I have a small collection of nets. Really, I need to sell a few but they each have their own pros and cons. Some are large. Some are small. Some are wooden. Some are made with space age materials. But none are from Japan. Recently, I decided to buy a net made by Shimano, just to see what it was like.
Another thing I wanted to do with this purchase was to test how challenging it was to buy from a UK company. Since I live in the US, importing items can on occasion be very troublesome and therefore it can be a big turn-off. I have purchased from Oleg at Tenkara Times, and his stuff comes quickly and without issue, so I was hopeful that purchasing from the UK would be just as easy.
The company I chose was Esoteric Tackle from the UK. At the time, they had the Shimano net I wanted in stock so I purchased from them. Their website was easy to navigate and purchasing with PayPal was straight forward. I received excellent email communication as well. So far, so good.
The net I bought was the Shimano tamo 30 cm. It is a beautiful net. At 30 cm (hoop diameter) it is large and I suspect would not be desired by all tenkara fishers, but it also comes in a 25 cm hoop diameter. The handle is very comfortable to hold and is long enough ( 14 inches) that I don't have to bend over too far (bad back, you know). I don't know if the handle on the 25 cm version is as thick as the 30 cm, but it makes the net more challenging to just stick through your belt -- not impossible, just more challenging. I use my net with my Smith Creek Net Holster so there is no issue.
The netting is nylon thread (not nylon monofilament) which is woven into a soft mesh; very nice.
Another thing that is nice is that there is a convenient lanyard attachment. It is on the handle base, near the hoop attachment. My net didn't come with a lanyard but I used a loop of bowstring to go through the attachment hole, then hooked a net leash to this loop. It works great!
The net arrived from Esoteric Tackle in great shape. It was packaged with cardboard. The package looked sort of like a racquetball racket! Inside the cardboard the net was in a plastic cover.
I've used the net numerous times now and it seems like a very nice, premium net. Large fish are no problem and by the looks of its quality I suspect the net will be durable over time. This, we will see.
There are numerous vendors outside of the US that sell this net, but if you decide to buy one from Esoteric Tackle have no fear, it will arrive quickly and well packaged!
Another thing I wanted to do with this purchase was to test how challenging it was to buy from a UK company. Since I live in the US, importing items can on occasion be very troublesome and therefore it can be a big turn-off. I have purchased from Oleg at Tenkara Times, and his stuff comes quickly and without issue, so I was hopeful that purchasing from the UK would be just as easy.
The company I chose was Esoteric Tackle from the UK. At the time, they had the Shimano net I wanted in stock so I purchased from them. Their website was easy to navigate and purchasing with PayPal was straight forward. I received excellent email communication as well. So far, so good.
The net I bought was the Shimano tamo 30 cm. It is a beautiful net. At 30 cm (hoop diameter) it is large and I suspect would not be desired by all tenkara fishers, but it also comes in a 25 cm hoop diameter. The handle is very comfortable to hold and is long enough ( 14 inches) that I don't have to bend over too far (bad back, you know). I don't know if the handle on the 25 cm version is as thick as the 30 cm, but it makes the net more challenging to just stick through your belt -- not impossible, just more challenging. I use my net with my Smith Creek Net Holster so there is no issue.
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| 12 inch diameter |
The netting is nylon thread (not nylon monofilament) which is woven into a soft mesh; very nice.
Another thing that is nice is that there is a convenient lanyard attachment. It is on the handle base, near the hoop attachment. My net didn't come with a lanyard but I used a loop of bowstring to go through the attachment hole, then hooked a net leash to this loop. It works great!
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| Tether attachment point |
The net arrived from Esoteric Tackle in great shape. It was packaged with cardboard. The package looked sort of like a racquetball racket! Inside the cardboard the net was in a plastic cover.
I've used the net numerous times now and it seems like a very nice, premium net. Large fish are no problem and by the looks of its quality I suspect the net will be durable over time. This, we will see.
There are numerous vendors outside of the US that sell this net, but if you decide to buy one from Esoteric Tackle have no fear, it will arrive quickly and well packaged!
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