Im a young Decoy. HELP! - Page 1

I just started decoy work a few months ago and Im getting ready to purchase equipment of my owne but i just dont know what to get. there are so many scratch suits and bite sleeves out there that its hard to tell what is good. I like the Gappay sleeve i have been using at my club. Thats all I know. If any of you decoys know of any realy good scratch suits please let me know. Any other gear infrmation is welcomed as well. Thanks  

Frabo, check with http://www.hallmarkk9.com/ Jim Hill has everything you will need.

What i want to know is what makes those FRABO pants worth 400 dollars in relation to the gappay that are 210, 230 or 240.  

In my experience... Frabo and Schweikert are made with better quality and last longer. Frabo is definately on the pricey side. http://www.dogsportgear.com/

I have the Schweikert synthetic leather pants, I've been using them since '96 and they have held up great.  They are washable and comfortable.  If I bought a second pair of pants they would be nylon, because summers in VIrginia are hot and they seem to dry faster.  I buy all of my equipment from Hallmark, call Jim Hill and ask him the differences.  He'll give you an honest answer.  Frabo makes very high quality equipment, all of my sleeves (3) are Frabo and one is Schweikert.  My 12 year old Frabo trial sleeve is still my favorite and I've used  it alot; nearly everyday lately.   I would recommend the Frabo sleeves because they will definately hold up for years.  I've tried many other brands and in my experience the Frabo is very comfortable, has an excellent bite bar and outlasts the others.  

FWIW,

Jim 

It was defintly hot when i got to virginia but now its freezing. Nothing like hawaii!!! thanks Jim and Dannyj

If you can go to a large event where there are several vendors the best way is to try stuff on and see what fits you best.  Especially with sleeves.  We have about 6-7 different sleeves from different makers and all are a little different in the fit and finish.  It is going to come down to what fits you best.  (If you can swing it go to one of the big german events like the BSP or Sieger show as often you can get lucky and hit a sale, plus you can try everything on and see what fits you best)  You might as well take your time and shop around as this stuff will last you a long time, (sometimes to long, I wish our dept.s late 80's vintage bite suit would self destruct, it sucks) but I have sleeves and scratch pants that I bought in 1992 and 1994 and our club has pants from the late 80's and they are still functional.

I have mostly Schweikert sleeves, a Frabo, and a VK arm.  The Schweiker sleeves and Frabo  have lasted for many years.  I personally prefer Schweikert, and second the comment about their Aero pants lasting forever.  They are washable, and breath.  I also had a "Shorty" sleeve from Harddog once.  I really liked it, it was very light and had a nice compression, but it wore out quickly.  Ralph Gilby in Canada sells good quality Schweikert equipment.  One piece of equipment a lot of helpers skip and eventually regret is a good kidney belt.  It helps. 

DCW

Plenty of sleeve out thier. It is all your preference. What I like is completely different from other helpers.  I try not to buy sleeves on the net anymore becuase I end up sending them back because of the bite bar angle  or the barrel is too narrow.  But a  nice sleeve tho is Ray Allen basic training sleeve it is $125 and a very nice sleeve overall. Bigger bite bar, plent of room in the barrel very light. You can use it on young dogs as well as season dogs the bitebar firmness is not to soft, but yet not to hard. Plus Made in the USA and any problems send back and Ray allen has excellant Customer service.  Another USA company I had good luck is Signaturek9 in VA...A buddy of mine bought a couple of sleeves and not bad for the price. I like thier trial sleeve, but not thier light trial sleeve, jst my preferance. Thier in VA, maybe take a trip to them and you can actually try on stuff.

www.rayallen.com

www.signaturek9.com

Scratch Pants..Schweikert you can not go wrong with( now they have a solid  charcoal and solid  gray color...Gappay good in the winter brutal in the Summer (I live in CA).. Ebinger are the pants I would love to get, but with the Euro against our US dollar, forget about it.. Bende pants are nice, light ..but thier colors I don't like.

 hope this helps

mario

you all have been realy helpful. What is this kidney protector thati have never herd of?