Gear Review: Midwest Tongs Mark O'Shea Signature Series Snake Hook

Product and Purchase Info
Product: Mark O'Shea Signature Series Snake Hook
Manufacturer: Midwest Tongs
Date of Purchase: January, 2006
URL: http://tongs.com/
Purchase Price: $49.95

Product Details
Weight: very light, exact weight coming soon
Dimensions: total length 29 inches, shaft width 0.75 inches, titanium hook 4 inches wide and 4.5 inches tall, handle grips 4 inches long
Size: this review is for the 29 inch hook
Colour: anodized blue with silver hook and black grips

Evaluation
Having worked at a zoo and a nature center, I've used many snake hooks before. I've always been disappointed with their flimsiness, and couldn't see dragging one into the field with me, so I never bought one. Then I met the Mark O'Shea Signature Series 29 inch snake hook from Midwest Tongs. This beast of a hook is now my constant companion on hikes and roadcruises. It is love, indeed!

The blue anodized tubing is thicker and tougher than the standard golf-club-style hooks of yesteryear, and the titanium hook, held in by rivets, shouldn't bend or twist out of place. This well-balanced hook is easy to hold and carry with its grippy texture and foam mid-shaft and rubber end-shaft pads.

I use my hook for flipping rocks, ripping and rolling logs, moving branches, digging in the dirt, poking around in murky water, traversing steep cliffs, beating away dead branches, examining dead things, and keeping my footing in slippery conditions. Oh, and you can use it on snakes, too! At 29 inches long, this hook isn't really appropriate for handling large or strike-happy venomous snakes, but it comes in a 40 inch version if that's more your style. I prefer the 29 inch version because it straps to the outside of my packs without sticking off really far and snagging on things, and I think it's easier to carry, especially when bushwhacking (which is most of what I do). This hook is more like an indestructible extension of my arm.

I've used this hook all over the country, including: the bluffs, creeks, and cliffs of Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois; the deserts, forests, mountains, washes, and canyons of Tonto National Forest in Arizona; the mountains, rivers, and sage flats of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming; and the lakes and portages of the Boundary Waters in Minnesota and Canada. It's survived all kinds of environments and weather conditions and my constant abuse, but is still in very good condition. It has many scrapes and scratches on the handle and hook, which is to be expected, and the only real damage is a tear in the foam mid-shaft handle. Nothing on the hook has become loose, cracked, or broken. I couldn't be happier.

Bottom Line
If you're looking for a rough-and-tumble field hook that will go the distance with you, look no further than the Midwest Tongs Mark O'Shea Signature Series snake hooks!