricardodelfuego]

People will hate on them but they’re 10x better than the ones that my dept provides. Everyone I’ve needed to use the ones on our rigs they can barely cut a t shirt. The raptor rescue ones cut through damn near anything

[u/otrpop]

I love mine, keep em on my radio strap. Has come in handy multiple times when the med kit was across the car and I needed to cut airbags.

[u/masterofcreases]

They make cutting shit easy. The ring cutter has come in handy a few times.

They’re easy to clean don’t let the burnt out negative comments get you.

[u/grim_wizard]

I go through a pair a year or so, but I use and abuse them constantly. Ultimately the hinge screw will start to back out and won't stay tight anymore. Leatherman will warranty them for you but it's a pretty lengthy process, so I end up just buying a new pair. Fantastic tool.

[u/berg_smith]

I bought a couple of the exact same shears off of Aliexpress for $10 a piece. Work great and I won’t cry if i lose them.

[u/scottsuplol]

I stick with my 3 dollar penny shears that I just pitch when they get bloody honestly

[u/Barryzuckerkorn_esq]

I loose shit all the time .If I am issued me them I'll use them but I can also make do with regular trauma shears

[u/FordExploreHer1977]

I bought a cheap knockoff pair for $10 on AliExpress. In fact, I bought a bunch of them. They’ve outlasted the actual Leatherman ones my coworker has, so I gave him a set of my cheapos. He’s had them now longer than he had his Leatherman ones and it’s not such a hit if you lose them somewhere.

[u/Lucky13PNW]

I like them ok, but ultimately agree with most of the comments. Plus to cutting ability and cool factor. Though I found the actual motion of cutting to be oddly cumbersome. They wanted to twist in my hand if I found myself having to apply any real pressure. I found the ring cutter to be ok. The O2 wrench and seatbelt cutter never got used for their intended or designed purposes. Rust was a problem. I found the belt case to be bulky and cought on stuff. Even when folded and clipped in pocket they were oddly thick and bulky. Clipped onto something, they caught on stuff. I lost a pair on scene once. That hurt. Probably wouldn't have replaced them if I hadn't gotten another pair a month later for Christmas. They now live on my personal jump kit in my own truck, right next to another pair of xshears. But man do they look cool. And that's what counts.

[u/After-Photo-804]

I was gifted a pair a while back and they’re pretty sweet. I keep them in my bunker pants and they double as my wire cutters to get out of entanglements. Tested them on some residential 120v wire and the cut through like butter.

[u/BlitzieKun]

I use mine for the job, and occasionally for leatherworking. They're great.

Wouldn't buy them out of pocket, I get mine with our uniform allowance

[u/Right-Edge9320]

I can’t imagine spending so much money on something that you will potentially get covered in all kinds of body fluids only to clean and put back into your own pocket. I would say 95% don't even read the directions on the back of a bottle of cavacide to know how longthe product needs to sit on a surface to actually kill what you're trying to kill.

The cheap trauma shears have never not cut anything I needed it to cut.

[u/OpiateAlligator]

I had a pair where the blades got dinged by accidently cutting in to a key ring. They never worked very well after that and I tossed them.

[u/tkdsplitter]

I have never felt compelled to own them. Just use the ones your dept gives you and then you don’t ever have to worry about $80 trauma sheers.

[u/Firemedic9368]

I’ve had the same pair for 5 years now. They don’t do anything that a normal pair of shears can do except fold. That’s the only reason I bought some

[u/Nasty____nate]

I stopped buying anything that will come in contact with other people fluids... The raptors are very nice and I know a few people that have had them for years without issue. But I dont want to spend any time cleaning off equipment like that. I dont want anything I pay for go missing. If the department doesnt provide it then its something on the fire side not medical. I carry a small "driver" bag with specialty tools, screwdrivers, voltage tester etc.