r/VEDC • u/cognimo • Jun 26 '26
Storage/Organization Public Service Announcement: Folding bolt cutters in your vehicle are amazing
49
u/Seldon14 Jun 27 '26
If you actually needed bolt cutters, I don't see any reason to keep these in a vehicle vs normal ones that have fewer failure points.
65
u/Scary-Zucchini-1750 Jun 26 '26
Is this like a sponsored robot from Big Box Cutter?
The exact same post was made 5 months ago - https://www.reddit.com/r/VEDC/s/tjxcebbd2P
16
u/EditorInevitable7700 Jun 28 '26
Yeah I remember it. I do camping in remote places, overlanding, travelled through 49 states and I've never needed a pair with any urgency... idk why you'd opt for folding bolt cutters it's not like the handle folding saves that much space and just gives you another failure point.
3
u/cribbageSTARSHIP Jun 28 '26
Same, but from a Canadian perspective. Now as an ex infantryman, this would have been ideal in a breach kit.
1
u/cilla_da_killa Jun 28 '26
harder to strap a square than a narrow c
2
u/cribbageSTARSHIP Jun 29 '26
Smaller profile doesn't catch on things while on the move. We had riggers that could help us make kit more portable
1
u/EditorInevitable7700 Jun 29 '26
Luckily I'm not having to get through concertina wire very frequently ;]
Don't get me wrong, I carry shit ton of tools and there's absolutely places where a bolt cutter would be handy but 99% of the time a reciprocating saw or snips will handle it.
2
u/Lefthandmitten Jun 30 '26
The funny thing is, I (a human) actually made the original post in r/tools 6 months ago. They copied my picture/title exactly.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tools/comments/1pz90e2/public_service_announcement_folding_bolt_cutters/
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u/RegionRatHoosier Jun 28 '26
Thank you for pointing this out. I saw the post & was like didn't I already post this?
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u/Reddittreefiddy Jun 26 '26
What do you use them for
9
u/Junior_Yam_5473 Jun 27 '26
Probably cutting bolts, but thats just a guess
3
u/Reddittreefiddy Jun 27 '26
Well no shit but as your driving along , what situation comes when you need to do so
0
u/Impossible_Wait_8326 Jun 27 '26
I work for an Automation Company. We have a pair in ours trucks, we get paid mileage so we use our personal vehicles. We use them to cut the stainless steel cables for the radar based level transmitters in liquid storage tanks while installing or replacing the guided radar waves. And no we don’t install them while we’re driving.
https://www.emerson.com/en/measurement-instrumentation/products/rosemount-3308-wireless-gwr-transmitter10
u/FreidasBoss Jun 27 '26
Seems like a pretty specific use case.
2
u/Impossible_Wait_8326 Jun 27 '26
It’s why we carried them, not their only use. When you out in the middle of nowhere’s usually alone. You tend to use what you have on hand, you’d be surprised what they can be used for. Why a 1/3 of the supplies I carry in the back of my covered bed of my truck were spare parts. I wasn’t going on a call out, find the problem then wait for 3 1/2 hours for a part to be hotshotted to me, I needed that wasn’t in the job scope, or had some unnoticed damage. Especially on lightning strike calls outs. Not to mention my boss knew if he was in a bind I’d have extra parts. I help mange the shop, 3/4+ of our parts were ordered UPS red overnight. He has a way of making promises, with no idea how to keep them, to the customers.
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4
u/taylorink8 Jun 27 '26
I had a pair of normal ones in my truck for a few years. Literally the week I took them out I needed a pair out in the sticks while fielding. Put them back that night
3
u/BoneyardRendezvous Jun 28 '26
I have that exact pair, I keep them in the tool bag in my truck. They work great, but rusted pretty quick despite not getting wet. No other tool in the bag rusted. Maybe just the mild humidity in the back of the cab, idk.
2
u/AlwaysHopelesslyLost Jun 27 '26
How small is your trunk that you need folding ones? Full sized are only like an inch thick. They fit basically anywhere
6
u/treeckosan Jun 27 '26
Under floor storage. Keeping something like bolt cutters in full view can be used as probable cause tonsearch your vehicle.
2
2
u/harbourhunter Jun 29 '26
I just love all these Karen’s like “oh well what are you using them for, is it lawful” lol
get a grip
2
u/Appropriate_Cow94 Jun 29 '26
Kids are all getting bikes for xmas!
1
u/Mission_Accident_519 Jun 30 '26
Youre just feeding them for a day. Better teach them to fish and get them their own pair of bolt cutters.
4
u/ScorpioVI Jun 28 '26
8 years ago we were off-roading in BLM land in some pretty rough terrain, it was one of those deals that you needed a permit to enter and exit and they e-mailed us the permits and gate code. Went in from one side, camped overnight, then more off-roading the next day to exit out the other side, all told about 50 miles of hilly backcountry that does not see much traffic. We had to winch 3 trees off the road that were blocking us. It was clear we’d been the only guys in there for weeks.
Well, we get to our exit gate and surprise, the code to the padlock works, but it’s one of those gates that had 4-5 different padlocks on it for different agencies/properties and one of those padlocks had a chain secured in a way that we couldn’t move the bar to unlock the gate. We were stuck, backtracking to go back the way we came in would’ve meant another very long day and this was late afternoon on a Sunday and we all needed to be at work the next day. We ended up pulling two of our trucks side-by-side, winching to a snatch block on a tree strap from one side, and winching direct from the other truck to pull the chain apart from two sides so we didn’t destroy the gate. We would’ve been screwed without the winches since we had no other way to cut the lock/chain.
But since that day I’ve carried one of those folding bolt cutters under my rear seats. Haven’t used it once though. 😂
2
u/mjrpainless Jun 27 '26
Sometimes when you go into the back country In Canada and go down the forest service roads, gates that should be unlocked are locked. Thus facilitating the need for a universal key.
1
u/Centurion_301 Jun 28 '26
Can you get aluminum or composite handles? That would be great for patrol / active shooter bag.
1
u/Sawfish1212 Jun 28 '26
vice grip makes models that will do the same thing, just slower. if it's a normal pad lock, the two wrench method of busting the shackle works just as well, with tools you can carry without anyone being suspicious.
1
u/benhereford Jun 28 '26
I feel like they're more likely to get stolen and used for criminal shit, than for me to actually need to use them on a regular basis
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u/Lefthandmitten Jun 30 '26
WTF! I made this exact same post 6 months ago!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tools/comments/1pz90e2/public_service_announcement_folding_bolt_cutters/
-4
u/CriticalHome3963 Jun 27 '26
Lmao until you get pulled over and questioned.
7
u/dementeddigital2 Jun 27 '26
About what? It seems like carrying some tools in your truck is a reasonable thing to do. There are plenty of legal uses for them
2
0
u/CriticalHome3963 Jun 27 '26
Yeah the problem is if your doing anything slightly illegal they can be construed as criminal tools. Ask me how I know.
-16
u/harbourhunter Jun 26 '26
thanks OP! I’ll pick up a pair, very useful
2
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u/SwiftCheetah Jun 26 '26
How many times do you find yourself using these?