Jonno from ERD
Very Well-Known Member
Just to clarify - our choice of Gentle Giants wasn't because we think they are good, but because they aren't as bad as all the others. I tried some Raptors on the weekend and while they run second to Gentle Giants, they weren't up to scratch. We also tried the rest of Raptors gear - the hook was OK, very similar to what Geoff Coombe uses, but it was still quite fragile. The pinner was a disappointment - there is a huge market for a well made pinner and I was hoping Raptor would come to the table but unfortunately it didn't. It may work well for species such as Eastern Browns, but as soon as we tried to pin a 1.2m Kingy, it stuck it's chin into the table and pulled straight out from underneath. The tension was as tight as it could go and the two sprung arms were touching the table either side of the snake. The design of the hoop bag was good, with the angled handle and flat edged hoop, however it was a little flimsy and the opening was quite small.