Raptor vs. the Badger

Yep, $72 seems pretty steep for that digger. Thought about a Lesche ? As for that video, you just never know what kind of soil these people are digging in. Personally, I don't particularly like any of the hand diggers, no matter how soft the soil, and if you already got a Hori, maybe you should consider something like the 33" Sampson T-Handle. It is surely easier on the back, plus it will cut a much neater plug

Reef Runner said:

Yep, $72 seems pretty steep for that digger. Thought about a Lesche ? As for that video, you just never know what kind of soil these people are digging in. Personally, I don't particularly like any of the hand diggers, no matter how soft the soil, and if you already got a Hori, maybe you should consider something like the 33" Sampson T-Handle. It is surely easier on the back, plus it will cut a much neater plug

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+1 Sampson t handle lesche has been my go to for 3 seasons now. I've used it from frozen ground to rock hard road beds, it doesn't skip a beat, if I had to choose one, it would be the raptor though GL & HH!

Several have the Predator and love it, I have never heard if the Badger.
The original company George Lesche was quite part of, WW Manufacturing, if you have any problems at all with that very popular hand digger many of us have or anything else they make like their Sampson line they just send you a new one if one of theirs ever fails for any reason at any time.
Don't know about the Predator tools warranty but it wouldn't be a stretch to assume it was the same.

One of the most important tools we use is a digger.
Buy too cheap and replacement costs can add up, not to mention a failure in the middle of a hunt can really screw up your day.

Is an extra $10 that big if a deal on a known quality tool?
When the Yugo car first came on the market even though cars were less expensive back then this thing was really cheap and many bought them figuring a car is a car.
It didn't take long for all of them to figure out what kind of a great deal this really was.

You get what you pay for is usually a real thing.
Considering this specific tool actually helps to make you money it is an investment in quality, not just a simple purchase of a hand digger...in my mind, anyway.

That all being said if you have rough soil the Raptor does not pierce the ground as well as the normal, cheaper Lesche tool lots of us use.
For moving a lot if dirt out of a hole efficiently it is excellent, if you have good and easy dirt to deal with in the first place.

I was going to get a Raptor when I lived in Kansas but we ended up moving back to the clay filled dirt here in the southeast before I did.
Good thing...that tool was perfect for that state but here it would have not worked very well at all.
My regular hand digger works excellently, however.

I use the Raptor

It's excellent for grass and soil digging in yards and Parks. The Raptor has a nice curve and digs perfect cone shaped plugs. It's also indestructible! If digging wooded lots/forest terrain, I'd look for a T-handled 36" shovel.

HOS

All Predator tools have a 5 year warrany, just found that out today while researching one of their tools and though I would share.

Spend the extra 10 bucks. The Rapter is thinner and stronger because it has a cupped curve to it and heat treated. The curve lifts and loosens the plug making it easier to drive the tool in the ground from the first plunge. Look at the video again and see me lift the plug on each plunge. If the tool was strait you couldn't do this as well.