Recently I have another aquarium with plants and that naturally also requires some maintenance. To keep the plants growing nicely, I use Co2 and liquid plant food. The plants therefore grow reasonably fast … .. this means that they can be cut again fairly quickly. To minimize damage to the plants, the aquascapers use scissors. In this review I compare two scissors from two different brands: ADA Pro Scissors Spring and ViV Spring Scissors Curve.
The first scissors are the ADA Pro Scissors Spring:
The ADA Pro Scissors Spring is for sale at the Aquarium design shop and costs € 79.90 at the time of writing.
These scissors come from the company ADA, which stands for Aquarium Design Amano. This company was founded by the former Aquascaper Takashi Amano. The company makes high-quality products focused on the Aquascaper that pay more attention to and have money for the tools with which the aquarium is maintained. Among the aquascapers, the ADA brand will certainly be known. The brand has also become increasingly well-known among “normal” hobbyists in recent years.
The second scissors is the ViV Spring Scissors Curve:
Ook deze schaar is te koop bij Aquarium Design Shop en kost op het moment van schrijven € 26,90.
Not everyone is familiar with the ViV company. ViV International from Hong Kong makes similar products but spends less money and time on marketing. They clearly follow ADA products and make comparable products based on them. The products can be sold under the ViV label but can also be released as a white label or even as your own brand.
Packaging
The first thing we notice when we put the two packages side by side is that they look almost the same. Both scissors are in a clear plastic box. In the box is a silver-gray cardboard on which the scissors are secured. If you look at the packaging, you both get the idea that you have a premium product. The packaging, color and layout exude class.
When compared the packaging from ADA is just a little nicer than ViV’s. The plastic is folded slightly better and the cardboard also fits better. However, I doubt whether that makes a big difference to the experience if you buy one of them. My family members are not interested in aquariums and therefore do not know both brands. They have retained both packages and looked closely. When asked which of the two contained the more expensive scissors, they unanimously pointed to the ViV packaging.
ADA Pro Scissors Spring finishing
The finish of the ADA Pro Scissors Spring is very good. The material is nicely finished. All corners and edges are neatly rounded without sharp edges. The handle gives a good hold thanks to the deep ridges in the metal. The logo is etched into the metal in two places.
What strikes me about both scissors is that the blade has no cutting edge. Two square pieces of metal slide over each other.
ViV Spring Scissors Curve finishing
The ViV Spring Scissors Curve is also very nicely finished. If you look very closely, the finish is a little less neat but the differences are minimal. Here again the logo is neatly etched into the metal. The grip is fine due to deep ridges in the metal. The stop ensures that you do not squeeze the scissors too far.
Again a blade without a real cutting edge.
The scissors in use
Both scissors feel almost the same. They are comfortable to hold and when cutting, the metal gives just enough resistance to work fine. The blade of the ADA scissors is just a bit thinner finished which gives it a minimal advantage when working between the leaves. The cutting is also slightly finer than with the ViV scissors ….. to be honest, the feeling when working with the scissors is very close to each other.
Although the blades of the scissors do not really have a sharp cutting edge, they still cut the leaves neatly and straight. This allows the plant to recover quickly. They are fairly light scissors. The scissors are not too big what makes them great to work with among the plants. They are therefore ideal for trimming your carpet plants …. although they did not have much trouble with the large leaves of the Echinodorus.
I also had the scissors blindly tested by the family members. They indicate that the ADA scissors works just a bit better. The thinner blades are also mentioned, so that you can see a little better what you are doing.
Conclusion
Both scissors are very nicely finished in terms of quality. Here you can clearly see that ViV has looked closely at competitor ADA. Not only the scissors look almost the same, but also the packaging.
The enthusiasts who have the money for the best products and who want to be sure that the products will last a lifetime will probably opt for the ADA Pro Scissors Spring. The scissors are nice to work with and if you spend a lot of time in the aquarium this can be a good choice.
Enthusiasts with a more limited budget are more likely to opt for the ViV Spring Scissors Curve. The price is only a third of that of the competitor. The user experience also approximates that of the more expensive scissors. If you have to make choices that you spend money on, I would rather opt for the cheaper ViV Spring Scissors Curve.
In short: I think the best buy is the ViV Spring Scissors Curve. If you go for the ultimate feeling and brand experience and you don’t care about the price difference, go for the ADA Pro Scissors Spring.
