@Jordan Lund: Agreed there; I couldn't get along without my multitool. It's basically an off-brand clone of the Leatherman Micra, with an added pair of fingernail clippers. Surprisingly sturdy for an off-brand. It's lasted me a year so far, with no signs of dulling or loosening blades (the finish is a bit chipped, but that's to be expected with how rough I am with my things).

HeartBurnKid

Seems like a hell of an idea; I'd try it out, but the only can opener I have at home is one of those safety side-cutting ones, and I'm not sure that'd work as well. I usually do fine with a utility knife, or the knife blade in my multitool, but it's always good to have another option.

HeartBurnKid

@Jordan Lund: Sideclip here. :)

[www.leatherman.com]

strider_mt2k

That reminds me of this [ars.userfriendly.org]

JBatubara

That packaging is like DRM.

It only punishes the innocent.

strider_mt2k

I thought everyone got a Leatherman tool as part of their geek induction ceremony. No? We need a better union I guess...

Skeletool FTW:
[www.leatherman.com]

Jordan Lund

Genius! Thanks guys!

scingram

Genius! Genius! Genius!

Andronicus1717

i bought a pair of sheers designed to cut though those bastard clam and thick plastic for 6$ at wallgreens, one of the best investments i have ever made.

if i can't find those, i will defiantly try this nice cane-opener trick

skilled1

I need to try this! I hate those double vacuum sealed plastic wraps!

qrius

I've got to give this a try! I have an electric can opener, so my manual one mostly sits unused!

I can't stand those plastic blister packs. They are a scourge on the marketplace. Not only are they dangerous (I've actually cut myself on them several times), but they are ridiculously difficult to open. I wish that retailers would lay down the smackdown and prohibit their wares from being sold like this, but for all I know, they want them packed like this to prevent theft.

Pedro S

I just use a box cutter, which seems to work fine as well.

nick5768

@DA5ID_NZ

Yeah, they don't have a sense of humor about carrying knives on airplanes anymore... Fortunately there's a fix for that too...

[www.tribalmall.com]

Jordan Lund

I have a pair of tin snips ($2) that also work very well when opening blister packages. The handles are long and keep your hands well away from the sharp plastic edges. But I like the can opener idea since it means I won't have to go to the workshop to get my tin snips whenever I have a stubborn package to deal with. Repurposed kitchen gadget, FTW!

Cranefolder

@Strider_MT2K

Nothing wrong with the Sideclip, I started with the standard Leatherman, upgraded to the Wave and now I'm itching for the Skeletool (if I can find some place that actually has them in stock.)

Actually, it goes back farther than that when I was gifted with a Swiss Champ back in High School. Carried those for years before switching to Leatherman (because the plastic sides on the SAK kept breaking off.)

But all these tools are kind of the "Patient Zero" of packaging. You need a tool to open the tool.

Jordan Lund

@Jordan Lund: Wow! That'd sure be confiscated on a plane trip :)

da5id_nz

My solution: $4.99 tin snips purchased from Fry's. Normal scissors don't work well on blister packs, but snippers that were designed to cut a soft metal work wonders. Cheap, too.

ibraud

can someone explain how this packaging even makes things theft proof? who came up w/ this dumb idea? and has no one been sued yet for cut fingers? :P

qrius

Trauma shears. Like five bucks.

cv

How the heck do you open a blister pack with a pair of pliers? I would never use the knife part of a multitool on one, that's just begging for a stab wound. That plastic it usually too tough for a single blade. I use sturdy scissors, but tin snips are a great idea. I'll have to try the can opener this xmas.

MaxHedrm

The advantages of blister packs is that the can be easily hung on wall racks (as opposed to requiring shelving, they display the product, and they prevent you from opening the packaging in the store. They are also cheaper to pack on an automated assembly line than boxes - the boxes usually required hand packing.
I AM waiting for a notorious law suit (I mean a slit hand seems as tort worthy as a spilt cup of coffee) to make retailers reconsider.

Skeptical_Geezer

@qrius: the (moronic) idea behind blister packaging is that it makes it harder for a thief to open/steal from in store or tuck the package into a pocket.

while it does work, training better retail employees can do the same thing and make the customer happier.

-----
Like others, I bought some hefty scissors (mine are pipe cutting ones) to combat the blister packaging but I like this idea because the scissors themselves are pretty scary to use (I would have the same fear with box cutters).

theninthcloud

This type of packaging I hate! I use sissors, but every damn time I swear I get stabbed or sliced on my forearm from the sharp edges and points.

Definitely going to give this a try.

