10-15 years ago all I ever used was the rapala knives. The cheaper all black models. They feel perfect in your hand and I cleaned many of fish with them, but I would wind up burning one up every couple years. I finally went with the HD model that’s grey and black sometime around 2012 and I loved it other than it was bulkier than the all black model. It was strong and that knife lasted me until 2020. Best I recall, something finally broke where the blades were inserted. The knife never stopped running and I still have it. I robbed parts from another knife to try and repair it but I lost the function of removing the blades. Its stored away in a drawer for a spare and an extra knife when needed.
I broke down and bought a bubba blade a couple years ago and I love it. I love the thin blades, it’s powerful, and it’s got a pretty good feel for a bulkier knife. Time will tell, but it sounds like a better made knife than the rapala, if that makes any sense. But any knife that’ll last me as long as the rapala is a dang good one in my book. It just runs quieter and feels better put together. Either way, I think they are both great knives and for the money I’d probably give the nod to the rapala because it’s much cheaper.
My bubba blade is a plug in model but my dad has a 12v model and I really like it’s convenience. I was leery about the battery life so I didn’t go that route but from what I’ve seen it lasts a long time. Brand new he cleaned 60-70 crappie on a single charge from 1 battery. It doesn’t seem quite as strong as my plug in model but it is still plenty strong.
Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com