Carp-Zone Food Holdall.

Coming soon!!

Carp-Zone tackle barrow.

I am writing this review as I couldn't find any on the web about this product. I am a keen fisherman who has just recently gotten into specimen carp fishing.

This is the same deal as before with the bivvy it can't be bought of the shelf from a shop it has to be ordered online from either Carp-Zone or from there shop on E-bay. I ordered from E-Bay and it came very prompt and well packaged. Like the bivvy before this comes with free postage.

Lets put it together.

I started to get all the pieces out of the box and remove what seems like a load of packaging everything is wrapped in foam but this had protected the barrow in shipment. I find a bag containing all the gubbins for the barrow. Spacers, washers, and plenty of locking handles but alas no instructions on how to put together. So what I did was to just piece together what I could and see what was left to be honest it wasn't hard at all. While putting together I notice at how solid the construction felt everything slid into place as it should and I didn't have any "Well that doesn't look right " moments.

Space.

This barrow can take a serious amount of tackle. The overall width is 37" (94.5cm) when fully extended. This is wide and should be able to take most if not all bags across the width of the base. The length is adjustable too that is 67" (170cm) fully extended. That is a large area for tackle and it takes the weight no problem. 

Along with the main base you have an adjustable rod bag rest on the front and an under barrow bag which is quite big too. The barrow bag is made from a thick material that doenst look as though it will rip easily and that too has adjustment straps all the way round so you can make it shallower if needs be. Me personally I use the bag to put my winter skin, ground sheet and extra panels from the bivvy in it. 

I have read elsewhere that some of the other makers of barrow side and front bags will fit straight onto this with no hassle so you could have even more room.

On this barrow I can fit

• Large food bag
• 50 lt holdall
• Large rig station
• Rodpod bag
• 10 ltr water
• Two 5 ltr bait buckets
• Large sleeping bag
• Carp cradle
• Bivvy
• 6 Rodbag
• Bedchair

 
Manoeuvrability.

My previous barrow gave me instant backache and was a nightmare to push and steer even though it was from a top brand. This on the otherhand is a pleasure it is super easy to maneuver and is very light on the handles due to the size and the placement of the wheel on the base dependent on where you put your tackle on the barrow.

My local water has hills, drops ,mud and gates to get past I have had no problem with pushing this barrow fully load over any of this terrain as I said before its a pleasure to push.

My only concern comes when you go to put the barrow down. As you tilt the barrow forwards the foldflat legs do go forward slightly as there is no locking mechanism for them and if they fold under too much the barrow would fall backwards on its arse. I try and carry on going forward abit once the legs have hit the floor as this pushes them into place so you can let go of the barrow without it falling over. That is the only concern with this barrow and its nothing really.

Pack down size.

As this bown flat the wheel and handles come off and then its just a base, simples. 

You could in fact pack it down even smaller if you wanted to take the sides and front off and split the base in two. All this is done by easy to turn locking handles. It is on the heavy side but then I suppose it has to be so it can take the weight.
arrow takes so much tackle I was scepticle at how easy it would fit in my car. It folds d
Conclusion.

This barrow for the money is fantastic I havnt seen another on the market like it for this price. What you have to keep remembering about the Carp-Zone price`s is that it is delivered to your door for that one price. Apart from the folding legs not having a locking mechanism I can't say a bad word about this barrow its got loads of space, its strong, it turns on a sixpence, It packs down small and when loaded right it is so light on the handles. 

As Ive said before the longevity is yet to be seen as I havnt had it long but hopefully it will last a few years to come and hopefully all Carp-Zone products will be this good.

Personally I would recommend this to any carper and have done already.

  
UPDATE.

I have been using the barrow for a while now and so far so good. Nothing has fell off and nothing has broke which is always a good thing. The legs not locking into place is still a bit of a pain but it hasnt fell over yet.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this review please mention it when ordering.




Average Joe carp novice.

Carp-Zone Hurricane 1 man bivvy.

I am writing this review as I couldn't find any on the web about this product.

First of all I would like to mention the way in which these bivvy`s come to you, it can`t be bought off the shelf in a shop but can be ordered online at Carp-Zone or on E-Bay. I personally ordered from E-Bay and it came very prompt and well packaged.

First Put up.

As I always do I have to have a play with whatever I`ve bought before I go to the bank just to make sure that everything is there and it`s in good condition.

You get a drawstring bag with the bivvy, poles, groundsheet, heavy duty pegs and two more zip in fronts (pvc and mesh) plus two more door panels (pvc and mesh). For the relatively small price you pay I think this is brilliant as you have options for the front of the bivvy and this is one of the reasons I bought this bivvy in the first place.

