• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Tackle reviews

Richard Isaacs said:
I love a good tackle review especially if the review is based around actual usage experience and gives factual evidence to back up the product (positive or negative).
I hate unboxing reviews with a passion... how on Earth can you tell me how good or bad something is from it’s removal out the packaging?
So I thought I’d start a thread. Asking for tackle reviews.
My thread, my rules............
1) no unboxing reviews. If it ain’t spent time on the bank then tell me about it when it has

2) we know shimano 4000D’s and free spirit Hi S rods are great. Let’s keep it to products that don’t get discussed every week

3) unbiased reviews only. If your the product manager for drennan please don’t tell us how good the drennan stuff is.

4) respect other opinions. One mans treasure, another mans trash n all that.

So I’m gonna start with the KORUM BUTT SCREWS. And it’s a product I started using around 6 months ago. About £5-7 each fibre glass molded screw with a cup for your rod handle to go into.
It’s one of those things that I lived without for years yet I’d be lost without them now.
I always had a niggle when using them that at night I couldn’t see them buried in the ground and I kept kicking and tripping over them.
Then some bright spark said to me “you do know rich that the slots in the top are designed to take isotopes”. ............. WTF....... that’s brilliant. How did I miss that.
So I painted the K white and pushed in some isotopes and while I still manage to trip over them I can always see them nice and clear whatever the light level.
I think they are an awesome product. They save you your rods from vicious takes, they screw into just about anything, they take no space at all and cost sweet FA,
I say they belong in all barbel anglers tackle bags. 10/10 for me on the korum butt screws.
View attachment 11626
So anyway be interesting to hear your tackle reviews. I’ll put up some more soon aswell as I have a few things that don’t warrant quite such positive talk.
Could be a very useful thread.
Click to expand...
Used them this season and a great product, just 2 observations
That's a good shout painting the K as they are much easier to forget than bank sticks if it's been a long session, it's dark and you're tired
I had them fail twice is a session , in that the rod shot forward and was saved by some acrobatics and snag ears. This is partly my fault as I was fishing locked up and had been up-streaming e.g. line was at say 45 degree angle. They work faultlessly in this scenario, ditto downstream.
I re-cast to a position at directly 12 O clock and stayed locked up so when the fish went the rod flew out of the grips. I used in conjunction with the compact tripod and probably should have raised this so the rod butts were under some pressure. So I take responsibility but just a heads up that they are not 100% foolproof and I can be a fool!
 
Paul Richardson said:
in that the rod shot forward and was saved by some acrobatics and snag ears. This is partly my fault as I was fishing locked up
Click to expand...
I always fish locked up never free spool
I’m sure there are possible case scenarios where the butt can be pulled from them but so far they’ve been good as gold to me
 
I agree Richard the product is sound for all the reasons you mention, so much so that I probably relied too much on it when I should have used a bit of grey matter, so really just a warning to others. I also like that they save the cork handles - I've used loads of different butt grips and have the worn cork grooves on the handles as a result. Doesn't affect fishing but a job to do at some point.
Great thread by the way.
 
I do like many Korum products but I find that some are brilliant ideas let down by poor designs. For example the two rod protective holdall has a strap position that makes the holdall unbalanced and hard to carry, and there is barely enough room for two 5000 Shimanos let alone the large carp reels many would try to fit into the sleeves.

However, the review I would like to make is for the Korum Roving Chair. Now, a roving chair is obviously aimed largely at the barbel anglers and it it for this purpose that I bought it. The chair disappoints in so many ways. For a start the geometry of the rear legs is such that you only have to shift a little for the back legs to fold under and deposit you on the bank, backwards. Not good if you strike excitedly unless you can pass it off as an Ivan Marks impression.

The front legs are also too short. Over the years I have found that most river banks slope down to the water, not up, and so the front legs ought to compensate for that situation. It is often impossible to have the chair seat tilted slightly down at the back to make the non-adjustable backrest comfortable. On the subject of comfort; you will find more forgiving church pews than the stretched, un-padded material of this chair.

On the plus side it is light. Around 0.5 kilos or an English lb lighter than a big, comfy, adjustable JRC recliner.

All in all, this gives the impression of a product designed by someone who has only sat on flat, even terrain for an hour at the most. Possibly a carp angler.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
I do like many Korum products but I find that some are brilliant ideas let down by poor designs. For example the two rod protective holdall has a strap position that makes the holdall unbalanced and hard to carry, and there is barely enough room for two 5000 Shimanos let alone the large carp reels many would try to fit into the sleeves.

