Reviews

I don’t often take the time to write product reviews, but in the case of the Extractigator, I want to share how impressed I am. The strength of the product build is incredible, and the Extractigator functions even better than everything I read about it when I bought it a year ago. This product is ingeniously designed and absolutely delivers quality and reliability.
We have an endless number of saplings on our properties. Pulling them out, even with a substantial root growth, is now as easy as heave-ho. It actually makes pulling out saplings fun! With a tool this efficient, it’s easy to see your progress out in the field. 
I rave about the Extractigator to anyone who’ll listen. Truly the best at what it does.

David Houghton
The Blue Mountains, Ontario, Canada

Just wanted to comment on my experience with this company. First let me say thanks! Ordered a junior. The order was processed promptly and I received the tool in a short period of time. Turns out I should have ordered the classic. Shawn went way out of his way to help me return the junior. I had already ordered the classic and would have been willing to eat the price of the junior. Many companies today that is what I would’ve had to do. Apologized for the return! He told me no worries, just wanted to make sure I had the unit that I needed! To anyone looking to purchase from this company, have no fears! You will be happy with the entire process! Side note, the reason for the return was the junior just didn’t have the leverage I needed.
Feel free to use this in your review page.

JDL

Shawn, I recently ordered your Extractigator Classic, and just gave it a test drive this afternoon. It’s really still winter here in WI, but some recent mild weather has thawed the top couple inches.  I’ve got some buckthorn thickets here out of control, hence the purchase.
I’ve just got to say this tool is amazing.  I pulled a bunch of 1” plus thorny buckthorn over a couple hours, and just awesome man.  I even pulled a few beer in hand, LOL!
I’m not one to submit product reviews, but this is now one of my favorite tools.  I highly prefer this removal method over herbicide.

Nice invention.  Cheers!
Nick Raganyi – Colgate, WI, USA

We live on 5 acres and spend many weeks cutting broom in bloom each year. Now it’s just the big coarse stuff left.

We’re not getting any younger so I Googled broom extracting tools and read up on your marvelous invention. I was lucky enough to pick up the last one at Windsor on Salt Spring island.

My husband says he’s bought many a tool over the years and has often been disappointed when they don’t live up to expectations. Well, your Classic Extractigator is already paying for itself on the first day and it makes pulling broom almost fun!  We now have a mountain of broom piled up by the fire pit.

So glad we discovered this monster of a tool.
It’s sturdy construction will last years. We’ll be telling everyone we know about it.

Salt Spring Garden Gnome

I purchased the Classic Extractigator in the Nov. 2017. Of course, I took it out the day it arrived to test it on our local problem invasive along the American River in Sacramento—Scarlett Wisteria (Sesbania punicea). Two years later I am still marveling at its design.
Marketing words on websites don’t begin to tell the story. To appreciate what the Extractigator can do, a user needs to take it in the field to feel the difference.
The Extractigator is significantly lighter than its competitors and much easier to operate. Because it’s light, I can position it with one hand, while holding willow branches out of the way with the other. Simply lifting the tool opens the jaws. That feature alone is worth buying the tool. It eliminates messing around with one foot on the base to open the jaws.  The Bigfoot fulcrum is plenty tough to set on river cobbles and right-sized to provide a solid fulcrum on soft loam and sandy soils—without carrying a 2×6 for a footing.
Until a user wades into dense river vegetation including blackberry and rose, they cannot appreciate how these features combine to make their work so much easier. With deep-rooted, older sesbania plants, these features work together to quickly re-set the jaws lower on the plant and ratchet it out of the ground.
Light weight, smart design, and self-opening jaws—this is the best product on the market, bar none.

Tom Biglione – Sacramento, CA

I would like to tell you that we have two of these, the classic size, we use one in central Texas, one in western North Carolina. Privet (ligustrums) in both places, Japanese type in one place, Chinese in the other.  Amazing how they take over. Your product has made a tough job possible, we’re very grateful to have them.  The nrcs tells us to use diesel fuel and fire along with very strong herbicides, not what we are interested in. 

We have also tried two of the other brands of weed wrench type pullers. Yours are definitely the best. the classic in this order is for one of our sons, in North Carolina, who is tired of borrowing ours and wants his own. The baby is for me, I’m getting older and arthritis in the neck and figure I will last longer with a lighter model. Mostly I only pull the smaller invasives now, anyway. 

