To "COW": A protractor is usually not needed whle bending EMT with a hand bender, but it is the only way to go if bending pipe on a "Chicago" bender or hydraulic.
As far as my preferences on hand benders, I always liked the Greenlee "site-rite" style that allows you to eyeball the angle of the bend with the pipe on the floor. This allowed me to use the offset multipliers without the need for a protractor. I never really figured out how to utilize the angle markers on the Ideal benders.
