The Trapper in RDR2 offers you seven unique saddles in his shop. Each saddle has a recipe to make. In order to acquire every saddle, you should gather what the Trapper requires and deliver them to him. In this guide, I will show you all seven of his saddles plus their stats and recipes. In the end, I will tell you, statistically, which is the best and why. Let’s begin.
What you will read here
How Trapper Saddle Stats Actually Work
Before we begin, there’s something about the saddle stats that I want to clear up.
The numbers mentioned in the table represent a reduction in the Core Drain Rate. This refers to how fast your horse loses its Health or Stamina cores over time. Because you want your horse’s cores to drain as slowly as possible, a bigger negative number means less drain.
Therefore, -26% is better than -20%, even though mathematically -20 is a higher number than -26.
Trapper Saddles Tier List
Instead of a traditional best-to-worst list, I decided to make a tier list for all Trapper saddles.
S tier
These three saddles offer the highest Stamina Regen Rate (+24%) and the highest combined Core Drain reduction of -46% total between Health and Stamina.
Panther Trail Saddle
The best Trapper saddle for Stamina conservation is none other than Panther Trail. It has the maximum Stamina Core Drain Rate of -26% and the lowest Health Core Drain Rate in this tier, which is -20%.
| Saddle | Health Core Drain Rate | Stamina Core Drain Rate | Stamina Drain Rate | Stamina Regen Rate | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panther Trail | -20% | -26% | -50% | +24% | 1x Perfect Panther Pelt |
Beaver Roping Saddle
The best Trapper saddle for maximum Health is Beaver Roping, which is the exact statistical opposite of the Panther Trail saddle. It offers -26% for Health Core Drain Rate. Its Stamina Core Drain Rate is -20%.
| Saddle | Health Core Drain Rate | Stamina Core Drain Rate | Stamina Drain Rate | Stamina Regen Rate | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Roping | -26% | -20% | -50% | +24% | 1x Perfect Beaver Pelt |
Rattlesnake Vaquero Saddle
This is the most balanced Trapper saddle of the top tier and arguably of them all. It splits the Core Drain reductions more evenly across Health (-22%) and Stamina (-24%).
| Saddle | Health Core Drain Rate | Stamina Core Drain Rate | Stamina Drain Rate | Stamina Regen Rate | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rattlesnake Vaquero | -22% | -24% | -50% | +24% | 10x Perfect Snake Skin |
A tier
The two saddles in this tier are statistically a step down. They both have a +22% Stamina Regen Rate and a combined Core Drain reduction of -44%.
Alligator Ranch Cutter Saddle
Better for Health. It offers -24% Health Core Drain and -20% Stamina Core Drain.
| Saddle | Health Core Drain Rate | Stamina Core Drain Rate | Stamina Drain Rate | Stamina Regen Rate | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alligator Ranch Cutter | -24% | -20% | -50% | +22% | 1x Perfect Alligator Skin |
Bear Dakota Saddle
Better for Stamina. It’s the exact statistical opposite of the Alligator saddle. It offers -20% Health Core Drain and -24% Stamina Core Drain.
| Saddle | Health Core Drain Rate | Stamina Core Drain Rate | Stamina Drain Rate | Stamina Regen Rate | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Dakota | -20% | -24% | -50% | +22% | 1x Perfect Bear Pelt |
B tier
The remaining two are the worst of the Trapper saddles as far as statistics are concerned. They both have the lowest Stamina Regen Rate (+20%) and the lowest combined Core Drain reduction (-42%).
Boar Mother Hubbard Saddle
Slightly better for Health. -22% for Health Core Drain and -20% for Stamina Core Drain.
| Saddle | Health Core Drain Rate | Stamina Core Drain Rate | Stamina Drain Rate | Stamina Regen Rate | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boar Mother Hubbard | -22% | -20% | -50% | +20% | 1x Perfect Boar Pelt |
Cougar McClelland Saddle
Slightly better for Stamina. -20% for Health Core Drain and -22% for Stamina Core Drain.
| Saddle | Health Core Drain Rate | Stamina Core Drain Rate | Stamina Drain Rate | Stamina Regen Rate | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cougar McClelland | -20% | -22% | -50% | +20% | 1x Perfect Cougar Pelt |
What Trapper Saddle Should You Choose?
Since Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t offer difficulty settings, I’d say it doesn’t really matter that much. You see, all of these Trapper saddles offer good values compared to other saddles in the game. What you choose is ultimately a matter of preference rather than anything else. My saddle of choice is Bear Dakota, which I’d swap interchangeably with the Rattlesnake Vaquero as well.
