There’s no shortage of quality luggage to transport your carp rods to and from the bank nowadays. The main two types are either a carp rod holdall or a carp rod quiver, but what’s the difference and which should you choose?
A rod holdall is a system that completely encapsulates your made up rods to offer the highest levels of protection whilst transporting your rods to and from the bank. Most rod holdalls will allow you to store between two and four made up rods in one side of the holdall – by this we mean a rod with a reel attached, broken in two and strapped in to the holdall (allowing you to leave your rod effectively set up). The other side of the holdall will usually allow the storage of more rods without reels, net handles, pods and accessories. The benefit of this kind of system is that your tackle remains extremely secure throughout, though the downside is that they can be quite heavy and bulky items which take up quite a bit of room in your bivvy once set up, and obviously add extra weight to the total load you are hauling each time you go carp fishing.
The other option is a rod quiver. The quiver is essentially a lightweight version of the holdall designed more for the roving or mobile angler. Rather than the rods being fully cocooned within a holdall type system, a quiver usually has the rods attached on the outside, either slotted straight into a base pouch with a top Velcro retraining strap, or some have individual sleeves for each rod which can be clipped to the side of the quiver. The inner section is designed to take a decent sized shelter, brolly or small to medium sized carp bivvy, along with outer pockets for accessories.
The main factor to consider when choosing which style to choose from is your intended use. How much protection do your rods need on your average journey to the lake, and how far do you have to carry your tackle once you’ve unloaded your car?
Common sense would dictate that the safer your rods can be the better, but if the additional weight carried means you’re nearing a heart attack by the time you get to the swim, then you need to find a compromise. Those that tend to use a carp barrow to get their gear to the banks often go for a more secure rod holdall system, as they can load up without really feeling the additional weight, whereas short session anglers who carry all their gear to the swim tend to go for a lightweight quiver system.
The quiver can leave your rods and reels more exposed during transit, but through the use of carp rod tip protectors and carp reel pouches, you can easily beef up the protection with minimal added weight, or as has been said, some come with sleeves to encapsulate the rod, but again, these will increase weight overall.
As well as transit to and from the water, it’s worth considering where the rods are stored at home. If they are stored in a completely safe environment where there is little risk of accidental damage, then a quiver will suffice, but if they have to be stored in a potentially precarious position, then you may be better beefing up your protection.
Both systems come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so it’s relatively easy to find a good match to your requirements, just try to think long term to get the best buy. Not just about what you are doing now, but the types of waters home and abroad that you may be planning to fish in the near future in order that you can make your money go a little bit further.