SOG Shears – New Kid on the Block vs Old Hat

These are the new SOG ParaShears – they’re an obvious attempt to capture some of the market share from Leatherman, who has dominated with their Raptor shears for a while.

I was able to get hands-on with them a bit at SHOT this year, and I own a pair of Raptors (although the ones above are courtesy of a friend – thanks T.O.). This let me get a decent feel for how the two products differ by getting hands-on with the ParaShears, and helped me form an opinion about which one I might prefer and why.

First though, you’ll notice the Leatherman Raptors (somewhat uncharacteristically) have fairly minimal tool options – they’ve got a glass breaker on the end, a hook cutter that folds out, and a clip.

That’s about it for tool options on these guys – the most unique part about them as compared to the SOG option is the Raptors have what they term a “ring cutter” – you can see it just left of the pivot point in the above photo. It’s not ideal, but would work in a very specific pinch. I find it most useful as a sort of wire cutter type attachment – lots of power, minimal depth.

As for the ParaShears, they also fold up to a size similar to the Raptors, with the advantage going to the ParaShears – you don’t need to press any buttons like you do on the Raptors, you just fold all the way back.

Both tools share a few features – they’ve got the obligatory hook cutter that folds out with the shears in their folded position and a glass breaker (on the SOG the breaker folds shut, which could be a nice idea to prevent accidental damage to clothing or other things, could be difficult to deploy when you need it, I’m not precisely sure which outweighs the other yet without using them for a while which, ahem, I’m open to trying). They also share ruler markings and a built-in oxygen tank wrench.

On the SOG, you’ll also notice a pair of tweezers, which the Raptors lack. The ParaShears also have a screwdriver set, a bottle opener (gross – these aren’t getting anywhere near my beers after they get used…) a serrated blade, and an awl (for… reasons? science? Maybe just because).

I’m not certain if the extra tools make a huge difference in favor of the SOG, but I am intrigued by their “Compound Leverage Technology”, which is effectively just a fancy word for mechanical advantage, I assume using a cam or something along those lines.

I’d be curious to see how well this feature adds to cutting power – the Raptors cut very effectively and are known in EMS circles to cut through basically anything, so the bar is already set quite high.

The price point is quite similar between the two, although I know Leatherman has a very significant Pro discount for first responder/mil types. I believe SOG has something through GovX or one of the other programs like it, but I do not know their discount.

Overall, both shears are quite comparable – I will say the feel of the Raptors in the hand is much more sturdy than the ParaShears; the ParaShears feel a bit lightweight and correspondingly “cheap” – I do not know if this is accurate, but it is my distinct impression after handling both tools.

My biggest gripe with the SOG tool though is their distinct lack of a pocket clip – I often use the clip on my Raptors and keep them inside my cargo pocket, folded up; the ParaShears only have their (somewhat overwrought) nylon pouch to live in, or if you wear EMS pants they can live in your shear pocket.

All that said, if you want a pair of shears with a few extra tools, I’d definitely give the ParaShears a look, but for right now I’ll probably stick with recommending the Raptors to most folks – they have all the features I want in a pair of shears with no extra fluff, and feel more sturdy in the hand.

-T