Fishing Experiment in Alaska Nets Device
That Improves Every Long-Handled Tool

It started with two fishermen in Anchorage, Alaska brainstorming about how to pull in the region’s huge halibut without days of back pain afterward. It resulted in one of the most useful and versatile tools the hardware industry has seen this year.

Over the next few weeks Ron Stout, a diesel repairman, tinkered with a sort of detachable D-handle that could fit onto a fishing pole to improve the leverage. He used scrap aluminum from a boat shop to fashion the original “Stout’s Fighting Grip.” In his first test, Stout had increased the vertical lift so dramatically that the rod finally cracked. The test was inspiring, though. The new grip allowed Stout’s legs and body to do the work, exerting exceptional power and taking the burden off his arms and back.

Newer versions started to catch the attention of friends. Stout tried his new grip on a 15 foot dip net during Alaska’s salmon netting season. It worked wonders. Later that year the snows came and Stout tried the grip on his snow shovel. The grip made such a difference in comfort and performance that locals were clamoring to buy one.

Three years and three patents later, Stout's BackSaver Grip® has advanced across the lower 48 as a product that makes it easier to work with any long-handled tool. The Grip allows a tool to be gripped higher on the shaft, eliminating the awkward bending that is the primary cause of back strain. Ace Hardware dealers carry it nationwide, and assorted other hardware and garden retailers across the U.S. are beginning to stock it as well.

The BackSaver Grip eases the stress and improves the performance of shovels, rakes, hoes, pitch forks, push brooms and numerous other long-handled tools. For overhead tools like paint extension poles and tree trimmers, it improves control and stability. The perpendicular grip position also reduces stress to the wrist, arm and shoulder and eliminates the persistent blisters people develop between the thumb and forefinger.

And, of course, it's terrific on heavy fishing poles and nets.

"I'm really proud that so many people are getting help from my grip," says Stout. "Whether you have back problems or arthritis or just want to get more done without your back hurting, the BackSaver Grip really does the job."

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Contact: David Wilk 805.649.5206 wilkonian@earthlink.net