RidgeMonkey RM-Tec Hooks
Rather than dipping their toes into the terminal tackle market, RidgeMonkey has bombed in at the deep end
With world domination on their minds, the RidgeMonkey team set out to release a range of terminal tackle that would sit alongside their established bankware essentials. Given the hard-won reputation the company has forged, the team couldn’t afford a slip and tested the RM-Tec range to destruction. So, yes we’ve had to wait a little while since the first rumblings, but the RM-Tec range of hooks is now ready, and bloody good they are too!
With seasoned carper Dave Levy leading a crack team of product men, the RM-Tec hook range was always going to be good, and the four patterns within the range - Beaked Point, Chod Hook, Straight Point, Curved Shank - will amply cover you for all your fishing, which is just as the guys intended. All four benefit from the RM-Tec GunMetal coating, which is super-slick and protective, super-sharp points and heavily forged bends.
The Beaked Point pattern is the perfect bottom-bait/wafter hook, and we’re told that it makes a pretty mean floater hook too! The Chod Hook speaks for itself, with an eye-wateringly sharp, straight point and that crucial out-turned eye, it’s the perfect pattern to reach for when using stiffer materials. The Curved Shank is a bit of an all-rounder, and whips round to find hold when used with a range of rigs, without the need for a shrink-tube kicker! And finally, the Straight Point is a brute of a hook, that’s been designed to make short work of the snaggiest environments that we pursue our quarry in, so reach for these when the going gets tough and the carp get tougher!
£4.99 per pack of 10
Long, super sharp pointsInside line: Gareth Evans
Thanks to RidgeMonkey we’re now turning out more gourmet meals than Gordon Ramsay; illuminating our bivvies via a remote; and never seeing that dreaded 5% battery warning on our smartphones. Having clearly improved our bankside living, they’re now going headlong after your tackle box - looking to fill every compartment box and rig board with a range of inventive terminal tackle items. Like you, we had some questions, and RM’s marketing man, Gareth Evans, was the man to answer them…
Firstly, why has RidgeMonkey decided to move into the terminal tackle market? It’s quite a bold step…
“As a collective, we’ve had plans for terminal tackle from day one. We now have the resources to turn those ideas into reality and provide other anglers with tackle to improve their catch-rate, alongside the innovative bankside accessories that we’re perhaps best known for at the moment.”
Someone wrote on our Facebook wall in response to the video we posted: “Same hooks, same patterns, same factories as all the rest - what happened to RidgeMonkey originality? I can’t see the point (if you excuse the pun!) personally.” What would be your response to that?
“That’s a very cynical and apparently widespread misconception; oh the joy of the internet these days! We demand exceptional quality from all RidgeMonkey products and the RM-Tec range is no different. For the hooks, we have chosen to work with a UK supplier with many, many years experience in the coarse, sea and game markets, and the high carbon steel used in all four patterns is actually sourced from Norway: far from “same old, same old”!
“New processes have been utilised to make them sharper than any other commercially available ‘out of the packet’ hook and two of the patterns have been developed from scratch by Dave Levy, with subtle tweaks to ‘the norm’ based on his years of experience both on the bank and in the industry.”
What else can we expect terminal-wise from RidgeMonkey in the future?
“As you’ve already seen from the oversized eye and parallel point of the Chod Hook: it’s the little details that sometimes make an enormous difference to the bigger picture. Rigs and tactics are constantly evolving and we have an entire end tackle range in various stages of development, with each item receiving the same close scrutiny and attention to detail. Oh, and expect to see a few completely new concepts along the way too!”
2. All patterns feature a forged bend and a unique RM GunMetal CoatingFrom the man who's tested them: Dave Levy
“I’ve been testing the hooks for well over a year now - and not just me but a selected team who would give us honest feedback. I’m so impressed with them and knew if I was putting my name to something then it had to be good or I simply wouldn’t do it. In terms of stats, I’ve landed 99.8% of carp I’ve hooked on the beak points; I had 56 carp before I lost one. And as for a personal favourite, that would be the Chod: massive gape and strong gauge, a perfect big carp hook.”