Yes, those stuts you are talking about act like shocks and you should get them if you fly off grass.
CJM makes some good retracts from what I here so I think I will give them a shot.
Here is a link to the retracts I am going to buy for my sea fury.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXANV1&P=V

to me, those look great


David