After doing a review on the Aqua Duvet-Style sleeping bag at the end of last year I was approached by Aqua to review their latest luggage range. All the items in this review were supplied to me by Aqua, but the review is my own honest opinion.
I’m not a professional angler, and I don’t receive any payments from Aqua, I’m just a weekend fisherman with a family and work commitments. I don’t take it too seriously and blank more often than I catch. If I haven’t had the opportunity to use the item on the bank I make that clear and only offer comments on the look and feel of the item rather than on its real-life usage.
The items from the range that have had real use are – 75L Rucksack, Stalking Bag, Carryall, Bitz Bag, Rig Wallet and the Small Cool Bag.
In addition the 110L Rucksack and Small Bait Boat Bag are considered on a 'look and feel' basis as explained above.
For the other items please see the specific reviews.
AQUA 75L RucksackThis to me is the jewel in the crown of the new range. It is like Dr. Who’s Tardis in that you can fit a lot more into it than first appearances would make you think, and like all the range, it is well designed and made.
You can use the straps on the top to hold your unhooking mat or sleeping bag in place but I use it to carry the Stalking Bag. Hopefully, you can see the padding on the handle and the shape of the large front pocket (just below the handle). The zip, and the rain protection cover over it, runs down at an angle toward the main body of the rucksack. I’ve found that this makes it much easier to open the pocket, see what is inside and get things out. On my old rucksack, the zips ran straight down and I had to zip right to the bottom before there was a clear view and easy access.
It’s only a small point I know, but it is an example of the attention to practical, easy-to-use details that have been included in the design of the range. A better illustration of this can be seen in the 110L Rucksack review.
The rucksack when you start to load it up expands and expands and expands until it is almost a cube in shape. An adjustable, well padded shoulder and waist harness system that is stored behind a cover when not needed, if it is being carried on a barrow for example. Unlike my old rucksack (which was quite old) the harness on this one, as on the 110L version, is more like that on expensive, outdoor activity rucksacks as you can adjust the height of the harness to suit by moving it up and down the numbered rack that can be seen between the straps.
On the outside you have a narrow, deep pocket on each side, an almost full-height 'wet sack' pocket (held in place by Velcro and easily removed for cleaning) at the front with a fold-down, half-height pocket in front that is designed to take your sticks, bars, alarms and indicators.
There are 4 loops to hold the sticks, two at the back and two at the front. Underneath the back sticks are pouches that I keep my alarms and indicators in. Bars go into a pair of compartments so that they are separated from each other. The sticks I use are JRC 12” and they fit perfectly, as do the JRC 3-rod extendable bars (with bug style rests fitted). I’ve tried 16” sticks and these are too long, and, the bars only just fit with the rests fitted. The sticks have a habit of tilting to one side as they are held by one central loop, but they haven’t fallen out. The inclusion of a second loop would have been a nice touch as that would hold them more securely.
Underneath the top cover there is a tray, about 1.5” deep that you can use to put all those small items in that you need close to hand – head torch, needles, Klinik etc.
This lifts out so that you access the main compartment which is well laid out and designed to work with the smaller accessory items in the Aqua range. There is a flap at the back that takes the Rig Wallet, a pouch at the side that takes the Bitz Bag (being lifted out below), and the Small Cool Bag fits in the middle. There are a couple of other pouches that I use for my tea/kettle/mugs and catapult/scales etc. as you can see.
Underneath the various pouches there is plenty of space for those items that you need to have with you but don’t use that often. I store a few tins of sweetcorn and instant meals along with some groundbait and spare clothes there. When I arrive at the lake my sticks, bars, alarms and indicators can be out ready for use quickly. Leads are just under the top tray that holds all the bits and pieces, as is the cool bag with freezer bait in and pop-ups are in the side pocket. Everything is easy to get at and gone are the days of raking through looking for something. Like all the products I have for review, the padding has to be seen to be believed. The best illustration of this is in the Bait Boat Bag review.
I’ve used it for 10 overnight sessions now and the material used seems to be strong and the zips are smooth with easy to hold tags. The base is made from a waterproof material so standing it down in the bankside mud doesn’t result in moisture seeping up the material and onto the gear stored inside. One of the side pockets and the large front (wet sack) compartment is empty so I could fit more in if I needed to. I could easily get enough in there for a 2/3 day session. That is the only negative really. It would be very easy to fill this to the brim and you would then need two people to lift it!
