+1 on the Zac, they have good handles and decent faceplate steel. I own Corna, Nupla, Lamberton, and Zacs.
The Corna steel is probably higher quaility that the Zac which if you are soil with a lot of rock content might be an advantage. (The tines on the Corna's seem to get bent a lot less than the Zacs. But I'm not a big fan of the Corna or any of the bolt on designs, since we have a clay soil which when moist will stick to the face. Zac and other non-bolt on's are easier to clear the soil off the face.
I vote for the Zac McLeod not because they work better, they all work pretty much the same, but because of how they stack together. The steel shaft on a Zac McLeod is ovalized so the handle of one Zac slides between the fork tines of another one. This allows you to store 1/3 more McLeods in the same space. This can be particularly important for trail building organizations and tool trailers where space is at a premium and lots of McLeods have to be transported. The nested McLeods are also more easily secured for transport.
+1 on the Zac, they have good handles and decent faceplate steel. I own Corna, Nupla, Lamberton, and Zacs.
The Corna steel is probably higher quaility that the Zac which if you are soil with a lot of rock content might be an advantage. (The tines on the Corna's seem to get bent a lot less than the Zacs. But I'm not a big fan of the Corna or any of the bolt on designs, since we have a clay soil which when moist will stick to the face. Zac and other non-bolt on's are easier to clear the soil off the face.
What do you think of the Nupla? I plan on ordering a few tomorrow for the price of $40bucks I thought they looked good.
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body.
Me and my trail work buddies have all been using Nupla Mcleods and love them. They can take a beating and the flat face is great for tamping. Ive got 100+ hours of use out of my current one and it is still in great shape.
What do you think of the Nupla? I plan on ordering a few tomorrow for the price of $40bucks I thought they looked good.
Agree that the durability is close to the same on all of them.
As was mentioned in an earlier post, one big advantage of the Zac is the way it nests which reduces the amount of space that it takes up by half of all the others but if you are only buying a few or have a lot of storage space that probably is not important to you. I have about 50 tools all crammed into my garage so it's helpful to me.
Yeah space is no issue as I have roughly 30 tools and out of those only one mcleod. My concern was just on durability . I have seen some mcleods that look as if they would bend if you stared at it long enough and I have seen some that weigh a ton. The nupla look like a good inbetweener that had a long lasting handle.
Thanks again
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body.
I am a bit of a traditionalist; I don't like fiberglass handles. Wood has inherent shock adsorption qualities- unlike fiberglass- is easier to replace and customize, and has a more pleasing feel. Fiberglass technologies just cannot reproduce these benefits yet; it's only advantage is its ability to be _abused_.
I don't abuse my tools.
The advantage of lighter weight is debatable since the heavier weight of the wood helps balance the tool head.
Agreed that the large bolt head sticking out the middle of the face is counterproductive for our purposes.
Last edited by KnifeKnut; 03-05-2012 at 10:39 AM.
Reason: forgot weight
I also wanted a wood handle. Just bought this one from amazon as it was the only one with free shipping and the prices were otherwise comparable. Any one have personal experience with the Truper?
Another thought I had: what length handle is best? I am only guessing from an ergonomic and geometric standpoint, but wouldn't the shorter handled ones be easier to use while bench cutting and firefighting on slopes, while the longer ones would better suited for fighting fires on flatter ground?
^ your logic makes sense, knifeknut. Of course, you can always just choke up a bit on a longer handle for working on slopes. Can't make a short handle any longer though....
^ your logic makes sense, knifeknut. Of course, you can always just choke up a bit on a longer handle for working on slopes. Can't make a short handle any longer though....
Your logic makes sense too deezler, but work all day "choked up" on a handle that's too long & you'll soon see why the number of tools you need equals the number you have, plus one.
Short handle for benching and long handle for grooming flat. Neither will work well for the other purpose for long.
Personally, I use a long (54") handle on my Mcleod (Corona) and use my Rogue for most of my side benching.
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^ I thought of that the other day. That is why I am leaning towards getting a short handled one and reworking it so that I can swap handles as needed, and of course break down for easier transport. 2 tools for the weight of 1 1/4!
Well, I have settled on a getting Rogue 70HRH, which has a nice curved 40 inch handle and a large rectangular ferrule. From what I understand, it is beefy enough to cut through roots with ease, taking over some of the tasks of the Pulaski when using that length handle; when I figure out how to make a swappable long handle for it, I will effectively have two tools.
Well, I have settled on a getting Rogue 70HRH, which has a nice curved 40 inch handle and a large rectangular ferrule. From what I understand, it is beefy enough to cut through roots with ease, taking over some of the tasks of the Pulaski when using that length handle; when I figure out how to make a swappable long handle for it, I will effectively have two tools.
Like the old Lays potato chip ad, one ain't enough; I have Rogue FB70H, 70HR54, and 80RH just given to try / evaluate, and see if we want more for the tool trailer.
The 70HR54 has replaced my trusty 4 tine McLeod, I still sometimes want a standard 6 tine McLeod, but the 70HR54 now can handle about 80% of what I want to build / maintain / repair. And an occasional pulaski or pick mattock, sometimes a rock bar, sometimes a doublejack, power hedger, loppers, chainsaw, BoB, beloved R5....... Gotta have a stock of tools!
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Originally Posted by TrailYoda
