Wednesday Review... ESP Cryogen Hooks

This entry was posted on 25th May, 2016

It’s always a pleasure making my annual trip to the ESP headquarters in Oxfordshire, but when I headed down there earlier this year it was with a particular feeling of anticipation.

I was champing at the bit to see it’s three big product launches, namely the Onyx reels, Barrel bobbins and these Cryogen hooks.

ESP has, for me, always produced superb hooks in patterns that are useful to carp anglers. They were, as far as I remember, the first to introduce off sizing (3,5,7), which many companies have followed. I respect the fact that ESP’s hooks are genuinely developed over time and in conjunction with some seriously gifted and knowledgeable anglers - not just sourced from the Far East and packaged for sale in the UK. Nowhere is this development more prevalent than with the Cryogens.



The science behind the hooks is in the hi-tech tempering process that sees them heated to extreme temperatures, cooled to temperatures way in the opposite extreme and then returned to their ‘normal’ state. This is known as cryogenic tempering and it’s used in the manufacture of steel parts where strength tolerances are as close to zero as it gets. Formula One engine parts are one example.



Anyway, in layman’s term, the result is a hook far stronger than any that is manufactured in the more traditional way. In fact, ESP anglers estimate that these hooks are between 30 and 40 percent stronger than their original hooks, but with a similar gauge, or wire thickness.



Each of the three patterns - Stiff Rigger, Gripper and Classic - is sharp from the packet, but the key is the fact that the strength means they point maintains its sharpness longer than any other hook. Multiple captures on these could be the norm, thus saving a fortune in replacing hooks. On the subject of saving, here’s the best bit. ESP has undertaken all of this development and production and resulted in fabulous hooks, but with the usual price maintained. Take my money, now!

Buy The ESP Cryogen Stiff Rigger Hooks Buy The ESP Cryogen Classic Hooks Buy The ESP Cryogen Gripper Hooks