Leatherman has just announced new Raptor Response shears, heavy-duty folding scissors that can be used for a range of emergency or utility cutting tasks.
This is Leatherman’s second Raptor shears, with their original model – one of the best EDC scissors currently available – now being called the Raptor Rescue.
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Compared to the Raptor Rescue, the new Leatherman Raptor Response shears are said to be lighter, more compact, and they’re also slightly less expensive.
The Raptor Response shears feature micro-serrated cutting edges, to help prevent slipping or binding when cutting fabrics.
Like the Rescue model, the Raptor Response is also designed for emergency situations. it features a ring cutter, ruler, oxygen tank wrench, and pocket clip.
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The shears have blunt tips – similar to traditional trauma shears – and can fit the scissor and shears pocket built into many styles of EMS pants.
Like the Rescue, the Raptor Response folds down into a compact size for easier carrying.
A removable pocket clip is attached to the side of the shears.
There will be 3 colors at launch – blue (navy), red (crimson), and gray.
At first glance, I thought that Leatherman simply took the Raptor Rescue, removed the strap cutter and carbide glass breaker, left out the included holster, and dropped the price by just a little bit. While all this is true, there are several other differences.
To start, the Raptor Response is more compact than the Rescue. When closed, the Response measures 4.3″ while the Rescue measures 5″.
Leatherman says that the Raptor Response has a “compact size for everyday portability.”
The Response features a polished finish for easier cleaning.
Both tools are made from stainless steel, but the handles are very different. The Rescue has glass-filled nylon handles, while the Response has aluminum handles with a Cerakote coating. In other words, they handles were changed from plastic/polymer to metal.
In my experience, the Leatherman Raptor Rescue is a very useful tool, but it’s quite pricey if you’re only using it for utility purposes. Leatherman markets the Raptor towards “uniformed response professionals” such as rescuers, and they also lists common uses as industrial shears, fabric shears, kitchen shears, and garden shears.
The new Raptor Response is smaller and lacks the Rescue’s carbide glass-breaking tool and seatbelt cutting strap, but manages to keep the ring cutter and ruler markings, and an oxygen wrench cutout at the end of the handle.
The Response does not come with a holster.
The Raptor Response is priced at $69.95, compared to $79.95 for the Rescue model.
I would consider the aluminum handle loops an upgrade over glass-filled nylon. Leatherman says that the handles are smaller and easier to use without gloves, and they also say they’re well-suited for use while wearing (medical) nitrile gloves.
Price: $69.95
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Discussion
Leatherman makes a case for the Leatherman Raptor Response being well-suited for all types of users.
“Ready for anything.”
“Gear up for the unexpected.”
“Easily fits into a pocket or in an emergency kit.”
The Raptor Rescue is absolutely first and foremost aimed at rescue professionals. The new Leatherman Raptor Response also looks to appeal to the same users, and others who don’t need the vehicular rescue functions of the original model. Press materials show the Raptor Response being used in the wilderness and being carried by ski patrol responders.
I know that some people are immediately going to criticize the price, but I would point out that there’s still nothing else like the Leatherman Raptor on the market.
Leatherman Raptor Response Features & Specifications
Tools and Functions
- Stainless steel shears
- Ring cutter
- Ruler (5cm)
- Oxygen tank wrench
Carrying Options
- Removable pocket clip
- Built-in lanyard hole
Dimensions and Weight
- Shear length: 1.9″ (4.8 cm)
- Closed length: 4.3″ (10.9 cm(
- Overall thickness: 0.85″ (2.6 cm)
- Width: 1.7″ (4.3 cm)
- Weight: 5.5 oz (157 g)
Materials
- 420HC stainless steel
- Aluminum handles
- Cerakote coating (handles)
The Leatherman Raptor Response is made in the USA.
Jared
The price is high, but with any new product release I try to focus on whether I want it to exist or not first.
These scissors? YES.
They look like a great product. I don’t need a seatbelt cutter or a glass breaker – but I might want some folding scissors. I’m not EMS, so I don’t need it. But I could see these coming along for a camping trip, or stuffed in a track-side first aid kit.
This looks like a better product for my envisioned uses than the original – and it costs less. Bonus.
I already pack a pair of folding scissors for the uses I mentioned – but mine are the much less substantial folding Fiskars. I like those too, but this looks like a different category.
Jared
I followed that link and was surprised to find the Fiskars didn’t make your list of 5 EDC scissors. They should be an honorable mention at least!
They’re super cheap and sharp – and smaller than anything else in your list. If you don’t need “shears” or high-power scissors, I think those 4″ folding Fiskars are great precision snippers. The price is about $6, or two for $9.
