I want to buy a gift for someone after an afternoon of offshore saltwater fishing. The ones he had on board were clearly not meant for the saltwater environment. Does anybody have a brand that has done well for them?
Thanks, gang!

Accurate Pliers

Had a previous version for 15+ years and never had issues. Cuts thin Mono, Braid, wire with ease.

They had great customer service as well.

For the $$$ they can be beat.

Other option might be Van Staal. But now we're talking larger $.

Just my $0.02.

Andrew

quote:

Originally posted by El Cid 92:
Accurate Pliers

Had a previous version for 15+ years and never had issues. Cuts thin Mono, Braid, wire with ease.

They had great customer service as well.

For the $$$ they can be beat.

Other option might be Van Staal. But now we're talking larger $.

Just my $0.02.

Andrew

You ain’t kidding, $379! Van Staal 7" Titanium Pliers Kit with Lanyard and Sheath

These aren't exactly fishing pliers but I like Tsunoda King TTC made in Japan stainless pliers. If you want chrome plated tool steel look at the Gedore 8132-200 made in Austria.

One thought. Maybe he just buys inexpensive ones so he doesn't worry about losing them.

One thing I've learned about spending time on boats offshore is things fall in. Most of my experience is diving and not fishing though. I buy cheap dive knives because at some point you will loss one or more. It's just a fact of life. If I lose a $25 knife I may not be happy about it but it's not the end of the world.

^^ what he said. As a professional sailor I’ve dropped more stuff over the side just doing my job than I can remember. And it never fails that it’s the thing you bought versus what Uncle Sam bought us.

I still have my Camilus Marlinspike knife and a cheapo Gerber, but I remember losing a very nice knife and a stainless gerber when I was on a boarding once.

Also lost an encrypted radio off Haiti once…that was a shitshow. It would have been better if I lost my gun.

I would stop in at Fishing Headquarters in Ship Bottom. You will pay a little extra but they will give you what you need. Otherwise, try the Wal-Mart in Manahawkin. They are cheaper and you can get some decent gear this time of year.

I have a set of Gerbers that have given me good service for nearly 20 years. Looking on Amazon they have changed the design a lot but I think you would do well with Gerber brand. The most valuable part is the case with lanyard-they are no good if you lose them over the side.

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:
One thought. Maybe he just buys inexpensive ones so he doesn't worry about losing them.

One thing I've learned about spending time on boats offshore is things fall in. Most of my experience is diving and not fishing though. I buy cheap dive knives because at some point you will loss one or more. It's just a fact of life. If I lose a $25 knife I may not be happy about it but it's not the end of the world.

The good fishing pliers all come with a belt sheath and a sturdy lanyard attaching the pliers to the sheath. If you actually use them that way, it would be tough to lose them (at least with decent ones - I had the lanyard come apart on a cheap no-brand set once). Some guys won’t use a belt sheath or a lanyard, though.

I’ve had some of the Van Staal pliers for close to 10 years. They’re the best available, but they’re definitely the most expensive, too.

The Van Staal pliers are solid titanium (with replaceable line cutter inserts). Everybody else’s fishing pliers are aluminum. The belt sheath is heavy leather that will last forever. Everybody else’s is nylon and frays after a while. They make two sizes, the 7” has wider, heavier jaws and the 6” is more of a needle-nose pattern.

Simms makes a “titanium” fishing plier, too. Some jackass on the Simms marketing team decided that if they anodized the ALUMINUM grey, they could call the COLOR titanium. Simms generally makes good stuff, but that BS has kind of turned me off of the whole brand.

Had a pair of these Krok's for over 10 years. They are aluminum and have replaceable jaws and cutters. While titanium and stainless steel the cost of titanium and the questionable quality of much stainless steel these days has led me to just stay with the aluminum.

https://www.fishingheadquarters.net/kr7alpl.html

quote:

Originally posted by bordeth:
Had a pair of these Krok's for over 10 years. They are aluminum and have replaceable jaws and cutters. While titanium and stainless steel the cost of titanium and the questionable quality of much stainless steel these days has led me to just stay with the aluminum.

https://www.fishingheadquarters.net/kr7alpl.html

KROKS for the win, thanks for the link!

I like the aluminum, makes sense, for a saltwater environment. For $35, the sheath and the lanyard, checks off all the boxes!

Like many of you said higher prices usually equate to better quality/function and most likely fall overboard...
Love those Accurate and Van Staals maybe more than the person I'm gifting.