If I could offer only one word of advice on this question it would be : don't !
A coyote is the ultimate trap tester and a cheap trap . . .or a 'small , cheap trap' , would be even worst !
Quality only hurts once and it cost to get an education also come to mine.
Come by a see me and I'll make sure you leave with a few GREAT coyote traps.
Otherwise, your friends are warning you to reconsider.

Big believer in quality coyote traps, since there’s a ton of wolves where I do a lot of my trapping.

You're in Flint Michigan (where i was born and raised). Where are you trapping? I'm guessing the U.P or out of state?

I’m actually south of Flint, but yes I trap around Seney in the up. My family is from Escanaba.

ozarks 25 miles north of the river

What town?

I like 13/4 dukes . They are traps that catch .

There's a ton X 2 up here in Northern MN and my 1.75 victors hold plenty of them. I really don't mind when they blow one up as it saves me a lot of hassle.

I caught and promptly lost my first coyote in a NW 1 3/4 that had #2 music wire springs. It was a painful but informative catch. I could see the yote from the road. It had snowed the night before. I drove out to it, loaded my revolver with just 3 .22 long rifle rounds and walked towards the unagitated animal. When I got within about 20 ft it got agitated, circled the stakes a couple times, and then I heard a “ping” and realized it had pulled the jaws right out of the frame.

Three shots later, I looked at the destroyed trap and realized why people laminated the jaws and added baseplates.

Without a welder I bent, drilled and pop-riveted 1/8-inch strips on top of the jaws. Added a similar strip as a base plate. Those reinforced traps caught several coyotes. Looking back, I had 2-3 hours in each trap. I could have bought well built traps, actually designed for coyotes, and saved myself a lot of time just buying what I should have gotten over time, instead of thinking I had to buy them in dozen lots. BUT this is how lessons are learned.

I've caught a few coyotes in the old round jaw Montgomery 1.5's
It wasn't on purpose though.
The # 2 RJ Montgomery was a pretty good trap and I 4 coiled a lot of them using JC Conner 4 coil kits.
I have to tell you though, when ever I hear a man trying to skimp on a coyote trap, I swallow hard.
In my book, that's asking for trouble, somewhere down the line. . .

2X

I bought my 6 year old a dozen bridger 1.75. I had promised him as soon as he could set his own coyote traps that I would buy him some. The kid practiced all summer making dirtholes in the garden, setting and firing traps. He caught 3 coyotes, a bobcat, and a handful of coons. I added a midchain crunch proof swivel and super stakes. The pans are absolute garbage on those little Bridgers, they have to be re bent after almost ever catch, but other than that they have been bullet proof. Once he gets big enough to set a #3 he’ll get a dozen of those.

I highly recommend buy once cry once, work an extra weekend and boom you’ve got enough money to buy some decent traps.