Thanks again,
Carla – Austin,TX

After using Weedwrenches and Pullerbears for several years, I recently bought an Extractigator. You folks have achieved the best balance of function and weight.  I spend several hours nearly every day removing Ligustrum, Chinaberry, and Nandina from Austin area parks and preserves, and the Extractigator does a better job than its competitors.  Thanks!

J. Levenson – Austin, Texas

Subject: 1 Hr later
 
Hello,
 
We absolutely love this tool. My neighbor has an Uprooter which I borrowed for a weekend. Your tool is superior in comparison. 
 
Thank you,

Dan & Diane Klemm – Dousman, WI

Shawn,

With my recent purchase of the Baby Gator and the Junior, this gives me all four of your OUTSTANDING PRODUCTS! I thoroughly enjoy using each one for various sizes of invasives. These tools make short work of pulling Buckthorn with very little effort! I can’t say enough good words about the HIGH QUALITY of your products and look forward to many MANY years of enjoyment using the Extractigators. I look forward to purchasing anything new you invent! Thank you for making such FINE IMPLEMENTS!

Doug Kline

Hi!  I have had my extractigator with the big foot accessory for over three years.  I use it actively in the spring and fall to tackle the buckthorn that was growing out of control on my property when I bought it.  This fall I was using the extractigator and thought I should let you know how excellent your product is.  It is so well made, despite years of wear and tear, I only have a slight bend in the big foot from a rock and otherwise it’s still 100%.

The tool works so well, I can easily pull a 3/4 diameter tree out of the ground and with some fight, I have been able to get buckthorn out that maxes out the width of the claw grip on the tool.  
 
Glad I discovered the extractigator – I would never have been able to tackle the buckthorn management on my farm without this tool.

Well done!

Steven Green

Greetings,

I purchased the Extractigator Classic four or five years ago and have used it extensively on our farm for buckthorn, honeysuckle, other invasives, and many types of saplings growing where I don’t want them. It’s an awesome tool. I just bought the Extractigator Junior for my wife—the lighter weight will make a difference.

Thank you for the great workmanship!

-Alex Wilson

Dear Shawn

I just received my extractigator and immediately tried it out. In about 10 minutes i pulled 22 buckthorns some as large as 13 feet and 2″ in diameter including this stump bothering me for some years. It was so thick i had to work to get it in the jaws.  But it came out in a few seconds. Thanks!
Sincerely,

Rick, IL

This is the most amazing garden tool EVER!  After borrowing my neighbor’s extractigator, I immediately ordered one.  It is so easy to use that once I start pulling up buckthorn, I can’t stop.  It is effective and totally addictive. I also recommend getting the bigfoot attachment for added leverage.

Loree (Lake Elmo, MN)

Hi Shawn,


Thanks for your reply. After some serious extrication aggravation with the competitor’s tool I thought about making my own but when I saw your design I realized there was no need. Having looked at your design and videos I was reasonably sure that your tool would do the job. I purchased the last one from Black Creek Farm and Feed. No buyer’s remorse here. The Extractigator works better than I could imagine! You should be proud of your design and manufacturing. Manufacturing locally can be a challenge but there are always people like us who appreciate the made in Canada label and are willing to pay a little more for it. (When I say ‘more’ I mean ‘the real costs’)

Regards,
Craig W. – Courtenay, BC

It is the best tool I have ever bought. It exceeded expectations. I pulled over 200 buckthorns in 2 days, an amazing product. Keep up the good work.

Thanks,
G Backer – Burnsville, MN

Hey Shawn,
 
I just got my new Extractigator. Thank you. I immediately went out and tried it. It was exactly what I was looking for. What a great job it does. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
 
A very satisfied customer,

John H, NY

Shawn,

just a quick update from the Big Island:

I’ve been working with your Extractigator for a week now, on a dozen or so species that we are trying to reduce on our land.
Our soil is lava/cinder, and plants are extremely deep rooted and anchored.

The tool is absolutely fantastic.

