pruning shears?

J

jlee3228

Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
52
Does anyone bring pruning shears to the woods? I thought about trying some to help biuld a shelter. Or do u think they would not pull their weight?
 
Not so much backpacking but a lot of times hiking in my woods.

I have a trail I hike for exercise in my woods that runs 2 miles, and I try to keep it so 1) I can hike it at night by headlamp and 2) I can hike it in shorts

So I bring pruners so I can cut the greenbriar and branches out of the way.:thumbup:
 
when car camping, which is most of the camping I do now, I always have a pair of Fiskar shears with me, as well as loppers and a saw or two.
 
Yup, I've got a Spear & Jackson pair in nylon that live in my vest. 4oz. I find them enough for what I want, I don't want to take a heavy duty pair. Too efficient to change - been that way for quite a long time now.
 
When in the woods I prefer to bring along a good folding saw, what advantages would shears provide ?
 
I think that pruning shears would make quick work of de-branching saplings or taking smaller pine branches. A quick snip and away you go.
 
Pruning shears are a blessing on brambles for a start. Quick, manoeuvrable, precise, controlled, quiet. Some things duck under what the saw is good at, and it is because I have a saw that I only want the light pruners.
 
....what advantages would shears provide ?
Click to expand...

For me, carrying pruners is more about properly removing branches from live trees so as not to cause undue stress/damage to the tree. As I am not in a survival situation in those times, the expedience of a saw/machette/chopper is lost on the situation.

I find a good set of pruners indispensable when hunting. I prefer Felco snips, but am likely to carry an old set of Seymour Smiths in the field (they will hurt less to lose)
 
I have a buddy that has always brought long-handled shears (~ 24") with us out in the field for work. I have a 12" bolo and a saw, so I thought we didn't need them.

We got our van stuck in sand on an access road right next to a levy, and had to cut through branches to get the van out. If we didn't have those shears, I'd still be hacking away at that stuff... it was too springy to chop well and to green to saw cleanly. The shears were the right tool, no doubt.


Now, I wouldn't hump those shears into the back country, but they'll damn sure be in the van.
 
I have some corona hand shears with straight blades that came with a leather sheath. I think they're called "thinning shears." There are probably lighter shears out there, but they're very comfortable and cut very well.

I've seen these same shears used in greenhouses where some friends of mine used to work.
 
I have several products made by Felco, and they are excellent professional quality tools. I use a small folding pruning saw (would work great for backpacking), a hand pruner, and a lopper. I give them all a work out.
 
I think that I purchased a Gerber kit that had pruning shears and a folding saw. I keep them in my hunting pack at all times.
 
There are two types , one has two sharpened blades , best for green wood. The other has one sharp blade and one anvil , best for dry wood.
 
Oh the things we can do with shears but I won't go into it here. Ever tried to made a willow crawfish trap without one? They save a lot of time. Wowzer it would take forever without them. I've gone to the Leatherman pruner shears since it is a quasi mulitiple tool plus the shears. One of my main "go too" tools in the woods.
 
I have a pair of Fiskers & they are perfect for cutting saw briars in the woods, better than any sharp knife. saw briars are tough & hard to cut with a knife, sometimes whipping back at you, when you cut them. the pruners just snip, snip away.:D
 
If you do decide to buy a pair and want the best on earth, get a pair of Okatsune pruners. They're a lifetime tool that makes Felco's feel like junk and should run around $50 if you can find them.
 
i dunno about backcountry use but ive had my Felco 30s for 5 years doing landscape maint/installs....havent changed a piece. ive done everything from dig holes, prune, chisel rock, trim sod...its a tank of a hand pruner.
 
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