looking at a new pick

has anyone got any comments as to how these picks perform as to the more expensive ones ????

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180634435837&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180635282527&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

comments please guys,,, hope these links work lmao

happy hunting
Steve and Lea

G'day Madmaverick.

They state spring steel and hopefully the handles are made out of top grade wood such as hickory,but your never gunna know until you buy one and put it to use. As for me,its been going on to almost 9 years since i bought my Walco picks and there still going as strong as ever.

Cheers kon61.

A couple of weeks agoI bought the pick in the first link you posted, but as yet not had the chance to test it.

Not to sure how well it will stand up to heavy ground seeing as there is only one screw through the top of the shaft holding the head of the piuck on.....

Time will tell I suppose

makes me wonder if they are worth trying or just buy one of the reputable brands hmmmm

happy hunting
Steve and Lea

The first one is similar to mine and I love it. The second one I wouldnt like as I prefer a narrower blade. If you get real hard ground you need the narrow blade.
Cheers
Panther

Hi Steve and Lea,
as a back up or compact transportable light duty pick they may be fine. I bought a small detatchable handle one of this fellow a few years ago that would fit in the tool box on my quad. Reasonably well made and still have it today though I've only ever used it a few times.

For serious no noscence hole digging I'd either get a known brand heavy duty job or if you're handy make you own. Digging a big hole in rock hard ground is hard enough with a big hefty heavy duty pick and you you want the pick to do the work for you.

My personal preference is for a wider and longer scraping blade than what's shown in his picture, something with an angry bite where the weight does a fair percentage of the work.

A long handle also helps, not just because longer gives you more momentum on the swing, but also when having a breather you can use it as a seat..just don't get the sitting end mixed up

cheers!

This link takes you to the Estwing site. I have one of these for the heavy stuff but is too heavy to carry everywhere.
http://www.digitup.com.au/estwing-geopaleo-pick-p-44.html Not cheap either.

Panther

Gday


A good pick is worth paying for, the long thin blades are good in hard ground as earlier stated but its much easier to scrape out a deep hole if the other end is nice and wide, so it should have both these features,the handle has got to be a good fit in the hand as if the handle that is too thin its hard to grip and tiring on the hands and wrists, a good quality hardwood handle is the way to go as steel handles can jar your wrists if you are hitting rock.

The Walco picks are pretty popular and seem to be the most used, and reasonably priced too, I like to carry a heavier pick as there is nothing worse than being some distance from camp and getting a deep target when you are only carrying a small pick, if you have something that you can bear to carry and it will do the heavier jobs, that will save you a trip back to get something bigger.

I use the cc picks "prospector" pick now as the last couple of walco's I bought were a bit light in the blade and didnt last too long, constantly needing sharpening, the prospector pick is pretty heavy but boy it does the job, big holes no problem, the bigger pick makes the going a lot easier, cc picks do all sized picks, they are expensive but so far I am having a good run with this one.

It all comes down to what you are able to carry and your budget, but sometimes you are just better off getting a tried and tested tool rather than something thats unknown, a good pick is an important piece of kit and can make the job either easy or harder than it should be, you will only realise the importance of this is when you get a deep signal in hard ground and have to battle away at it with a pick that is not adequate for the task.

Anyway have a look at these links

http://www.ccpicks.com.au/

http://www.nuggetsfromdownunder.com.au/main.asp?Category=46

cheers

stayyerAU

The top one looks ok to me, if i was after a new one and for $40 it might be worth it.
Only prob i see is the scraping out blade is a bit narrow
But i have 3 Walco picks now,except for the handle length on the lighter ones i cant fault them.
Plenty out there to choose from these days.
Regards
John