Dive Knife or Sea Snips?

There's a lot of pressure on us guys to play the role of a guy. This is true with scuba diving too. Don't believe me? How many guys do you see with pink fins? That's right. None. This pressure also comes to bear when new divers (male) have to decide between dive knife or sea snips. Women have it easier of course. If they choose the knife they're cool. If they choose the snips, no problem, they're women after all.

I had to decide between the two today. The easy, but expensive choice would've been to just get both. That way I'd be cool and practical. But the cheapest dive knife is $40. That's quite a bit for what, at this point, is a piece of safety equipment. Snips, on the other hand, are under $20. So which one is better?

Dive Knives: Pros and Cons

• Can be used to pry things open.
• Can be used to rap on your tank to signal your buddy.
• Requires two hands to cut something.
• More potential to accidentally cut the wrong thing (including you).

Sea Snips: Pros and Cons

• Can cut through pretty much anything you're likely to encounter.
• Can be used with just one hand or two for added cutting power.
• Much less likely to slip and cut the wrong thing.
• Much less likely to raise the eyebrows of security people when traveling.

I ended up getting the snips. I guess the practical side of me trumps the cool side. Or rather, no one would be fooled by me trying to be cool. 🙂