I don’t think you can ever have too many trauma shears, also known as penny cutters. These are all under $10.

The first thing you should know is that these come in different sizes. The biggest here are 7.5 inches, the middle are 5.5 and these tiny ones are 3.5. Those measurements aren’t exact, but just know that if you specifically want these bigger ones, you need to confirm that they’re the 7.5 inch type. Otherwise, these 5-inch ones are the cheaper, more common ones you’ll come across.

Let’s start off with my favorite pair. These are the 7.5 inch fluoride-coated shears from Prestige Medical. I’ve had these for about a year now and they’ve held up well. The blades have a non-stick coating so they don’t get gummed up easily when you’re cutting tape.

Now, despite the size difference, the actual cutting jaws here are about the same length as the 5-inch ones. The difference is that the bigger ones offer more leverage. And at least in this case, the serrations on both 7 inch pairs I have are a little deeper and longer than the smaller options.

Now I’ll show you why that kinda matters. Here are the 5-inch pair. The grooves are a little less pronounced than the others, and they have a harder time biting into cables and zip ties without slipping down the jaw a little.

Still, they do a decent job, they can fit a little better in a pocket. The blunt tip on all these helps so they don’t rip a hole in your pants. And these ones also come in a Fluoride coating so they don’t get gummy.

Going back up to these 7.5 inch shears. These cut just as well as the black ones but have this extra carabiner clip on the handle. The clip makes it easy to hook on a bag or a belt loop, but I also find that it does a good job just hooking onto a pocket. The tension on the latch is just enough to resist slipping over the stitching on the top of my pocket. It makes it easy to keep on me, especially if I’m using them for gardening.

These ones don’t have the non-stick coating on them, but like all these, they’re made from stainless steel and they’re autoclavable. Which, in practical terms, means that you can boil them or run them through the dishwasher if you need to give them a good cleaning.

Finally, there are these itty-bitty ones. The cutting jaws on these are just an inch long and the teeth are much finer than the other options here.

You definitely don’t have a lot of bite or leverage with these. And I also have to say that the finishing on the edge of these is rougher than the others and worth filing down. But with all that said, these are an extremely pocketable pair of scissors that won’t poke you when you walk around. For opening packages, chopping through zip ties, or getting into stubborn packaging, having something like this is super useful, and much less likely to accidentally cut you than a knife.

One reviewer on Amazon mentioned that she uses these as a nurse and keeps them on a retractable badge holder, which sounds like a handy option.

So there you go. Those are four options worth considering when you’re shopping for trauma shears. I love having all of them around the house, but if I had to pick one, I’d go with the first pair I showed off. You can find links to all the options in the video description. I highly recommend picking up at least one.

-- Donald Bell 09/18/18