MM
The original Raptor shears are very high quality, but I feel that they are rather specialized for the needs of first responders. The shear function is of use to everybody but the other tools like a windshield breaker, seat belt cutter, medical O2 tank wrench, etc, aren’t of much use for the average contractor or DIYer.
I’d love to see Leatherman make a more general-purpose scissor type tool. Make it similarly stout if not stronger, change the blade shape to something longer and with sharp points instead of the safety tip. Equip it with some more general purpose tools and it would be extremely handy to toss in the toolbag, garage, camping gear, etc. I think I’d get more out of a “scissors leatherman” than a “pliers leatherman” if that makes any sense.
Jared
Lee Valley sells a very “scissory” multi-tool.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/hand-tools/knives/110064-knife-and-scissors-multi-tool?item=09A0384
They’re not the only place to get it – I pretty sure I’ve seen it on Amazon too. I doubt it’s quite Leatherman quality, but it looks not bad. Lee Valley doesn’t sell (much) junk.
MM
I just took a look at that, thanks for sharing. I doubt it’s junk but those scissors don’t look very stout to me. I’m hoping for something which, like the Raptor, has some seriously stout shears that can cut wire, flashing, metal strapping, fabric-reinforced plastic or rubber hose, rope, webbing, carpet, corner bead, gasket material, and so on. Normal full-size leatherman pliers aren’t too far behind a proper standalone set of pliers. I’d like to see a Leatherman version of “full size shop shears”
Koko The Talking Ape
I’ve looked at that guy before too. For me the big negative is the tanto blade, which is “tactical” but otherwise pointless (har har). A plain drop point like Morakniv would be more useful, and easier to sharpen.
JoeM
I have the original, which I Refuse to ever call the “Rescue” model. I have a pair of Genuine Leatherman Raptor Shears.
Frankly, I was hoping more for a change in handles for the original design, so it would be able to survive an Autoclave. Many people who need a Leatherman Raptor are the same people required to Autoclave their medical tools to destroy all biological cells left on them before they can use them again. Also… They don’t mention that the new “Response” model has erased the EKG markings on the ruler. Not everyone is carrying an EKG on their person when using the Raptor, but those that need those markings are SOL with the Response model. Considering that’s actually 3 major tools removed from the original, I would expect more than a $10 price drop. That’s insulting.
Then there’s the “Getting a Kit Together” argument here. Parents are about to celebrate a graduate who studied to be a paramedic, specifically an EMT. Now, they want to go out and get them some piece of their new in-field kit as a grad gift. They ask the Grad. The Grad says “Leatherman Raptor”… Even if they’re just getting the kid started, if they grab the “Response” instead of what is laughably called the “Rescue” now? The kid is still out of pocket to get the right ones. And even if they said “Rescue” to said parents, not all parents are good at exact names, and when holding “Response” and “Rescue” side by side? If they didn’t know better, they’d just give up and go with the Response, because they think it’s just the same thing without a holster. Problems ensue, especially if they get them engraved or personalized, by Leatherman or otherwise.
I find this trend of “Scaling Back Other Leatherman Tools and Charging Fractions Less Than the Full Version” to be incredibly stupid. Yeah… They’re “Made in the USA” and Yeah, they’re the best designs on the market… But I’m starting to think whoever worked for SBD’s marketing division has shared their happy time substances with the Leatherman folks. This move makes very little sense, just like that recent one… The… Core was it? Another forgettable model name from this generation… Just like the *Shudder* “Free” Line.
What I wish Leatherman would do, is team up with their fellow USA made Knife Makers for custom editions of their iconic tools. Want a higher grade steel for the blades of your Wave or Charge? Want to swap out a tool you never use for a completely custom tool design? Benchmade may be expensive, but that would undoubtedly make your Leatherman entirely unique! Now ***That*** would be worth the high price point! (Pun… Not intended? Subconsciously intended? If it makes you laugh, I meant it… how’s that?)
Skfarmer
Wow. Dont think I have seen such long winded whne fest for a while………
JoeM
I’m here all week… And most other days too… It happens from time to time, but I do try to mix it up from time to time, get some humour going… check out the craftsman pliers wrench thread… I went for puppetry there!
