Bolt cutter

[Timpson]

I'm looking to get a good pair of Bolt cutters not to expensive and on the smaller side to carry in my pack. Any recommendations would be much appreciated thanks. 

[r83srock]

Are you looking at these to cut hooks? I was using a pair of mini bolt cutters from Tekton, I’m sure the Knipex are better quality but pretty expensive.

 

I find a pair of Dykes designed to cut wire like the S2000 series from Klein, work best for me. I ended up putting the nice Kleins in my toolbox after cutting hooks for awhile with no damage and picked up a pair of Doyle brand from harbor freight. Works great for me and $20.  I can get further into the fishes mouth to the entry point of the hook with these. I haven’t cutting any heavy punch hooks with them but they cut heavy wire ewg hooks no problem! Haven’t had to cut hooks much , thankfully. But once and awhile they come in handy.

[J Francho]

I've always just used a pair of lineman's pliers for cutting hooks. I have 3-4 pairs of bolt cutters for various size jobs, but can't think of any time I'd ever need them for fishing.

[MN Fisher]

Ya - a good pair of diagonal side cutting dykes would be enough for any hook

 

[Timpson]

Thanks for all the ideas I'm sure one of these will work 

[Dwight Hottle]

Take a couple of old hooks with you when you go to buy them. Then you will know if they are adequate. 

[WRB]

Use a compound 8” cutting pliers like Crescent Pro.

Tom

[RAM3139]

The knipex mini bolt cutters (8"?) are only slightly bigger than a pair on linesman pliers and very easily cut through the heaviest freshwater hooks.  My thought is, if you are fishing alone and hook yourself at a weird angle, best to have something that cuts through without much pressure.  They are not cheap though, so if you have some standard cutting pliers that do the trick, stick with that.

[RRocket]

I think any 8" would work for a hook

 

TEKTON 8 Inch Bolt Cutter | 3386, Black https://a.co/d/6eUO1ie

[Pogues2300]

1 hour ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Take a couple of old hooks with you when you go to buy them. Then you will know if they are adequate. 

Smart  idea

[GRiver]

When I had to go to clinic to get a hook removed, she had a pair if mini bolt cutters. They cut through the hook with ease compared to a set of Klines or diagonal cutters. They would cut out on the tip of the cutters unlike a smaller set of cutters, that you have to get back in the jaws of the pliers. 
The double kinda hinge thing, you get more leverage. I’ve been keeping my eye out for set myself. Mini bolt cutters are probably something you’ll never use until you need them kinda tool. 

[ike8120]

22 hours ago, Timpson said:

I'm looking to get a good pair of Bolt cutters not to expensive and on the smaller side to carry in my pack. Any recommendations would be much appreciated thanks. 

Check Amazon and Harbor Freight. Amazon has 8" ones.

[Crow Horse]

18 hours ago, WRB said:

Use a compound 8” cutting pliers like Crescent Pro.

Tom

[J Francho]

Those look pretty good.  My gripe with cheap cutters of all types is blade diversion.  So many crummy cutters that just give up and the blades flop over with the material stuck between like pork grizzle in between your teeth.  You have to spend $30 or more on anything for cutting anything anymore.

[Crow Horse]

26 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Those look pretty good.  My gripe with cheap cutters of all types is blade diversion.  So many crummy cutters that just give up and the blades flop over with the material stuck between like pork grizzle in between your teeth.  You have to spend $30 or more on anything for cutting anything anymore.

The Crescent pliers pictured are pretty good and more budget friendly. I despise cheap tools. They are bound to fail when you need them most. I've used the Crescent ones for the past 2 years and have cut quite a few hooks, although they have been light gauge wire hooks without any issues. I keep the above in my yak and frequently use them to expedite hook removal and release. I'd rather have to replace a treble than to watch a fish float away belly up. I have a pair of Knipex cutters that I keep at home. They are really sweet but cost about 3x's what the Crescent cost.

[Kev-mo]

I use something like this. I had some weird angles a couple times and found this type of cutter helped mitigate that.

 

[T-Billy]

18 hours ago, RAM3139 said:

The knipex mini bolt cutters (8"?) are only slightly bigger than a pair on linesman pliers and very easily cut through the heaviest freshwater hooks. 

Mandatory tool to have when muskie fishing. They'll cut through a 5/0 4X strong VMC with ease. They're always within my reach when unhooking a fish.

[Dwight Hottle]

18 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Mandatory tool to have when muskie fishing. They'll cut through a 5/0 4X strong VMC with ease. They're always within my reach when unhooking a fish.

The serious musky guys all swear by the knipex tools & have them on the deck when landing a fish. There is nothing worst in fishing than to have a struggling fish hooked to your body & his at the same time. 

[Crankin4Bass]

Which Knipex model do you guys have?

[T-Billy]

28 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

The serious musky guys all swear by the knipex tools & have them on the deck when landing a fish. There is nothing worst in fishing than to have a struggling fish hooked to your body & his at the same time. 

Roger that. My guide buddy took a 3/0 clear through a finger a while back. He had the knipex right there and it wasn't too big a deal. It sure would have been without them though. 

I tried a cheaper brand first and wasn't impressed. The knipex are worth every penny. 

8 minutes ago, Crankin4Bass said:

Which Knipex model do you guys have?

The 8" mini bolt cutters.

[WaskaCrank12]

I recently had to use my 8 inch Harbor Freight bolt/wire cutters to cut the stems off of the two treble hooks that had been driven in to my thumb by a feisty 18 inch bass (so I could release the fish and release myself from the lure and eventually head to Urgent Care) - I was happy I had them on deck and within reach - they cut thru the hooks/stems easily - I believe they were $10 to $12 at HF (I have only had them for a year so cannot speak to their longer term durability, hopefully I do not have to use them very often) - yet if I were musky fishing or using larger wire hooks I most likely would invest in the Knipex as others have recommended 

[Crow Horse]

48 minutes ago, Crankin4Bass said:

Which Knipex model do you guys have?

I thought I saw a model of 8" Kknipex cutters that had a provision for a leash/lanyard. I don't have that particular one but wish I did (if it exists).

 

[WRB]

Low’s Kolbalt 8” bolt cutter has a wire latch a lanyard could be attach to.

The cutter needs to cut the hook wire or slit rings using the tip about 1/4” in lieu of back at the hinge.

Tom

[Crow Horse]

https://images.knipex.com/aspect_lg/product-api-assets/fd89784/de0ac0a3-6d3e-48c3-ac86-ce1b20202f07.png

[TLHSS]

I carry the 160mm Knipex. Just a little longer than 6 inches. Not cheap, but I didn’t have much luck with cheaper, wire cutter type tools.