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How we test: We own and travel with most of the gear we recommend and put it through real con weekends; the rest we vet with suiters we trust or draw from their first-hand reviews. Where you see photos of a unit in a review, those are our own or friend's and blog supporters.
At the end of a duct tape dummy session someone is sealed inside a rigid shell of tape and has to be cut out of it. That is the moment where a wrong tool becomes an injury, because the blade has to travel the length of a body with fabric and skin directly underneath. Trauma shears exist for exactly this problem, cutting a person out of what they are wearing without cutting the person, which is why they are the tool a DTD guide should name, not "scissors".
Trauma shears are built for emergency responders who cut clothing off patients. Every design decision follows from that: a wide rounded tip that will not puncture, a serrated lower blade that bites slippery material, heavy stainless construction, and enough leverage to shear through webbing in one motion. A DTD is the same task in a calmer setting: a person inside a shell, needing to come out cleanly.
The alternative people reach for is household scissors, and that is the mistake. Pointed blades ride up against the body as you cut, they slip on tape, and they demand force. Force plus a point plus skin underneath is the whole risk profile this product removes.
At this price point EMT shears are a largely interchangeable generic product with no manufacturer datasheet behind them. The length, blunt tip, serrated lower blade, and stainless construction are the defining features of the category and hold across listings; the handle description and the cut list above describe what shears of this type typically manage, not verified specifications for one SKU. Steel hardness and finish quality vary between listings, so read the one you buy.
The technique is straightforward. Cut up the centre back, keeping the flat of the lower blade against the base layer so the blunt tip leads and the material lifts into the jaws. Short, controlled cuts. The person being cut out stays still and says so immediately if they feel pressure anywhere.
After the session the blades will be tacky with adhesive. A wipe of isopropyl alcohol takes it off; leaving it means the next cut drags. That five-minute job is the difference between shears that stay sharp and shears that become a drawer item.
The same kind of product from other makers we haven't reviewed, so you can price-check the pick above.
Best for: A two-pack of safety shears for cutting a DTD off
Blunt-tip safety shears that cut a finished DTD off without nicking the wearer, two to a pack so one lives in the con repair kit. A cheaper, higher-volume alternative to a single pair.
Because household scissors have pointed tips that ride up toward the body, and smooth blades that skid on tape so you push harder. Trauma shears have a blunt rounded tip designed to pass against skin without puncturing, and a serrated blade that grips instead of slipping.
The wide blunt lower tip. It is shaped to slide between the material and the skin, which is why paramedics use them to cut clothing off patients. The serrated edge then grips the material so the cut is controlled rather than forced.
Yes. They are for whoever is doing the cutting, and the person inside is the one they protect. A DTD should never be cut off by someone working alone or with the wrong tool.
Very. They live on in a convention repair kit for cutting straps, webbing, zip ties, and packaging, where their bluntness is an advantage in a crowded bag.
A wipe with isopropyl alcohol removes the residue. Do it after every DTD; adhesive left on the blades drags on the next cut and works into the pivot.
No. They are deliberately blunt and wide, which is wrong for detail work. Keep separate craft scissors for anything precise.
Ready to buy the Madison Supply EMT Trauma Shears 7.5in?
Check Price on AmazonDifferent gear that pairs with this pick or handles the next part of the job.
Best for: One DTD with margin, or two smaller ones
Six 45-yard rolls of name-brand tape, enough for a full adult DTD with layers to spare. Thin bargain tape sags and distorts the pattern.
Best for: The wrap layer under the tape
The sacrificial base layer the tape sticks to, wrists to ankles in one piece. Cheaper than any outfit you would otherwise destroy. Sold per suit, order your size.
Compared the options? Our pick is still the Madison Supply EMT Trauma Shears 7.5in.
Check Price on Amazon
Most fursuit makers require a DTD. The real supply list, the strip method makers demand, the T-pose rule, and the mistakes that get a duct tape dummy rejected.
Don't get stranded with a popped seam. The essential guide to fursuit repair kits: why you need curved needles, and what to carry on the con floor.
Just got your first fursuit? Build a practical starter kit, learn a safe first-session routine, and avoid the mistakes new suiters make.
FurryGuides earns a commission on qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Picks last checked Jul 2026.
