# Hexa Bumpers



## Bruce MacPherson (Mar 7, 2005)

Those of you that use them. What do you like, what don't you like?


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## JeffLusk (Oct 23, 2007)

i have 2.. they are really hard bumpers which i kind of dont like, but they do hold up REALLY well. plus they come ready with ropes!!


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## Pepper Dawg (Sep 26, 2007)

I use them for a couple of reasons:
1. If a young dog begins to roll the bumper during FF these seem to help stop that.
2. Also I had a pup that would munch down on the Jumbo Lucky dog bumper during FF so I switched to a hexabumper and this stopped also.

I don't know for sure if the hexabumper was the reason for the success or if finishing FF was. At any rate both problems stopped when I switched to the hexabumpers during FF. I don't use them otherwise....too expensive!


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## mjh345 (Jun 17, 2006)

I like the visibility that you get when they spin, but I hate the hardness of them. I won't buy anymore of them


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## Angie B (Sep 30, 2003)

I like them. A tad bit pricey for what they are. As far as stopping a dog from rolling the bumper, it doesn't deliver that. If a dog is going to have a loose mouth, well then a bumper isn't going fix or help that. I like them for puppies. They have an easier time grabbing them. I don't think they're too hard. The rest of my bumpers are from ez-rotational and they're very hard. Avoid anything thats too soft=squishy or has a valve.

Angie


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## Polock (Jan 6, 2003)

Agree with Angie here, a loose mouth is a loose mouth, not a bumper problem.
Original issued hex bumpers had too short of a rope, believe this has since been corrected.
Like the hardness of the bumper but is a little pricey.
While my dawgs take to them readily, I introduced these at one of the drill session during a Smartwork Workshop and many dawgs refused to pick them up............


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## Georgia.Belle (Dec 5, 2006)

the bumpers I like the ATB's I hate.


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## Jason E. (Sep 9, 2004)

The Hexa bumpers dont get no harder than my Ez Rotational do in the winter time. The Flashers r excellent for long marks.... They r also just right in the summer time as not to hard and not to soft.


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## Jay Dufour (Jan 19, 2003)

I'm used to the old hard knobbys with no valve.I bought 10 of the hexas to try,and found them to be smaller and shorter.I wont use them to FF with,and if some are at a back pile....they are always the last ones to be picked up.I had six ATB's that I got in the spring....five of them have no ropes or heads.I love Avery's bags and blinds and appreciate all of the support for the various games.....just not the bumpers or ATB's


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## willson (Nov 8, 2005)

I don't like them. Way too hard and heavy. I gave the ones I bought to a friend. I prefer Hallmark. Here in the freezing cold they stay fairly soft. They also hold up very well.


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## FowlDawgs (Oct 22, 2007)

Hexas are all I use. I love them. They aren't that hard....my 8 month old female choco chewed the end off of one in about 20 mins.

I really like the ATBs. 

Cory


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## caglatz (Aug 21, 2006)

I like the hexabumper, but am not so thrilled with the ATB (prefer Dokken) -- The hexabumpers work really nice, although in the winter (below freezing) they get noticeably harder. My dog doesn't mind.

I don't let my lab play with the bumpers except to retrieve, because he's been known to chew them up also. I ran into a problem at a NAHRA test (STARTED) last year with him possibly "rolling a bird" - Thankfully I passed but I'm sure I was scored way low on that retrieve, but the judges weren't sure (neither was I) -- In any event, going forward I don't let him "chew" on the bumpers.


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## Backcast (Jun 1, 2006)

Georgia.Belle said:


> the bumpers I like the ATB's I hate.


The head popped off my ATB after about a month of use! I wouldn't buy another one.


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## Chris Atkinson (Jan 3, 2003)

Backcast said:


> The head popped off my ATB after about a month of use! I wouldn't buy another one.


 
Sounds like you got a dud. I have several ATB's that have been abused and they are holding up great....much better than the "original" gold standard competitive product heads. Did you approach the retailer about a replacement? May be worth a try...I bet the next one won't do this.

I've always liked the valved plastic bumpers much, much better than the hard ones. Regardless, I find myself session after session grabbing the three inch Hexabumper flashers first. I love those things.

Chris


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## Waterdogs (Jan 20, 2006)

Do the dogs like them. It just seems that the dogs wouldnt like them. I get alot of crap from others about using Dokkens but puppies really love the little teal and the older dogs love the others I think they have their place.


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## h2oknine (Mar 15, 2005)

I bought one and like it for durability and the flash the ropes are to short and the material collects all the sand burs, cockle burs, and anything else that attaches. Plan on getting more and replacing the ropes


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## WindyCreek (Jan 3, 2007)

Have several types of round bumpers and several hexabumpers including both the small and large. I like them and the hardness has not caused any issues with my dogs. I prefer the hexabumpers over the round bumpers.


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## Guest (Jan 22, 2008)

Just picked up a couple of the black hex bumpers for using against a white (snow) backround. Also picked up one ATB. The dogs are fine with the hex bumpers but the ATB is to hard in our cold Mn winter. Will be giving them a try when it warms up.


