If you can get Belisle traps the same or even a couple bucks difference I would go with Belisle. I have all different brands of body grippers and really just started using my Belisle 220's for otter and they work great. Foot holds I have been using Bridgers of many sizes plus a few MB's.

"Does Duke pay for patent rights when they use other company's designs?"

I would assume they would........ if they used a design with an active patent

Most trap designs are not patentable, look closely enough and except very infrequent occurrences. It has been done before. Duke did not start the copying designs trend

I'm the odd man out, I hate Belisle safeties, and I think Duke was copying their safety design also. If so the new Dukes would also be out for me. But most people like Belisle's safeties, and if you are setting with setters I guess they would be okay, so make your own decision on that.

I like a longspring beaver foothold, I use Victor and Blake & Lamb #4s primarily, neither of which are probably approved for you, since they haven't been made in some time. But most brands of longsprings other than Newhouse and their copies (Sleepy Creek, LPC, etc.) are pretty similar, so I'd choose whatever brand you liked and was priced reasonable.

Yes Duke is generally a budget trap, but they are making some higher quality (and sometimes the price reflects this) models now, and their budget models work, they just aren't as nicely finished and may require more tweaking. Plus Bill Duke is a nice guy who is willing to talk to (and listen to) random trappers and work with them. That counts for something in my book.

I would take 12 Belises over 24 dukes. To me Duke body grips are not the best by a long shot and the 220 is junk. The 110 and 160 will work for rats, but the 220 leaves a lot to be desired. If you ran over 250 of them for four months, tell me why you disagree.

Sorry guys, I come across a bit harsh sometimes, nothing wrong with the Duke users. It just doesn’t make sense here.
https://fur.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/M1105_CertifiedTrapsList_FIC_EN_May-2026.pdf

Sauvageau is top notch too. LDL a great marten trap. Dam Beaver has yet to release their approved traps, hopefully this summer.

I prefer Belisle