However, the review I would like to make is for the Korum Roving Chair. Now, a roving chair is obviously aimed largely at the barbel anglers and it it for this purpose that I bought it. The chair disappoints in so many ways. For a start the geometry of the rear legs is such that you only have to shift a little for the back legs to fold under and deposit you on the bank, backwards. Not good if you strike excitedly unless you can pass it off as an Ivan Marks impression.

The front legs are also too short. Over the years I have found that most river banks slope down to the water, not up, and so the front legs ought to compensate for that situation. It is often impossible to have the chair seat tilted slightly down at the back to make the non-adjustable backrest comfortable. On the subject of comfort; you will find more forgiving church pews than the stretched, un-padded material of this chair.

On the plus side it is light. Around 0.5 kilos or an English lb lighter than a big, comfy, adjustable JRC recliner.

All in all, this gives the impression of a product designed by someone who has only sat on flat, even terrain for an hour at the most. Possibly a carp angler.
Click to expand...
Yeah I’ll agree with that.
the very first roving chair they bought out was excellent with the legs that slid right through the box section and big mud feet. They still kept it light at 3kg.
493F78EE-CBB1-4E3B-B155-837B98DDE392.jpeg

The next version was a total train wreck.
tiny feet, stubby legs, 2 inches of extension and they gave the bloody thing arms......
1436E002-8503-42A5-9300-931620568EDB.jpeg
 
Last edited:
:)
Rob Paylor said:
These were my solution for savage takes after seeing carp man Julian Cundiff using them and messaging him for his opinion, which of course being a Nash man was always going to be favorable! However, having used them a few times they are certainly up to the job. More pricey than the Korum bits at around £11 each (plus the extra banksticks needed), but when put in context of the value of rod and reel they are hanging on to it's small change. I like that I can elevate the butts and lift the rod handle/reel away from the ground and also useful to level up the rods (hangover from carp angling i'm afraid 😂 ). They have a nice cantilever type action that releases the rod with a small amount of upward pressure. Very good things

Click to expand...
That reminds me of a guy called Bob Carolgees (Spit the Dog puppet fame) who used to market a boat rod holding rod rest based on a similar principle.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
I do like many Korum products but I find that some are brilliant ideas let down by poor designs. For example the two rod protective holdall has a strap position that makes the holdall unbalanced and hard to carry, and there is barely enough room for two 5000 Shimanos let alone the large carp reels many would try to fit into the sleeves.

However, the review I would like to make is for the Korum Roving Chair. Now, a roving chair is obviously aimed largely at the barbel anglers and it it for this purpose that I bought it. The chair disappoints in so many ways. For a start the geometry of the rear legs is such that you only have to shift a little for the back legs to fold under and deposit you on the bank, backwards. Not good if you strike excitedly unless you can pass it off as an Ivan Marks impression.

The front legs are also too short. Over the years I have found that most river banks slope down to the water, not up, and so the front legs ought to compensate for that situation. It is often impossible to have the chair seat tilted slightly down at the back to make the non-adjustable backrest comfortable. On the subject of comfort; you will find more forgiving church pews than the stretched, un-padded material of this chair.

On the plus side it is light. Around 0.5 kilos or an English lb lighter than a big, comfy, adjustable JRC recliner.

All in all, this gives the impression of a product designed by someone who has only sat on flat, even terrain for an hour at the most. Possibly a carp angler.
Click to expand...
My chair didn’t last long at all. Having to sit on it with the back legs folded up most the time I ended up ripping the stitching on one side of the seat as it wasn’t supported correctly (that’s my excuse anyway rather than saying I need to lose a bit of weight). I managed to keep using it for a year or so anyway until eventually the stitching broke at the front and I fell right through it. Replaced it with a chub chair that just about fitted the bag but isn’t really any more comfortable but does have slightly longer legs and no arms
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Yeah I’ll agree with that.
the very first roving chair they bought out was excellent with the legs that slid right through the box section and big mud feet. They still kept it light at 3kg.
View attachment 11704
The next version was a total train wreck.
tiny feet, stubby legs, 2 inches of extension and they gave the bloody thing arms......
View attachment 11705
Click to expand...

Mine is different to the ones above. It is more like the bottom picture regards the legs, but has no arms. The luggage shown has reminded me that the bag supplied as a dedicated accessory is so large that I can fit the chair, landing net, keepnet, unhooking mat and a weeks shopping in it. When laid down it has the same sort of surface area as a helicopter landing pad. Just the sort of thing for roving :rolleyes:
 
A old Jrc lightweight chair and a old medium sized karrimor ruck sack have served me well over the years, drennan fine baiting needle superbly sharp only watch you dont stick it in the hand in the wee small hours, have found the plastic korum feeders pants on the tidal, much better cage feeders with powergum and a good swivel from a bloke of ebay.
 
