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chris brown landing net handle

L

Leon Dodd

Senior Member
Hi all,
has anybody had any experience with these products?
My landing net handle has given up so I am in the market for a new one, I had almost decided on the drennan ss twist-lock although after reading some old threads on here it seems to have quite a few problems, whereas the chris brown products seem to be liitle mentioned, but only good things are said about them.
I can find no reference as to there weight or strength though?
I was looking at getting the 6' + 3' extension, so if anyone who has used this could let me know their thoughts this would be much appreciated,
many thanks, Leon
 
well. i have got the barbel one, i did like at first, then went off it,
it's heavy, the net is crude and twist lock has a habit of coming lose in the flow.
i wouldn't buy one again.
 
The Drennan gets far too much bad press and there are still an awful lot out there being used regularly despite it. Two years down the line and I wouldn't swap mine for anything.
However, if you really must avoid it then the genuine alternative is the Gardner.
 
Leon, get the drennan, if looked after they won't let you down. From what I'v seen of the CB products there not worth the money
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies, for whatever its faults may be, the drennan seemed like a clear winner so I've just been and got one, as there was a "20% off" sale at my local bobco, I decided to team it up with a new korum latex barbel spoon, now I just need to catch something to use it for, ho hum, I won't hold my breath,
thanks again and tight lines to all, Leon
 
i just picked up a rovex folding barbel spoon, anybody know about these, it was only £14.
looks good for the money.
 
Make sure that the arms click properly into the block as some of the first batch would pop out under any sort of sideways pressure - incuding a strong current. We returned all our first batch and since then they have been fine with no returns.
 
Nigel Gray said:
Make sure that the arms click properly into the block as some of the first batch would pop out under any sort of sideways pressure - incuding a strong current. We returned all our first batch and since then they have been fine with no returns.
Click to expand...
cheers, seems fine.
 
Good decision, I've got both poles and the cb one is def overpriced. The pole is ok but the barbel net is ropey.
 
I know I am going off subject slightl but For me you cannot beat a latex mesh by a country mile, I dont realy need the 4 foot mesh of a carp net to land my Barbel, sometimes too much is too much.
98 % of the Barbel I land are caught and released in a Korum Barbel spoon and a drennan specialist landing net pole and over 300 landed and only my miscaculation of leaving a landing net on the bank?? and asking a fellow angelr to over tighten my Widget on my landing net pole(finger tight is the way) I personally have never had a problem. Look after good Kit and it will look after you.
 
I have a Drennon Twistlock and i find it is excellent, yes i had a small problem with it at first but i changed the little black block that expands to tighten it up and not had a problem since.

The Chris Brown is an excellent product, three of my friends have them and rave about them.

Leslies of Luton do a barbel net/pole which is very good as is the Coneflex (not sure of the spelling and not too sure if they are still being made).
 
Tom Herbert said:
I have a Drennon Twistlock and i find it is excellent, yes i had a small problem with it at first but i changed the little black block that expands to tighten it up and not had a problem since.

The Chris Brown is an excellent product, three of my friends have them and rave about them.

Leslies of Luton do a barbel net/pole which is very good as is the Coneflex (not sure of the spelling and not too sure if they are still being made).
Click to expand...

If this is the Conoflex handle you are meaning Tom, it seems it may be a bit like the Drennan....some love it....other definitely not. I have not had either handles so can't comment, but it does seem odd the mixed reception that various items receive. All depends on the angler and how he handles things I guess (excuse the pun :D)

Conoflex extending langing net handle

Cheers, Dave.
 
I have one of the newer Drennan Extenders (they upgraded(?) recently) to augment my extending (but not lockable) Power Carp (commercial ) handle that has lasted well over the past four seasons.
The Spreader block thread fell out on my first decent fish on the Tidal Trent as the carbon split around one of the two rivets. They replaced it but I now have doubts about its strength. I will strenghten the area in the close using fibreglass but now wish I had bought the heavier duty Gardner.
An extending (and lockable) landing net handle that is reliable should not be beyond modern tackle designers, surely.
 
The CB one is the best quality one you will find, and its by far the most expensive. Its not light but very strong. The net lets it down though.
 
Repeating myself from another LNH thread - but still applies:
So you pay a good price for something that's not quite there - bargain.
This happens with lots of kit.
The shortcoming with twistlocks (other than jamming or failing to lock) and I include the Fox Stalker Big Fish along with the Drennan is that unless modified (the Fox is relatively simple to do), one careless twist can see the top section of the handle falling out. This happened to my Drennan when my mate hurridly netted a fish for me, gave an inadvertant twist and top section detached. Luckily we managed to save fish and top section with some scrabbling and sliding.
This is where Powerstretch, Gardner and Conoflex win.
Additionally, not all landing net handles are suited to all locations - you may not have problems when fishing from tennis lawn swims but high banks are a different matter.
When considering a LNH think where you will be using it mostly.
The Conoflex (Heavy Version) is around 8' Mine's (although extended to 9.5') is still going strong.
The Gardner about 10'
The Drennan around 10'
On balance for my kind of fishing and money the Gardner handle wins.
I looked at the Chris Brown one - but as I occasionally use a weedcutter and a couple of other attachable bits to the handle, I wanted a LNH with a 'standard fishing' 3/8" BSF thread and not a 'dedicated' fixed spreader block. I can also fit other net heads/spreaders to the handle with ease.

Regarding the actual net then replacements can be bought (at a price) from various tackle shops.

I'm actually using a folding spoon net head for lighter fishing (ABU Garcia Specimen Net comes in 60, 70 and 80cm at around 16 to 18 quid although plastic block - no trouble after 6 months use) and Gardner Spoon for heavier applications.

Pax Vobiscum,
Bob
 
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