@qrius: I guess it's so you can't easily stick the unpackaged product in your pocket and claim that you own it and that you came into the store with it.

aelver

@Jordan Lund: Except you need to have a way to open the clamshell package the Leatherman comes in ;)

Joshua Timberman

@MaxHedrm: I've never had a problem using the knife blade in my multitool. It's a relatively painless process. Just lay the blister pack down, with the back (flat) side towards you, and cut all four sides inside the "lip" of the package (or about 1cm in from the edge if there is no lip). Then peel off the square you just cut out and get your goods.

The key is to never stab, and never saw -- always just slide the tip of your knife blade across. If it ends up not being deep enough (and it should be for all but the thickest blisters), do it again. And only do this if your blade is good, sharp, and sturdy; otherwise, it's likely to catch on the packaging. If the blade in your multitool is too dull or too flexible for this, there's always utility knives; I have a cheap one that I got for 2 bucks from H&E, and it always does the job.

HeartBurnKid

What a great idea! Give that man a CEE-gar!

leMel

A good pair of scissors does the job. Might have trouble with the family shears that have been in the family for three generations.

Capone

I... I... I think I love you man.

Kuz

I guess I am one of the lucky few who've had relatively little trouble with blister packs... use a large pair of scissors, cut thin strips out from the sides (from both directions for large packages), then snip the top off has always worked for me for just about any blister pack.

But those things definitely need redesigning; bulky, ugly and troublesome as hell.

kureshii

I SHOULD'VE PATENTED THE CAN OPENER LONG AGO! >_>

MastaFalse

Dude ... I've never been so frosted. I used a can opener weeks ago to crack a Nunchuk package ... and ... and where's my recognition? T____________T ... damnit all!

-shakes fist-

MastaFalse

The can opener idea is terrific if you get a gift packaged with this arterial-bleeding-promoting stuff. But I've come up with what I think is the best general solution: After I buy something encased in this crap I head to the customer service counter and politely ask them to open and unpack my purchase. Do this and you get your stuff opened for you, and the retailer spends valuable human one-on-one time dealing with you. While I don't wish injury on any undeserving person, I have to admit experiencing a touch of schadenfreude upon seeing a clerk who has snickered at my request subsequently bleed (this has happened twice now, fortunately it was not arterial bleeding).

EbonyBandera

Honestly I don't see what the big deal is, usually i flip the package open and proceed to x-acto knife out the backside. You have to cut out the entire back around the edges but then you are treated with a easy to open package. (its hard to explain this technique in words) All it requires you wait till you have 30 seconds and the right tools. All other methods leave me bleeding and even more painfully without the hot electronic item i wish to rescue. :(

urbanride

I think another "advantage" of blister packs from the retailers point of view is that some people won't return an item to the store if they can't repack it so it looks like they received it. I don't have a problem with this, so if I find I can't use an item after destroying the packaging, I just take it back with the receipt.

Gosh I hate this type of packaging. Currently I have one nick on my hands and two broken nails as a result. I've got tools to open this sort of stuff at home, but not at work. Time to buy a can open for work, I suppose.

FiveAcres

I just use my knife to open. Like said above make a cut around the edges with the tip and viola it is open. I use a CRKT M16 [www.crkt.com] and it works great.

jkersh

I just tried out this trick on the latest gadget I bought in a blister pack, and it didn't work. The package was sealed further from the edge than the can opener could reach. Ironically, when I then opened it with a knife and pulled the product out, the jagged plastic edges left from the can opener cut me pretty badly. I'll probably just stick with my old scissor tactics, clumsy as they are.

forpeterssake

I like this idea. Obviously other sharp objects such as exacto knives, scissors, shears, well defined cheek bones have all been thought of, tried and used with some varying degrees of success. It's not as though the person who came up with this was trying to open the package with a down pillow or something. I like that this works on oddly shaped packages too, fairly neatly in case returns are necessary, and with minimal potential for sudden slips or self-stabbing. As to all those other devices being brought on a plane, just bring a partially opened bubble package and have at them.

aton

For all of you asking how these prevent theft... well, they really don't.

However... they definitely reduce the likelyhood that someone who's opened the blister will want to return the item as it's not "pristine".

Another anti-consumer big-distributor scam, that actually injures you.

r00fus

@Joshua Timberman: I don't know about the official Leathermans, but mine came in a non-clamshell blister pack -- you know, the type where it's just stapled or glued to a cardboard backing. Those are really easy to open without tools.

HeartBurnKid

Tried this last night. It was total crap. I have a decent can opener, practically new, pretty sharp. Basically it just perforated my package. Well that didn't help! I just grapped by Clack and Decker Power Shears. They are frickin' awesome!

By the way, even if the can opener could work, it was very awkward to wrangle around the packaging, and it didn't handle well when the sealed edge bent inward towards the packaging at the top. No good.

Scott