Anglers Mail » CATAPULTS

MAGGOT CATAPULTS

thomaspetch — Fri, 21 May 2010 10:54:32 +0000

Tested by Colin Mitchell

TREV TOMLIN POWER SPEED

£6.99
This ’pult is offered for corn, pellet and bits of meat – baits it can fire with ease. There’s a nice handle, and the grip’s improved with rubber banding. The rigid frame and mesh pouch give good firing abilities. Sadly, no spares.
SCORE: 24/30

SEYMO SPOT ON

£6.99
This is the beast of four models in the range. It has a big mesh pouch with a good puller for your fingers to hold on to and an excellent hand grip wrapped with rubber rings that ensure non-slip.There are spares and this ’pult easily reaches the 12 m-30 m distances claimed with bigger baits.
SCORE: 25/30

PRESTON PIN POINT

£5.99
There’s a solid rubber pouch on this model with a good cord grip that ensures fingers won’t slip on the pull back, even if wet and slimy. The frame is super rigid to give good distance and there’s a pretty good grouping of baits. A neat and simple ’pult that does what it promises. Comes with spare elastics.
SCORE: 26/30

FOX EASY FEED MATCH

£5.99
The big brother of the pole, canal and river models. It’s the beast without being a total animal! It comes with spare elastics. The big mesh pouch offers the chance to feed a lot of bait but it’s still accurate with smaller amounts of feed. Handle gently and you can even do a bit of more delicate feeding too.
SCORE: 26/30

AVANTI PELLET/CORN

£5.99
The manufacturers class this as a medium ‘pult but it’s so rugged you can whack big particle baits a lot further than you expect with this model, and with good accuracy! There’s a semi-rigid pouch, which could be firmer, but it comes with spare latex and ties giving good value for money.
SCORE: 26/30

BEST BUY

DRENNAN TEAM ENGLAND MATCH

£5.95
There are five models in this range. The fact these catapults have been around a while tells you they have stood the test of time. Medium soft latex on this model with a nylon mesh pouch and cord pull gives both good distance and accuracy. A really solid frame too, plus spare elastics.
SCORE: 27/30

NOTE: All products tested December 2008. All prices correct at the time of going to Press. Angler’s Mail do not take responsibility for price or product changes or current availability.

PARTICLE CATAPULTS

thomaspetch — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:10:23 +0000

Tested by Duncan Charman

MIDDY PRO INTER FRAME

£4.50
Moulded one-piece extra wide frame. Latex fits onto spigots that rotate within frame arms, but doesn’t eliminate twist completely and after tests the thin latex showed signs of wear. Fold over spigot style connecters once again attach latex to pouch through eyelets but on testing one broke! The strength of the Xtra Strong ROBO Pouch is questionable and is on the small side, lending itself more towards match particle work. On tests this ’pult was extremely accurate at grouping baits and surprisingly good on distance.
SCORE: 22/30

HOPKINS AND HOLLOWAY SPOT-ON SYSTEM

£7.49
Comfortable compact ’pult with a Sure Grip moulded handle. Latex fits into frame and is secured by small plugs but unfortunately one broke on testing. The pouch is a moulded plastic mesh style cone and is relatively small with the latex connected by spigot style connectors. Suiting the match angler more than the specialist. I found the knotted finger pull difficult to use. As good as any tested for accuracy of bait grouping and distance. Spare latex supplied.
SCORE: 23/30

FOX PARTICLE/PELLET

£8.99
Flat handle with comfortable rubberised grip. Short but strong latex fits into recesses within the ends of the arms and is connected to both frame and pouch by small plugs and retaining rings. The pouch is on the large side but strong and incorporates an easy to use finger grip. However, it does create quite bad knuckle rap. Doesn’t create the tightest of bait grouping due to the size of the ’pult and also falls short on distance. A good ’pult for introducing lots of bait at close-quarters.
SCORE: 25/30

DRENNAN FEEDERPULT

£6.45
Compact moulded handled ’pult. The latex connects to the frame via spigot connectors that swivel to reduce twist. Fold over strips connect the powerful latex through metal eyelets, spigot style to a medium sized flat pouch, which has the uncomfortable, knotted string style finger pull. On testing it performed well offering accuracy of group baits and distance. A no-frills ’pult but a good all-rounder and one that will withstand considerable use.
SCORE: 26/30