As far as river bank chairs are concerned, I bought a couple of chairs from my local facebook site, one fell apart and was dumped, the other the rear legs were of a dodgy catch release construction, so I removed the legs, and it makes for a very light roving chair, that is never beaten by even the steepest incline.
 
My next review is on a product that if you find one now is probably going to be loaded full of carp tax but when they were available in the shops despite the name they carried, were very reasonably priced.
im talking about the Fox camolite licence wallet. I bought mine for £7.99 which I think is reasonable for such a device.
not sure about you guys but some of my licenses and books were practically unrecognizable come the end of the season due to getting wet and handled and the old faithful freezer bags weren’t up to much for keeping them clean.
im sure many other devices can do a similar job. This is a great tool. It can keep your licenses dry and clean when open or closed and it was a great price at the time.
like hens teeth now mind.
DB5990ED-2F5B-417A-BDB8-3ECD96530AFD.jpeg
CB2E0BD6-3E31-4B1A-A286-930500A91213.jpeg
 
Richard Isaacs said:
My next review is on a product that if you find one now is probably going to be loaded full of carp tax but when they were available in the shops despite the name they carried, were very reasonably priced.
im talking about the Fox camolite licence wallet. I bought mine for £7.99 which I think is reasonable for such a device.
not sure about you guys but some of my licenses and books were practically unrecognizable come the end of the season due to getting wet and handled and the old faithful freezer bags weren’t up to much for keeping them clean.
im sure many other devices can do a similar job. This is a great tool. It can keep your licenses dry and clean when open or closed and it was a great price at the time.
like hens teeth now mind.
View attachment 11706View attachment 11707
Click to expand...
Probably never find it in the dark if dropped being camo. Should be luminous red.😁
 
Another 10/10 here
Those of you like a little organization in your lives should seriously consider these bad boys
1AD97D03-6749-487C-AA44-1DE43E4540B0.jpeg

storing little tiny bits properly always seems to come with its own set of challenges. Tiny fine wire hooks and bait stops slipping through the gaps and getting mixed together or in some tackle organization systems the boxes don’t come out and getting your fat fingers in the dividers to grab one thing and it’s just a pain. These things answered my prayers. Greys kliploc mini tackle boxes.
they all clip together base to lid to keep them as single items. They are all fitted with rubber seals to keep water out and stop things getting mixed up or escaping
They are tapered at the bottom and wide enough for the fattest of fingers to obtain the smallest of item.
no need to take your whole tackle box on a roaming session just grab a handful of these boxes and clip them together to stick in your pockets. I absolutely love em.
down side - cost. You will pay through the nose for them and they took a bit of google search work to find them as single empty items.
 
When my Nash Nomad chair finally gave up I bought the Korum supalite chair .Even though it was light the way the material was attached I found it uncomfortable .I settled on buying A Fox Duralite chair , this isn’t the recliner .Its really comfy has decent mud feet and arms for a change and comes in at 3.2KG. My only gripe was the nuts and bolts they use are poor coming undone after 2 trips with it .So I decided to use locking nuts and not had a problem since .I like the lock button for front and back legs so it doesn’t collapse on you .
 
Korum transition compact barrow

I take too much gear with me - fact
But I’m one of them people who might fish for three different species in a day depending on conditions and time of year
The stretch of river I fish also tends to lend itself to building up a swim so I can need a bit of bait

I’m relatively fit and have humped fishing tackle along rivers all my life but at 53 I am finding it gets harder every season
Again being honest I tend to favor 3 or 4 swims that are relatively close to parking and I think I have gotten a bit lazy on the further swims
So on a bit of a whim i bought this barrow pre-season
I paid £90 from a local tackle shop
I bought it for 2 reasons
1) Make it easier to transport kit ( obviously)
2) Encourage me to travel a bit further and fish neglected swims

The barrow is easy to assemble out of the box and no tools required. I did mine on the bank.
It comprises of 4 parts
The main body
The wheels
2 x handles


I timed it recently and it takes less than a minute to assemble. The wheels slip on and are tightened by two handwheels. The section with the feet is folded out and locks into place with a spring loaded cam type fitting. The barrow can now be stood up and the handles are inserted and again secured by handwheels. It has a couple of decent sized mudfeet and is very stable. I have topped it twice through poor weight distribution but you soon learn what works for you.
I haven't included weights & dimensions but it isn't that heavy and folds down nice and flat & easily fits in the boot with my other tackle.
Wheels and handles can be stowed in gaps if needed.

