Island-
Since I've had my Wicked grapple I don't think I've dug up a single tree or bush. I don't have any rocks so I haven't hauled any. I have moved around a few dead trees or logs to be cut up but not that often. 95% of my use has been to move low hanging limbs or brush that I've cut back from the perimeter of my 18 acres of pine trees and it's been quite a lot.
For my use, do you think the EA grapple rake would be more efficient than the regular Wicked grapple that I have now.
Oh, I'll be clearing loose hay out the barns this year to make more room for the new rolls. Do you think the rake would be good for moving loose hay too?
Given your grapple needs I would think you'd be happy with a clamshell but I'd imagine that your "standard" L shaped grapple would work just fine too. The hay would be easier with the clamshell. The brush would do fine with either. The clamshell might be less convenient for picking up lots of branches though.
Standard grapples "scoop" with the lower tines and the upper jaw just holds stuff in place so it doesn't bounce out while traveling. Clamshells "pinch" objects and need to keep pinching or the load will fall out. If you are moving around picking up occasional branches etc, then with a standard grapple you would simply open the jaw and scoop up the next object then clamp again and move to the third. With a clamshell, once you have one object in the grapple you will drop that object immediately when you go to open the grapple to collect object 2 and again for object 3. Not a big deal to pick them up again....most of the time.
The basic problem with clamshells (and 4n1 buckets used as a grapple) comes down to picking up more than a single long object. A clamshell does fine picking up just about any single object. The problem starts when for example the first object is a log 8 inches in diameter and the second and third logs are only 3 inches. Once you clamp on the 8 inch log and it is "on top" then you cannot simply add the 3 inch log beneath the 8 inch log. For starters the 8 incher will fall out as soon as you try to pick up the 3 incher (not an issue with a standard L grapple) and more importantly, if you then try to pick up the 8 inch log sitting on top of the new 3 inch log and clamp, you will find that the grapple jaw "jambs" on the 8 inch log and doesn't even contact the 3 incher so won't pick it up. If you always picked up the smaller logs first then it wouldn't be such a problem.
Think about the human hand. If, with your knuckles up, palm down (like a clamshell), try to pick up a couple of objects, it is best to put the smaller one on top. It is easy to pick up a pencil and then add a can of soup but it is hard to get the pencil if you already have a can of soup in your grasp. Flip your hand around so palm is now facing up (more like a standard grapple) and it is trivial to hold both a can of soup and a number of pencils regardless of what order you scoop them up. It basically boils down to either using a "pincer" clamp versus just gravity to hold the objects in place.
If you are unhappy with your standard grapple you may find that the clamshell fills a void but most of us have found the standard type to be the best choice. I am sure the clamshell would be great for ripping out brush and moving hay but I still think a standard grapple is simply more flexible.
Having critiqued the clamshell, I must add that if EA really sells them for $1500 or so that is an excellent price. Most clamshells sell for north of $2K. And, most clamshells weigh much more than 200lbs so that is also a big plus for the EA product.
