Among the huge number of spearfishing and diving knives on the market, many from Chinese suppliers, one among all makes the difference, the Cressi Snake. Elected Best Choice 2025 by Apnea Passion, let’s see the key elements that make it a winner.
Unbeatable steel
The steel used on a spearfishing knife is key for many reasons: mechanical and corrosion-rust resistance and blade cutting qualities and durability. A steel which puts all this together is really hard to fins, but Cressi has worked hard to find the best mix which excels in all these parameters.
Utilizing a top quality German steel, and manufacturing the blade in Italy, Cressi ensures the top quality result in a way which is unbeatable on the market. The base is an MA5 martensitic steel with amazing inox characteristics. But there is more. Cressi has been working with the supplier to optimize the alloy to obtain a top quality result. After many dives the steel we noticed the steel was still almost with zero rust. With so many diving knives utilizing Chinese low quality steel, the Cressi Snake is definitely a winner!
Great dimensions
Another characteristic of the Cressi Snake we found really positive are the dimensions. Not too big, but not excessively small, the knife by the Italian Company is 18.8 cm long when inside the sheath. Only the knife is one cm shorter. The blade measures 7.8 cm, while the cutting line is 7.4 cm.
The thickness of the blade at the base is 4 mm, a great value which adds to guarantee mechanical resistance. The thickness decreases slowly moving towards the tip of the blade, in a way that permits to maintain the strength all along the length.
Design of the blade
Beyond the dimensions, it is very interesting to analyze the design of the blade. With a base of 2.2 cm of width, the profile of the blade is triangular, with a narrow angle, so that the tip has a very pointed section, which is key to penetrate the fish when finishing it. Tested on the biggest groupers, the penetration was fast and easy, and the fish was finished immediately, an aspect we believe is key also to avoid the suffering of the animal.
The two cutting profiles of the blade are also very well designed. Apart from the linear profile, the serrated one has an alternate shape between one wider tooth and two smaller ones. This is the most effective, and costly manufacturing wise, solution.
Sheath and blocking system
The sheath is compact and nicely designed in glass loaded Nylon. The locking of the Cressi Snake in the sheath is guaranteed by two lateral levers which lock the knife through two hooks. The system works great and it is very easy to unlock and take out, and insert and lock back the knife.
Of course, no system guarantees the locking if we are distracted by a catch, for example, and do not insert the knife all the way inside the sheath correctly. For such reason it is always advised to connect the knife to the sheath with a safety dyneema line. In such sense, the Cressi Snake is complete with a pass through hole at the rear of the knife which is perfect for connecting the line.
Top solutions in the handle
A spearfishing knife is not complete and could not be a Best Choice winner if it had not shaft unlocking and straightening systems. Indeed the Cressi Snake has both systems perfectly integrated in the handle. In fact, the steel blade is also the central part of the anatomical grip.
The design of the grip is also excellent, making the Cressi Snake very handy. Of course, the compact dimensions of the Snake limit the length of the handle and the force applicable with the hand. Still, for the spearfishing use the compromise between compactness of the knife and handiness is great.
The surface of the two halves of the grip, made in glass loaded Nylon, are rough to have and anti slip solution. They are also dismountable unscrewing three small Allen screws. This is very useful to be able to clean properly the steel blade once in a while.
Arm or belt, all is possible
The perfect dimensions of the Cressi Snake knife also permit to position it either on the arm, where it is really easy to grab it and reposition it in the folder, or on the weight belt.
For the arm position, a very nice Velcro strap is included with the knife. Key is the fact that the strap is elastic, and so keeps in position perfectly on the arm. Moreover the elasticity is not too high, meaning the strap does not deform when pulling the knife out of the sheath.
Conclusions
The Cressi Snake knife has all the elements to be a Best Choice by Apnea Passion winner for 2025. Best quality steel, great dimensions and design and perfect fit either on the arm or weight belt. The cost, not low, is around 60 Euros. Still, this knife will ensure long lasting performance and will definitely make you save money in the end compared to low cost Chinese solutions. We would love to have more than the black colour for the grip, maybe a more visible in the water.