ATOMIC CAMO-KAT

£9.50
A hollow soft-grip handle and ultra light but sturdy frame with latex holding points set at 90 degrees. The T shaped frame removes any knuckle rap, which creates confidence in use. The latex connects to the oversized flat pouch by push-on spigots and the pouch is folded, stitched and incorporates reinforced eyelets along with an uncomfortable to use Velcro finger pull. A specialist ’pult that’s surprisingly accurate on bait grouping but the size of the ’pult reduces distance considerably.
SCORE: 27/30

BEST BUY

ESP PARTICLE

£8.95
Rigid framed ’pult with a comfortable grip. Long strong latex is connected to the pouch as well as the frame via push-on spigot style connectors and incorporates a swivel mechanism to reduce twist. Large strong flat style pouch with comfortable finger pull delivers plenty of bait relatively tightly and further than the other ’pults tested. A quality made specialist ’pult that’s made to last but its drawback is that it’s difficult to use at close-quarters.
SCORE: 28/30

NOTE: All products tested May 2010. All prices correct at the time of going to Press. Angler’s Mail do not take responsibility for price or product changes or current availability.

BOILIE CATAPULTS

thomaspetch — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:44:20 +0000

Tested by Duncan Charman

30PLUS KARPULT

£6.50
Moulded camo ’pult with no handle grip. Super strength latex is brutal and finger grip is released early due to this. Swivel mechanism reduces latex twist and is connected to pouch and frame by standard, push-on spigot-style attachments. The pouch is extremely fragile and lacks any fold-over around eyelets. Accurate with singles but multiples need holding within pouch and fell short on distance. Unfortunately the pouch split after minimal use and needs to be redesigned.
SCORE: 17/30

DRENNAN BOILIE

£7.50
A compact, small handled ’pult with a sturdy frame. The ends of the arms are set at 90 degrees for securing latex, which is connected to the large flat pouch by push-on spigot-style attachments. The latex tends to twist around frame after use and also showed slight wear after testing. The pouch has reinforced eyelets and incorporates an easy-to-use finger pull. On testing it performed well on both single boilie accuracy and multiple grouping, but fell well short on distance.
SCORE: 23/30

HOPKINS AND HOLLOWAY SPOT-ON MULTI BOILIE

£9.99
Hollow handle yet rigid frame with comfortable rubber thumb position and grip. Strong latex connected by cable ties to frame. Swivel mechanism reduces twist. Standard push-on spigot style pouch attachment. Medium flat pouch with an easy finger pull base. Accurate firing of single boilies, minimal knuckle rap but multiples need to be held within pouch, reducing distance as well as tight grouping. Boilies falling short on 60-yard distance test.
SCORE: 24/30

ESP BOILIE PULT

£8.95
Rigid framed ’pult with a comfortable grip. Long latex is connected to the pouch as well as the frame by the standard push-on spigot-style attachment. Swivel mechanism incorporated to reduce twist. Boasts a big cone-shaped plastic pouch and easy-to-use finger release at the base. Unfortunately the system caused some serious knuckle rap, which created unease in use and loss of consistency in both single boilie accuracy and grouping of multiples. However, it did easily outfire all the others tested on distance.
SCORE: 24/30

ATOMIC BLACK-KAT

£9.50
The T-shaped frame removes any knuckle rap, which creates confidence in use. A hollow, soft-grip handle and ultra light but sturdy frame with latex holding points set at 90 degrees. The latex connects to the medium flat pouch by push-on spigots. The shallow pouch is folded, with reinforced eyelets and a Velcro finger pull. Good on accuracy and distance, but multiple baits need to be held within pouch, which reduces distance and tight grouping. Latex began to work off frame after tests.
SCORE: 25/30

BEST BUY

FOX MEGA DISTANCE

£8.99
Well thought out and certainly made to last, this was also the only one to incorporate a power guard that completely eliminates any knuckle rap. A solid, comfortable rubber handle with screw-on tops that house the pin-and-ring elastic connectors. The latex is a couple of inches shorter than most, and connects through the moulded cone pouch, which has an easy to use finger grip at its base. It scored highly on single boilie accuracy and tight boilie grouping, but fell well short on the distance test.
SCORE: 27/30

NOTE: All products tested April 2010. All prices correct at the time of going to Press. Angler’s Mail do not take responsibility for price or product changes or current availability.