Good call to recommend the big model: in spite of it’s seemingly clunky design it works beautifully even on thin stems of 1/4 inch, and it has the leverage & power to pull a 2in diameter shrub.
The dynamic of the jaws is flawless: it opens fully when lifted, it closes smoothly and tightly when the handle is pushed. i have not had a single case of jamming or any other scenario the would have slowed me down.
My project right now is reclaiming Kikuyu grass meadow; shrubs to be removed are mostly overgrown by 2ft tall grasses, entangled in the shrub – just about the most difficult condition you can imagine. It is necessary to free the base of the plant to be able to set the tool. The Extractigator is heavy-duty but manageable enough that i can untangle the plant with my left hand while holding and positioning the tool with the other — not a second lost to putting the tool down and picking it back up, a huge bonus in saved time!

Another detail: leaning the tool forward towards the plant’s stem, and then manually closing the jaw can reduce the minimum height to something like 1/2 inch.

I’m usually not the type to write lengthy comments, but i love well designed simple smart well made tools. Half the planet is struggling with plant removal, for most property owners a nightmare. Your tool can make a lot of people’s lives a lot easier.

Antonio W.

Hello Folks,

I have happily used my Extractigator (junior with a Big Foot) for almost 2 years now and have been remiss in not sending along my praise for this piece of equipment. I bought it to help in our battle against the wickedly invasive Ardesia–a plant rapidly invading the woodlands of north Florida, not to mention our 2 acres. Ardesia is not a woody shrub with a great hardy stem so I was not certain that the Gator would be useful but it is The Solution. Occasionally the younger stems do snap at the base (my fault sometimes for failing to get a good grip), but a little work with a shovel to unearth enough of the root to grab hold again and the plant doesn’t have a chance. Ardesia has a root system that reminds me of a squid–a healthy one–so it is important to tease it out of the ground to get all of the “legs”. The Extractigator is just the instrument for this task. We are a deadly team!

So please do add Ardesia to the list of species that are successfully removed by the Extractigator. In our part of the world, removing this plant pest is important to lots of folks.

I also have to add that I enjoy looking at the “Made in Canada” label. A lot.

Sincerely,
G. Kiltie – Gainesville FL

Hi Shawn,
Just wanted to let you know that we received our Extractigator (7/23/14).  Thanks for the quick shipment.  We have been putting it to good use here in upstate New York.  We’ve already cleared  an acre, uprooting small saplings with ease. You were not kidding about the pulling power of this tool!  We’re 100% satisfied with the tool and the wonderful “Bigfoot” attachment.  Thanks for making this the tool available to your New York neighbors.

R. Mays – Upstate New York

Summer greetings!   (June 2014)

I just had to write in.  We have owned our Extractigator for about four or five years now.  We’ve loaned it out (praying for it’s return) and used it yearly to keep broom in check on our 2.5 acre property.

We just bought another vacant lot and found a monster broom left there by the previous owner.  It seemed a bit big for Extractigator’s teeth, but he got it!!  See the attached pictures.  

Thank you again, for a wonderful, quality-made product!

~ CJ

Hello everybody,
Few words to tell you I am 100% happy with my new Extractigator (and its big foot).
I am concerned by buckthorn on my yard and started last year to uproot it with a shovel. I spent a lot of time and energy for a good result but…..I did not see the end of this mission.
I used for the first time the Exctractigator yesterday and I achieved a working day in 2 hours.
It’s hard to describe how I’m happy, so….THANK YOU.

Fabrice, IL

My husband has been using the Extractigator to clear an invasive shrub here in the south (North Carolina) called “elaeagnus“. It is a Chinese invasive that some people still plant as a decorative shrub and its berries are favored and spread by birds. The woods and unmowed clearings in our area are FULL of this thorny, horrible plant and we decided there would be none on our 20 acres of woods. Before the Extractigator my husband was cutting them which did no good since they grow right back. He then started digging them with a pick axe. We took a chance on the Extractigator, having never seen one, but I am thrilled to report that it is the prefect tool for extracting elaeagnus. My husband spent 25 hours with the Extractigator over a month long period and removed hundreds and hundreds of plants. It has saved my husband hours and hours and a lot of energy and the Extractigator has paid for itself tenfold! Just use the tool as instructed and get all of the plant out of the ground. Don’t ever plant this plant as a decorative shrub!!!!!

Rosa Patton and Ron Rozzelle, NC