So you go fishing, and you need to pack a bunch of baits, floats, hooks, spare spools, more hooks, trebles, reels, camera, a knife and pliers, a torch, some hygiene accessories… Yes, an angler’s equipment and gear include an endless list of accessories, small accessories, smaller accessories, and more.
At home, you can always fit them somewhere. You can get a cupboard or maybe a trunk, or perhaps even shove all the tackle in a toolbox in your garage. But taking them with you is not an option, sadly. When you’re going fishing, you also need to bring a suitably large and durable container with you. You can use a backpack or a suitcase, that’s a possibility for sure, but is it going to be practical?
Of course, there is no point in discussing that. We both know that the thing that you need is a tackle box. The problem is how you should choose one. A box is a box, right?
It’s technically correct, but even such a straightforward thing as a tackle box has a lot of parameters you need to account for.
Durability
Naturally, you want your tackle box to be as durable as possible. That’s a given. If you have a lot of tackle, you need a more durable box. But you have to realize that you must pay for that durability. I’m not being metaphorical here. No, I really am saying that a durable tackle box will cost you hard cash.
Why is that?
If tackle boxes were made from wood, that probably wouldn’t be like that. As a matter of fact, you can always make a tackle box out of plywood if you’d like that. But that box will be massive. Meanwhile, most production-grade boxes are made from hard plastics. Plastics are light, but the sturdier such a material is, the more you will have to pay for it.
The good news is that the durability does not really make the price of the tackle box. It depends on a whole bunch of other features, such as rollers, handles, trays, organizers, zippers and other things like that. Also, the construction itself matters as well. A good quality expensive tackle box is going to be watertight and floating.
But I’ve digressed. Regardless of how your tackle box is constructed, the first thing to choose is how durable you want that tackle box.
Most of the time, you don’t need it to be too durable. As long as the box offers at least some kind of protection, that’s more than enough for most purposes.
Price
As I’ve said above, durability doesn’t make the price, although it definitely affects it. I can’t say that tackle boxes are expensive or, on the contrary, cheap. You can find cheap and expensive boxes alike, and each of them has its own advantages.
But before I say any more on the matter, id like to say something else first.
You don’t need a tackle box. That’s true, I’m not selling you anything, which is why I’m being honest with you. You don’t really need a tackle box. It is easy to replace with anything, from a sports bag to a toolbox. But then, why does such a product even exists? It exists since anglers, like everybody else, like convenience. A tackle box is more convenient than a toolbox for the same reason a fork and a spoon are more convenient than a spork.
For the same reason, we have dozens of kitchen utensils instead of just three or four. Our world is all about convenience and saving time. When you keep yourself that one hour, it may not be much. But imagine you make two price differences between a toolbox and a tackle box in an hour, and the idea of convenience suddenly has less to do with luxury and more with necessity.
But that to happen, you only need the best tools and the best tackle box.
When you have a tackle box, you gain easy access to every piece of tackle after opening the lid. You don’t have to look through deeply hidden storage compartments or trays. You have everything that you need on hand. The lines, reels, lures, hooks, the pliers, the scissors — everything that you possibly need to be organized in a manner that will allow you start fishing as soon as you crouch down and open the lid.
Still, if you prefer to invest in professional tackle boxes, the price of some of them may surprise you unpleasantly. But it will be a better solution for you than a toolbox or no box at all.
Weight
If you’ve ever used a wooden or plywood tackle box, then you know just how massive that thing is. It’s probably not a problem when you can park your car next to the shore, but if you have to carry all your gear on foot, you really need to compare how heavy — or light — tackle boxes are. I can single out many types, but these days, there’s only two, depending on the material.
Plastic Boxes
Until recently, manufacturers mainly used foamed plastics to construct such boxes. Boxes made from them were super light and insulated. Sandwiches and worms would not freeze or cook there. However, any foamed plastic is an inherently unreliable material. Any box made out of it requires delicate handling, and even then it will be short-lived
Boxes made from polypropylene, polyethylene or other synthetic fiber are more practical. I recommend a high denier score because such a box will be more durable.
Metal Boxes
Metal is much stronger and more durable material than plastic, but it is also heavy and expensive. Calling it insulating is just plain wrong, and let not forget that if you grab a metal object that is very cold with your bare hands, you really won’t like what happens next.
Out metals used in tackle boxes construction, steel is the strongest and most durable but also heavy material. Aluminum is lighter than steel but inferior to steel in strength. When you use such a tackle box actively, you are bound to find dents on your box sooner or later. Still, it’s far more durable than any plastic.
Then there are composite boxes with a steel frame and aluminum panels. Such boxes combine durability and lightness, but they are costly and a lot heavier than plastic tackle boxes.