I love a gadget, fishing-related or otherwise, so when Mike Robinson, the man in charge of developing this new product for MAP, showed it to me I was an instant fan.
It’s simple – a hard ABS case roughly five feet in length with a zip holding the two halves together and an EVA liner designed specifically to keep up to eight pole top kits in place for transport and storage.
Some of you reading this won’t see the point of shelling out the suggested RRP of around £129.99 for one, but if you’re anything like me I’m happy to spend this sort of money to keep my precious kits safe, with the added bonus of being able to store my rigs on the tops too.
Just think how much each of your tops is worth! I’ve had mine modified into ‘pullers’ too, which adds expense, and when you also consider the price of a length of hollow elastic, each top kit you carry is worth a considerable sum.
Although some would deem this item a little, or even more than a little, ‘tackle tarty’ I genuinely think it has a place in my kit and I’m sure many of you will also warm to the benefits once you see one.
Given the popularity of commercial fisheries many of us know the venues we’ll be visiting, which means that taking your top kits ready-made makes perfect sense. You do the same with your rods and this new case allows the same level of preparation with your pole.
Sure, it’s not going to appeal to everyone. Some of the best anglers I know are as slapdash as they come, preferring to tie rigs on the bank and almost ‘making do’ with the kit they have. This sort of product is not for them and I’m sure they’d deem it to be an unnecessary expense, but not me.
I’m really excited about the prospect of getting my hands on a couple of these so I can literally pick up a case of ready-assembled tops with rigs attached, just as I do with my rods and reels.
It’s worth noting too that this case is long enough to take most take-apart top kits, but just check yours fit before shelling out.
One downside I can see, however, is they bulkiness of the case, or more to the point how it’ll integrate with the rest of your kit. MAP has designed it to fit perfectly inside its luggage range; great if you have MAP luggage. If you don’t then it may be a bit of a ‘shoehorn’ job getting it into your holdall. I think I’m going to end up carrying mine separately as I do with ready-rod sleeves. I can’t see this being a problem, though, with the convenience many commercial waters offer with parking behind pegs and so forth. There’s an external carry handle anyway, and it won’t weigh a lot even when you’ve fully loaded the case with tops.
Each top kit is held inside the case thanks to moulded-EVA slots and a Velcro band to make sure they arrive at your peg in perfect order. Your elastics are protected too, as they’ll run over a smooth EVA edge; unlike when you carry your tops normally (probably all stuffed into a tube!).
This is a fantastic product and will certainly be something I use. None of the possible niggles bother me one little bit because they’re all outweighed by the organisation and protection that only this product can offer. Unique is a word often overused in our sport, but this genuinely is – well done MAP.your local stockist.
| RRP: £129.99 Website: www.map-fishing.co.uk |