IMG_E1688.JPG

The front section, over the wheel is adjustable and I have mine set to take my rucksack. This is the heaviest piece of kit and sits over the front wheel.
There is a foldable which extends and provides support for rods, brollies, quivers etc.
I then add my chair. This is one advantage as I can now take a heavier more comfortable chair if I so wish, whereas previously weight was everything and my lightest chair wasn't the most comfortable for a longer session. The chair provides a pretty stable platform for buckets, mats and so on
IMG_1690.JPG


Then it's just a case of your other kit. Below is my typical kit. This season I have been taking a dedicated spopper rod and if I'm using maggots or casters as a change bait i can hang them off the handles easily
There are several welded anchor points conveniently located for taking bungee cords.
I use 4 bungee cords to secure everything and to date haven't had any issues with gear falling off. I wouldn't advise using without securing the load.
IMG_1698.JPG


I use it on what I consider typical riverside terrain, which is mildy undulating ,well trodden grass. The front wheel is puncture proof but quite small so the odd time you do go in a rut it can jar a bit but if you have secured everything it's not a problem.
It's well constructed as most Korum kit is but only time will tell.
I'm quite surprised at how much I use it now, it's just become another piece of kit to make life easier. I think the key thing is the ease and speed with which it goes up and comes down so to me there is no hassle.
And yes I have tried more swims and have had a few more bonus fish. I can see a place for this barrow in my pike fishing too.
I appreciate a barrow isn't for everyone's style of fishing but for anyone who is considering one I hope this review is of some use.
 
Korum Compact Tripod

Nope - I'm not sponsored by Korum.
Another piece of kit that I fancied the look of. I use with the Butt Grips already reviewed by Richard
Firstly - it is compact - see image

IMG_1700.JPG


It weighs next to nothing and easily fits in a rucksack or quiver or on the barrow.
It's basically 2 parts; the tripod and the buzz bars
The Tripod is an aluminium/ polyprop combination and I think the buzzbar is the same.
The Tripod is infinitely adjustable using big dial type locking handles, similar concept to the reclining mechanism on some chairs - male female threads that interlock and prevent slippage.
I lock the main legs to the angle that I require and then extend the legs which have a telescopic cam-locking mechanism, to the desired height.
The 3rd leg can again be extended to give you the required angle for the pod. This also anchors the pod into soft ground.
IMG_E1703.JPG


The buzz bar has a square male spigot drops solidly into a female connection and is secured by closing a cam fitting. So far it is very solid which I like as I get fed up of using buzz bars that get worn and spin around
Very intuitive product, quick to set up and very stable. I had 2 flying rod incidents earlier in the season and this tripod held firm despite getting clattered by vicious takes
Only maintenance so far is a squirt of silicone spray on the cam fittings/ telescopic legs to prevent them sticking as they do pick up mud/ dirt.
Probably not suitable for those who prefer to fish tips down. I like my angle to be about 30 degrees from horizontal and with short front legs and a long back one this is easily achievable. If it's horsing through I can simply reverse this and get the angle right up.
Another piece of equipment that does what it says on the tin, I'm less likely to forget than bank sticks and doesn't take up a lot of space.
IMG_E1704.JPG
 
Paul Richardson said:
Korum Compact Tripod

Nope - I'm not sponsored by Korum.
Another piece of kit that I fancied the look of. I use with the Butt Grips already reviewed by Richard
Firstly - it is compact - see image

View attachment 11997

It weighs next to nothing and easily fits in a rucksack or quiver or on the barrow.
It's basically 2 parts; the tripod and the buzz bars
The Tripod is an aluminium/ polyprop combination and I think the buzzbar is the same.
The Tripod is infinitely adjustable using big dial type locking handles, similar concept to the reclining mechanism on some chairs - male female threads that interlock and prevent slippage.
I lock the main legs to the angle that I require and then extend the legs which have a telescopic cam-locking mechanism, to the desired height.
The 3rd leg can again be extended to give you the required angle for the pod. This also anchors the pod into soft ground.
View attachment 11998

The buzz bar has a square male spigot drops solidly into a female connection and is secured by closing a cam fitting. So far it is very solid which I like as I get fed up of using buzz bars that get worn and spin around
Very intuitive product, quick to set up and very stable. I had 2 flying rod incidents earlier in the season and this tripod held firm despite getting clattered by vicious takes
Only maintenance so far is a squirt of silicone spray on the cam fittings/ telescopic legs to prevent them sticking as they do pick up mud/ dirt.
Probably not suitable for those who prefer to fish tips down. I like my angle to be about 30 degrees from horizontal and with short front legs and a long back one this is easily achievable. If it's horsing through I can simply reverse this and get the angle right up.
Another piece of equipment that does what it says on the tin, I'm less likely to forget than bank sticks and doesn't take up a lot of space.
View attachment 11999
Click to expand...
I have the bigger version , but after seeing this I want one lol aswell
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top