I’m a little miffed at Leatherman over the past couple years… I never doubt the quality of their products, but their naming conventions, and the fact that they’re stripping back tool lines to make their version of a ‘budget edition’ is truly frustrating. These models they’re releasing aren’t clicking in with me. The “Free” series is named wrong, and that confusion is very unlike them from their past models. Then the most recent couple offerings? The ‘Lower Price Point’ is only a matter of $10 US or so… I mean, they’re still Leatherman, they’re still Quality, and you’re still getting what you pay for, but there’s a lot of weird decisions they’re making. I don’t like that. It makes Leatherman sound stupid… and they’ve never done that before. Their tools aren’t stupid, they’re remarkably smart… naming and pricing aside, they’re Leatherman Tools.
David Zeller
Cerakote can withstand autoclave temperatures.
JoeM
I know… I was hoping it would be the new standard for the Full Raptor… A Raptor 2.0 instead of two lines of the tool. Instead they released… That thing… Which lacks features needed by those who need it to be Autoclave Compatible… So they stuck the Autoclave Handles on the Raptor that doesn’t need to ever be near an Autoclave…
Again… I’m starting to wonder if SBD marketing folks have managed to sneak their special happy chemicals to the Leatherman folks… because this reeks of the same “Who came up with this dumb idea??” mentality I see from SBD brands. And yeah, aside from Leatherman, I’m a DeWALT guy… so, I’ve seen some truly insane decisions made by the company, which I cannot explain for the life of me. Now I’m seeing the same wacko-logic out of Leatherman… It’s really weird to me.
Wayne R.
In the Ocean Conservation Namibia videos, the team nets entangled seals to cut all sorts of fishing & general garbage off them. The Raptor Rescue seems to be their #1: They wear heavy gloves because of seal teeth, it’s a saltwater environment, and the seat belt cutter is useful to cut embedded lines.
I keep wondering if I’d change/add anything and haven’t come up with much other than adding some stainless dikes – which are hard to find anywhere, and likely especially in Namibia.
They also use bolt cutters for large hooks and even use crochet hooks (to get to deeply embedded thin line). But the Rescue is first in hand.
They’re on the biggest beaches I’ve seen.
MM
I’ve seen specialty pliers for saltwater fishermen that are stainless steel or other non-corroding materials and feature cutters for hooks and line before. I’m sorry I can’t recall any brand names nor do I know if they’re any good or not, I am not a fisherman, but I have come across them via Google when looking for other types of pliers.
Also stainless cutters aren’t hard to find if they have access to mail order (which I assume they do as I doubt Raptors are easily found in Namibia either). Look for surgical cutters. There are heavy duty ones meant for cutting pins and screws for setting broken bones so they could certainly cut big fishhooks, wire, netting, etc.
AlexK
Skfarmer, congratulation on your daughter passing her paramedic test. Paramedics, teachers and the like, should get the adulation and salaries that we give to actors, athletes and pop stars. I worked in a neighborhood photo lab for 9 years and we were a daily stop for neighborhood police and emt/ems people. They hung out between calls and we developed their film. Many times, I’ve seen images thru their eyes that brought tears to my eyes. I saw, not imagined, what they deal with. They are heroes, many times a day. And develop (I know….) a warped sense of humor, to not lose their minds from what they deal with.
To understand JoeM (and me), possibly the only Hebrews on this site, our “whining” is our sense of humor, developed over 40 years of wandering in the desert. You have to develop a sense of humor, listening to moses’s wife for 40 years, complaining every five minutes, how ” if he had only asked the guy at the well for directions, we would have been in the holy land in 7 weeks, but NO, mr. big shot said, ” I know a short cut”. …… By the way, that wasn’t god, but a guy named Morty behind the burning bush, talking in a deep voice”. Moses, bless his heart, would have bought an electric heater from a traveling salesman.
Talking of the shears, either size would have been good for circumsision in the desert. And if it existed, I would have carried one tool with me: the Victorinox Swiss tool -good for circumsisions, popping blisters from cheap sandals, opening cans of Manna, (manna again? we’ve had it 739 days in a row…. , good for fighting where no one gets hurt-” if my fingernails weren’t too short to get the blade out, I’d cut your heart out – Oh, I forgot, you don’t have a heart!”
JoeM and I come from a culture with an oral tradition- please, no dirty joke from the one woman on this site. We are story tellers. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression “to make a short story long….”? Okay, I wrote that, along with many other jokes. Got to have something to pass the time in the desert without a tablet to read toolguyd.
Being that it’s yom kippur, I’ll ask God (and Stuart) to forgive me for writing so long.
But your honor, he did stay on topic and mention shears. A Band called Tears for Shears?
