what is the best dp setters ?

look at the new ones from coon creek

Not to be a smart aleck but your hands are the best tool. Learn how to set them without a tool because inevitably you will lose the tool. Watch a couple of videos and it boils down to technique. Place the barrel on its back with the springs up. Take the meaty part of your hands by your thumbs and press down on the wires. Once depressed take one hand and flip the dog in place.

Not so easy for guys with arthritic hands. I can usually still set them by hand, but there are days when it's a struggle. A setting tool is handy on those days.

Yep try doing it where the pain is so bad your vision starts blacking out, I can still do the 110s on up to the 160s but 220s and 330s are a no go

And DPs and bigger footholds are no better every season I thank One Hand setters and whoever came up with the DP setters I bought years ago, I don’t know who came up with those but they work great I bought 3 for 5 dollars apiece back when I bought my first DPs but I still have all 3 and they still work great

Loosing your setters is why you always have a couple of spares in the truck just like any other trapping tool, I bet there isn’t a person on here who hasn’t lost their pliers, hammer or other tool at some time, and I bet no one is going to suggest they learn to do without, after all our mountain man ancestors did without all the modern dodads

Personally I prefer the setters that look like one of those old time calking guns even if they are a lot more expensive then the thong type, I just find then easier to use

I don't know who makes the best ones but I can echo the arthritic hands concerns. Most times I can set them by hand but there are days when it just hurts. I preset mine with a PVC cap before season and keep a setting tool in my bag for remakes if my hands are not up to the task that day. I will say that if I was setting DPs as often as #3 four coiled coyote traps, setting them would probably not be an issue. But, I just use DPs as a trap of opportunity when I encounter coon on my land or water lines.

And I paint the setter orange. The few setters I have all came painted mud brown. Easy to loose in most set areas with that color.

Get a small set of oil filter pliers. Makes it easy to set and easy to remove client

Make one and save yourself some money. I use a bigger "U" shaped garden fabric stake that I had laying around.

We had this discussion a week or so ago, simplest and cheapest option is a long screwdriver , everyone has one of those already...

I stake mine down with a 3/8" rebar stake. It also doubles as my setters and that's one less item for me to misplace on the line.