Lionfish Gear

[Water Boy76]

You won't be disappointed with the Hammerhead gloves, they are what I use and work great. Just remember they are cut and puncture resistant not cut and puncture proof. If you grab a lionfish your still going to get stung, just not as bad.

I have 20+ dives on mine and they are starting to show a little wear but for the price - who cares.

 

[drbill]

For those who aren't familiar with a Zookeeper (I wasn't until I dove the Dutch Antilles recently), here's one in action.

 

[fdarden]

Zookeepers are the tool of choice here in South Florida. It makes collecting Lionfish MUCH faster, and in my opinion much safer. With the sheer numbers of Lionfish that we are able to collect on a single dive, I know of no other practical method to harvest them. See http://www.zkstore.com for Zookeepers, and other Lionfish hunting supplies. Anyone that knows the creator of this device knows what a wonderful generous man he is, and if you try a Zookeeper the value will become immediately apparent to you I think. Happy hunting!

Frank

 

[MrChen]

A ZK is on my wishlist for sure.

 

[fazerG8R]

Went to Cozumel a couple of years ago and the divemaster just carried a pair of the EMT shears. When he speared a LF, he trimmed the fins before he took it off the spear. It took him just a couple of seconds and pretty much eliminated the danger.

 

[fdarden]

Went to Cozumel a couple of years ago and the divemaster just carried a pair of the EMT shears. When he speared a LF, he trimmed the fins before he took it off the spear. It took him just a couple of seconds and pretty much eliminated the danger.

To each his own.
Although that may seem effective it wastes a ton of time, and increases your chance of being stung greatly. Cutting the spines might work for one or two, but we regularly return from dives with our Zookeepers full. I don't hunt occasionally, it's a two or three day a week activity for my boat, and trust me - we have tried many different things. I think people that don't do this all the time might be under the impression that there is an occasional Lionfish. A couple weeks ago I dropped and had about a dozen Lionfish in the first few minutes of the dive. You simply cannot do that using shears. I have videos of divers being stung using the very method that you cite - it's far too easy to miss a spine, and these are not mosquito bites! A sting can be VERY serious if it is deep. Hunt safe, and Happy Hunting!

Frank

 

[fazerG8R]

Good point, I don't claim to be an expert on this and didn't realize they were that abundant in some areas. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[fdarden]

I have yet to find a set of gloves that are effective, that do not rob you of all dexterity. I tried some of the Aramid Turtleskin gloves, and they did not last at all and were very expensive to boot. The orange gloves are worthless. I have heard rumors that Hexlite makes a pair that are over 100 dollars that have better dexterity. So far I have found that the Zookeepers and a 3 foot JBL spear, along with a paralyzed tip, work best. The 4 and 5 foot spears are tough in tight areas of the reef, and tend to be a pain due to their size. I use gloves from Lowes and they are NOT sting proof. I use them because typical neoprene dive gloves last me about 10 dives. Scubapro gloves, about 3. The lowes gloves are 10 bucks and have lasted over probably 100 dives so far. If someone has information on gloves that are sting proof that will last more than a few dives it would be great if you could share that info. Thanks!

Frank

 

[MrChen]

Went to Cozumel a couple of years ago and the divemaster just carried a pair of the EMT shears. When he speared a LF, he trimmed the fins before he took it off the spear. It took him just a couple of seconds and pretty much eliminated the danger.

The thing is I got hit when the thing flinched. I imagine it's going to flinch when getting cut and what if it actually comes off the spear tip. Plus I'd rather just bag and move on to the next one.

---------- Post added July 11th, 2014 at 03:10 PM ----------

I have yet to find a set of gloves that are effective, that do not rob you of all dexterity. I tried some of the Aramid Turtleskin gloves, and they did not last at all and were very expensive to boot. The orange gloves are worthless. I have heard rumors that Hexlite makes a pair that are over 100 dollars that have better dexterity. So far I have found that the Zookeepers and a 3 foot JBL spear, along with a paralyzed tip, work best. The 4 and 5 foot spears are tough in tight areas of the reef, and tend to be a pain due to their size. I use gloves from Lowes and they are NOT sting proof. I use them because typical neoprene dive gloves last me about 10 dives. Scubapro gloves, about 3. The lowes gloves are 10 bucks and have lasted over probably 100 dives so far. If someone has information on gloves that are sting proof that will last more than a few dives it would be great if you could share that info. Thanks!

Frank

I got the hammerhead gloves in yesterday. I was amazed by how thin they were. I'm going to try and find time to write up a review this weekend. I'll link it here once it's posted.

 

[uncfnp]

Just out of curiosity today I took an 18 gauge needle with me along on a planned trip to Lowes hardware. After all, it's the puncture not cut resistance that matters with lionfish. I think I tried every pair of gloves there, limited selection of course, no Hexarmor or Hammerhead, and the gloves that seemed most puncture resistant were the "soft leather" garden gloves at 9.99. Any reason these would not work for diving?