Slate vs Glass vs Aluminum Pot Calls: Which Surface to Learn On First

The verdict

A pot call is a cupped call with a playing surface on top that you stroke with a striker. NWTF lists “pot and striker calls made with glass or slate” among the standard call types, and aluminum has joined them: Primos offers its Rare Breed in slate and glass “and now as an anodized aluminum surface pot call.” All three calls here come from our best slate calls roundup, which covers pot calls on every surface, and they sit in our turkey calls hub alongside box, mouth and push-button calls.

We haven't played these calls. Every sound description here is the maker's, and the scores follow the rubric on our methodology page: beginner learning curve 30%, sound range 20%, weather tolerance 20%, build and materials 15%, and carry and vest noise 15%.

The three surfaces at a glance

Side-by-side specs

Every value links to the page it came from. A dash means the maker doesn't publish it. The two Knight & Hale Hammers share the same injection-molded polymer pot and hickory striker, which makes them a clean test of surface alone: on our scores they differ only on weather.

Sound: what the makers say

Every maker describes its surface in its own words, and none of them can be checked from a spec sheet. Here's what they say.

• Slate: Knight & Hale says the Slate Hammer's “Slate top creates natural, clear yelps, clucks, cuts, and purrs.” On its two-sided Glass/Slate pot, it calls the slate side “smooth, softer hen sounds.”
• Glass: Knight & Hale says the Glass Hammer's surface “offers great sound clarity, with a wide range of yelps, cluck, cuts and purrs that work well at any range,” and opens its pitch with “long-distance volume.” On the two-sided pots, it calls glass “raspy” in one place and “clear and soft” in another.
• Aluminum: Primos says “Aluminum creates louder and bolder high pitches to help you reach and coax gobbles out of otherwise quiet Toms,” and that “Outer edges of the call produce higher yelps, cuts, and clucks, while lower and deeper tones can be made toward the middle.” Knight & Hale describes its aluminum top as “sharp, high-pitched volume for far off calling.”

Read together, the makers put aluminum at the loud, high-pitched end and slate at the soft, natural end, with glass described both ways depending on the call. Knight & Hale calling glass both “raspy” and “clear and soft” is a useful reminder that a surface name is a starting point, not a promise about the sound. If you're still learning what a yelp, cluck or purr is for, start with our guide to turkey calls and what they mean.

Which surface is easiest to learn?

Two makers point to slate. WoodHaven's FAQ says “Box calls and pot calls with a slate surface will be the most user friendly,” and describes slate as “forgiving.” Primos, describing the Pennsylvania slate on its own Jackpot pot call, says it's “the easiest surface to use.” Knight & Hale sells both of its Hammers as beginner calls.

In our rubric, every pot call starts at 6 for learning curve, and a maker's beginner claim adds a point. Both Hammers get it; the Rare Breed Aluminum doesn't, because Primos's “ready to call out of the box” is a prep claim, not an ease claim. In our rubric, the gap between surfaces (one point at most) is smaller than the gap between any pot call and a box call. NWTF notes that “Beginners usually find a box call the easiest to get a consistent sound,” and if holding a pot and a striker at the same time sounds like a lot for a first season, our best box calls are the easier start.

Rain, dew and wet hands

This is where the surfaces really separate. Neither Knight & Hale Hammer carries a weather claim, and Knight & Hale's warranty excludes “weather-related conditions.” Our bands still score glass and aluminum surfaces higher than slate (7 vs 5) when no maker claim exists, which matches how the makers talk about them: Primos calls aluminum its most weather-resistant surface, and no maker here says anything similar about slate.

Primos makes the strongest claim of the three: aluminum is “the most weather-resistant calling surface. So, if it gets wet or oily from your hand, dirt, rain, or from setting it on wet grass, wipe it with an alcohol wipe, let it dry, and keep calling.” That's “weather-resistant,” not waterproof. If you hunt a lot of truly wet mornings, the one pot call in our registry with an all-weather claim is the WoodHaven Fusion Aluminum, which WoodHaven says makes “True turkey sounds in all weather conditions” and ships with two strikers listed as “runs when wet.”

Prep and care

Slate asks the most of you. Primos's instructions for its Jackpot slate are a good summary of the rules: “Never touch the slate with your hand as natural oil will create a slick spot,” “You must keep the tip of your striker clean and free of any build up,” and keep the surface “roughed up with the enclosed conditioning pad.” Both Knight & Hale Hammers come with a scouring pad for the same job.

Aluminum asks the least. Primos says its anodized surface “requires no conditioning.” Whatever you buy, NWTF's call-care advice holds: “Keeping calls clean is the best way I know to avoid having to condition frequently.” How to hold the pot, angle the striker and condition the surface, step by step, is in how to use a slate call.

Strikers

Knight & Hale ships the same hickory striker with both Hammers, so one striker runs both slate and glass. Primos's product text for the Rare Breed Aluminum doesn't say whether a striker is included, so check the listing before you buy, and plan on buying one if it isn't mentioned. Some pot calls come with two strikers for two different voices; WoodHaven's aluminum calls, for example, ship with two. Strikers are also sold on their own, such as the Knight & Hale Hickory One-Piece, a flared-tip, hand-turned hickory striker Knight & Hale makes for pot calls.

What about crystal?

Crystal is a fourth common surface, and WoodHaven says “Crystal is loud and sharp.” We couldn't verify a crystal pot call that was both currently sold by its maker and listed on Amazon, so there's no crystal pick here. If you see one, judge it the way this page judges the others: what the maker claims for weather, what comes in the box, and whether a warranty is published.

Before you buy your first pot call

Buy one surface, not three

You don't need a call for every surface in your first season. Pick the one that matches your mornings: glass if you want the all-rounder, slate if you want the gentlest learning, aluminum if you hunt windy, open ground and want the least upkeep. If you can't decide, Knight & Hale also sells two-sided pots (glass on one side, slate or aluminum on the other), so you can hear two surfaces in one call.

Budget calls are fine here

Knight & Hale itself describes the Slate Hammer as “an economical price point” and the Glass Hammer as “Economically priced.” Both still come with a hickory striker, a scouring pad and a 1-year warranty. A first pot call doesn't need to be a custom call.

Check what's in the box

Striker, conditioning pad, and any carry sleeve or lid. The Hammers list a striker and pad; the Rare Breed text lists neither. None of the three lists a striker holder or pouch.

Practice where the surface can't get dirty

Primos warns that hand oil leaves a slick spot on slate, so keep your fingers off the playing surface and the striker tip clean from day one. NWTF's Turkey Hunting 101 suggests you “Learn the basic sounds like cluck, purr, putt and yelp, to start.” If you haven't settled on a call type yet, the best turkey calls for beginners compares pot calls with every other type.