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## Joel Thorstad (Nov 10, 2007)

My 7mo old lab loves her ATB teal, the problem is i left it in my truck in the cold and the rubber skin on the outside cracked and peeled away from the inner foam core...weird. I also shattered a hexabumper that went a little high and short on me, didnt clear the driveway in some single digit temps, I dont blame it for shattering though, pretty much anything else would have in those conditions. I contacted Avery about the ATB and they said some early production ones were having some problems and if I sent them the defective product I would recieve a new one. All in all, I really like the hexabumpers and I dont find the price of them too much as I had originally posted...as far as the ATB's go, the only thing I dont like is that they are so slippery...


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## Juli H (Aug 27, 2007)

I like everything about them from a training standpoint...I like the flasher and the duck - dogs are able to hold onto them after an adjustment period...._but_ they are too expensive for me....

Juli


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## Lucky Seven (Feb 4, 2008)

I bought some Hex bumpers when they first came out...... and all I did for the first week or two was re-tie the ropes back on. They were falling off EVERY training day.

I'll stick to my "Lucky Dog" bumpers. They are softer, and come with long ropes that DONT have to be replaced or re-tied!!!

Chad


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## huntnalot (Jan 9, 2008)

I bought some hex bumpers and the second time I used them I had the bottom end break off when it hit the frozen ground .I had the same problem with the Remmingtons .Hallmarks don t seem to have that problem.

Gerald


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## Darin Westphal (Feb 24, 2005)

I've got a half dozen of the smaller one's and I haven't had any problems with them. My only issue is that they're as hard as a rock so in the winter time I tend not to use them.


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## K.Bolan (Feb 1, 2008)

I like them for FF work and mouth problems. For pile work they are always last to be picked up. My girls prefer canvas dummies, but will pick up anything thats the beauty of being FF.


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## freebird (Feb 15, 2008)

I have a bunch of them. I love em. They are tough and hold up better than anything Ive had so far. They are a little hard but I like it.


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## Dave Burton (Mar 22, 2006)

Unlike others my dog will pick the hexabumpers up first in a pile. I like the black and white ones for long marks. As for the ATB's I got my first one and on the second throw the head popped off. I called MPW and they shipped me another one right out,had it in two days. They didn't even ask for the broken one back so I drilled a hole in the body and head and ran a new rope thru it and gooped it over and now it works fine. The second one has held up great. Only thing is it is a little slippery and my dog had to learn how to hold it. I took my two ATB's training with some friends last week and my dog was the only one out of 5 that would even pick them up. Everyone was complaining but I told them it shouldn't matter the dog should pick it up if sent for it. I told them don't blame the ATB for not properly FF'ing


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## Chris Atkinson (Jan 3, 2003)

On the Avery Hexas (ropes come already installed on the bumpers) or with any throw rope I put on myself, I do a knot melt session to lock them in place. (I prefer nylon rope of a diameter slides snugly through the grommet end of the bumper)

Materials:

Propane torch
Bucket of Water
scrap cardboard or other flat surface

1) Pull knot snug and tight.
2) Hold knot over flame of propane torch. BE VERY CAREFUL to hold this over cardboard and DO NOT allow your skin, clothing, or anything else valuable to be underneath the knot. Dropping flame drops will fall and can burn you or your clothes.
3) Remove molten knot from flame and mash/form it on cardboard to make a smooth, molten knot with no ridges or edges.
4) dunk into bucket of water to cool.


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## dirtyrice (Oct 27, 2007)

Yeah what Chris said. Also, I like going to Academy, a large sports retailer in the south, and buying some cheap ski rope. Its about 8 bucks for a 100feet. It has a good feel in your hands and it floats which means i dont have to worry about it snagging near as much stuff in the water. Everyone in my training group uses a different color rope so we can identify who's bumpers are who's at a glance. I dont make my ropes too long because i get tired of seeing dogs step on the rope and trip when theyre running back.


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## Jay Dufour (Jan 19, 2003)

I hated the small hexas...but tried the bigger ones wihch I liked alot,and just bought 10 more.Yes I will do the melting session next time it rains....Thanks Chirs.The 6 ATBs I have now have no throw rope or heads so I will sometimes use them for blinds,only for large dogs.


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## Justin Tackett (Dec 26, 2003)

Jay,

I don't care if you have 65 ATB's with the heads gone. You call Stephen Pitt at #901-324-1500 at Avery. Tell him you and I are buddies and I had you call him and he'll replace everyone of them.

Thanks,

JT


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## BIG DOG (Apr 17, 2003)

then send me the headless ones


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## DH (Oct 3, 2006)

The ropes on my Hexabumpers kept coming untied. I bought a can of tool dip and plastic coated them all, now they are solid. One can would do a lot of bumpers.

DH


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## brddog (Jun 19, 2004)

where can I get the ez- rotational bumpers?


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## Jason E. (Sep 9, 2004)

ez- rotational bumpers are good bumpers but i would go with the Hexa bumpers much more durable.


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