As I tipped the contents out on to the garden I soon found what I believed to be my first problem, no manual. Yes this is a simple bivvy but a manual would have been nice, so a quick trip to you tube and I found a video on how to erect. So with the knowledge I attached the tensioning strap along the width of the bivvy and began to piece the poles of the ribs together. These have elastic cord going through the middle of them and go together very easily.

With the ribs together I can now place the mid-rib tensioning poles in place. These in my opinion need to be made differently. The wingnut part which allows you to extend the poles is in the wrong place as it only just clears the materiel loop that it goes through and if you would like the skin of the bivvy tight then it will press up against material loop and over time that will cause wear. This is only a problem on the front to middle rib. At first I thought I had got the poles the wrong way round but they are the same whichever way round you put them.

Last up is the back pole which leads to the ground. One end clips to the rib while the other goes to an eyelet at the base of the bivvy. This will not tension unless it is on the ground and if you follow the instructions on the video when you peg the front out first this comes away from the floor and flaps about until it is pegged down. I think all the rib tensioning poles need to be slightly changed.

All that is left to do is to peg the remaining pegs in and that is the bivvy up. It is a stable construction once pegged out and the issues with the poles don't seem to affect the stability at all.

Once the bivvy is up you can place the ground sheet in which has eyelets on so you can peg this down too but saying that I think you are meant to use the same pegs as the bivvy which means taking them out and repegging if erecting as instructed on the video, which is another little gripe. The groundsheet itself is of good quality and lays well inside.

The bivvy I purchased had a winter skin with it. This came in a separate draw string bag with its own set of heavy duty pegs. This skin is fine I have had no issues with this. Out the bag, throw it over the bivvy, peg down job done.

Putting it up was very easy and took no time at all.

The video on how to is here >>>   http://youtu.be/orv_ZBSisl4

First Takedown.

As before there was no manual to take this down nor is there a video so I just set about reversing my actions from before.

I have removed all of the pegs and removed the groundsheet. Zipped the door shut and remove the rib tensioning poles now I am left with the bivvy in a C shape on the floor. I have undone the tension strap from the base of the poles and begin to remove the rib poles from each other. This may sound easy but there is a real knack to this as the elastic cord inside the poles keeps pulling them back together. It`s a pain and as I`ve said there's a knack to it. After faffing with these for abit and folding them back together next is to get everything back into the drawstring bag.

This I feel is the let down of the whole bivvy as it is such a squeeze to get it back into its own bag. As with all tents when they are put in the bag for the first time in the factory these are ideal conditions and not wet, muddy, wild outside conditions.

In the end all I put back in the original bag was the bivvy, poles and the pegs as this is what I would need to hand on the bank. The rest of the panels and door panels are kept in my barrow bag along with the winter skin and groundsheet or left at home.

I think that a bag with a zip full length is the way to go for the future for this bivvy as putting it back into that drawstring bag after a 48hour session when wet and tired is going to be a right pain. In fact I have already been looking at Buying a zipped bivvy holdall. 

First Sessions.

I have used the bivvy at my local for a few 24 hour stints and all I can say is that it all went fine no problems what so ever. The weather was bad it was cold and raining and it was fine no leaks no problems. The quality is very good for the small price tag. The zips on the doors work well, there is just enough space for a bedchair and all my tackle (Carp-zone food bag, clothes holdall, rig box/table and bait buckets). If you take everything and the kitchen sink I would go for the two man but for the average carper this bivvy has plenty of room.

Conclusion.

I`m not going to bang on about spec`s this and spec`s that because this can all be found on the website. What I will say is that this bivvy does have its bad points but I feel that the good points outweigh the bad ten fold. The versatility of the front panel is brilliant plus once put up and down a few times this can be put up and down lightning fast. Everything is cut well the seams are taped well nothing has come apart and all the zips work well too.

Even with the tight drawstring bag and the faffy poles I put this bivvy up and down on the first attempt in 15 mins. That was including skipping thought the video on how to put it up. It would be nice to see a full length zip bag for ease of putting away and modification of the mid-rib pole in the future. The longevity is yet to be seen as I havnt had it long but hopefully it will last a few years to come.

Personally I would recommend this bivvy to any carper on a tight budget.


UPDATE.

Bivvy has been good nothing has ripped or come undone the poles are getting a bit faffy may need some kind of lube.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this review please mention it when placing an order.

　

Average Joe carp novice.

Come back soon for review on Carp-Zone barrow!