Folding Shears are for very specific job descriptions. Probably most of us carry a folding knife and/or multi tool and we wouldn’t need a shears on our body, but a heavy duty one in a tool bag. But after seeing this post, I want pants like in the photo above and the large Leatherman shears in the shears specific pocket. Forgive me for my sins god, but I covet (well machined tools) and lie (to myself that I need more).
Yadda
Best response to anything I have read all year. Thanks for the laugh!
JoeM
It… Kind is our people’s way… Look at nearly any of our… many… many many many… festivals and holidays on our Lunar-based Calendar (Making us literally Lunatics, The Chosen Ones at that!) and they have a common theme. “They Tried to Kill Us. They Failed. Let’s Eat.” Usually followed 8 days later by the realization that we overdid it, we have no idea how this Goat got in bed with us and the wife… and we really need to Fast to both clear out whatever we did during the celebration (God did demand we put the Latrines far away from our camps and settlements for a reason… and we still feel guilty for what we did to those poor desert animals’ homes to this day. Even if we were told to cover them with soil after every use, we know what went down there… There’s a reason desert reptiles run the way they do…) and to check our various pockets and satchels for clues as to what, exactly, that was… Sometimes the wine makers make miracles, other times it’s a miracle the wine makers are still alive…
And yeah… I agree with AlexK… the Raptor Shears would have been handy back then… Though… trying to tell the Cannanites that we were “The Right Hand of God” after all that time in the Desert trying out the strength of those things would likely have led to a great number of very unique gang signs being tossed up with all those missing fingers we practised on…
We are an odd people… But lovable… Just be careful what vintage of Shiraz wine you get your wife… You may be waking up next to a hairy man named Lawrence, who snores like a field wench… Sorry… That’s our fault for inventing Shiraz Wine as well…
Yadda
Love those OCN videos. Naude yelling at Atoine and Denzel to be careful reminds me of Marilin Perkins telling Jim to be careful on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. They use a combination of Raptors and Skeletools from Leatherman along with the other tools you mentioned. Great scenery. The ships passing by in the ocean and the hundreds of seals on those outlandishly endless beaches.
Roger
The biggest complaint, I’ve read, about the version1 is that it has a tendency to have rust marks and spots. The grade of stainless doesn’t seem to hold up well against salty sweat and mild acids.
Glassfilled nylon would be considerably more comfortable. However, alu handles are more metal for your money.
I wish they would make a less specific version. Not many near full size compactable/foldable scissors out there that are stable for actual cutting (More than paper-card).
Skfarmer
My daughter in law just passed her national paraedic tests. Iay get her one since her hands are smaller and the smaller handles will be better suited for wen or those with smaller hands.
My som, her husband received the earlier model from us when he graduated and passed his tests. He loves his but it is slightly large for her hands..
skfarmer
sorry for the poor spelling. i was on my phone and well you get the idea.
joem and alexk, i had no idea you guys were hebrew, thats cool. i suppose i missed some of the sarcasm, joking, and long windedness ( is that a word ) i guess. great storytelling anyway.
thanks for comments alexk. my oldest son and daughter in law are both paramedics and my wife and are emr’s. my son and i are also volunteer fireman. we have a long family history in volunteer fire and ems. i guess its what you do when you live in rural community.
i will leave the at home circumcisions up to you guys! i did deliver a baby once but i didn’t even cut the cord. i think it was the only thing that kept him alive until we got the tangled cord unwrapped from his neck and got him to breath, i am sure it was only minutes but it seemed like hours!
JoeM
All good SK. If you’ll notice, I had a little fun with it myself… And yes, Long-Windedness is a word, even if autocorrect doesn’t recognize it. And even if it’s not, our people invented it and thus it is so!
I am Long Winded! I don’t deny it, nor should you feel bad for using it to describe me. It’s true! Don’t worry man.
Jared
Wait, there’s no bottle opener on these?
JoeM
Actually, there is… Look at the shape of the pocket clip… the round part on its side can actually open bottles. It’s just not a standard tool use for it.
Wayne R.
I just remembered the XShear. It’s a “normal” scissor design (not stamped out or multiple parts), also stainless, seems well-liked by trauma people and strikes me as the solid, robust sort of design most of us would appreciate.
https://xshear.com/
Ball_bearing
Off-topic Just got an email about the Knipex 95-05-20 Angled Electricians’ Shears, and they look interesting.
https://www.knipex.com/products/cable-and-wire-rope-shears/electricians%27-shears/electricians-shears/950520SB?v=176144
MM
I saw those on Knipex’s “new products” page a while back. They look very interesting to me too. I think they’d be good for automotive work as well, they look like they’d be very handy for cutting cable ties, wire loom, rubber hose, etc.