In my quest for some pieces of luggage that suit my style of fishing, my eyes fell upon some of the luggage offered by Cotswold Aquarius. What I was after was a medium sized bag, perhaps a rod quiver and maybe some other small additional items.

I have learnt from past experiences that luggage with an uncomfortable strap is literally a pain and found myself rejecting some likely suitable sized offerings from other manufacturers because of the strap attached to the bag. It turned out that my fishing companion had one of the Cotswold Aquarius offerings and after a quick trial ordered a Midi Roamer Bag, Roamer Quiver, Rod Straps and a Micro Stubby Bag.

This is a medium sized fishing carryall fitted with a fully adjustable padded shoulder strap and padded carrying handles that Velcro together. The main central compartment measures 381mm x 178mm x 330 mm (15 x 7 x 13 ins) and is accessed by a double zipped top flap. There are four external pockets – two padded and lined zip closures at either end of the bag and two flapped Velcro pockets on each face of the bag. One of these pockets has internal pockets useful for putting various items of kit in.

The zips are shielded by waterproof fabric flaps.

The Midi Roamer Bag

This is a well thought out piece of kit – the strap was particularly comfortable – in fact the best I have tried. I liked the overall design of this bag and was further encouraged by it’s water resistive nature when I blasted it with the garden hose.

Good quality, well made piece of kit - which incidentally is hand crafted in the UK. My first impressions are that this will give me many years of good reliable service.

£38.75 – directly available from Cotswold Aquarius - Telephone 01285 869090 (brochure available).

9 out of 10. Could be a possible 10 depending on long term performance.

A quiver conceived with the stalking river angler in mind. It measures approximately 1125mm x 240mm (44 x 91/2 ins) and has a main pocket to accommodate an umbrella and landing net pole, an open side pocket and a reinforced zipped bank stick pocket. On the opposite side are a pair of straps and shallow pocket to hold up to three made up rods. A padded shoulder strap and carrying handle is also provided.

Roamer Quiver – Bank Stick Pocket Side

Roamer Quiver – Rod Side

Well designed piece of kit which should give many years of service. Maybe could have been fitted with a couple of straps to keep made up rods separated from each other but this is a personal preference. Both shoulder and carrying strap are very comfortable.

Repeating my comments on the Midi Roamer here - Good quality, well made piece of kit - which incidentally is hand crafted in the UK. My first impressions are that this will give me many years of good reliable service.

£34.95 – directly available from Cotswold Aquarius - Telephone 01285 869090 (brochure available).

9 out of 10. Could be a possible 10 depending on long term performance.

The Micro Stubby is a small compact zipped bag fully padded and lined. Designed to carry two bait dip pots, mine found instant use to house my Lucido T4 Head Torch. Measures around 152mm x 76mm x 102mm (6 x 3 x 4 ins).

The rod bands consist of Velcro fastenings and to save describing them, a photograph is provided below. They are easy to use.

Micro Stubby Bag and Set of Rod Bands

Both items performed well in use.

£8.99 – Micro Stubby Bag.

£4.05 – Rod Bands.

8 out of 10 for the Micro Stubby – would have been higher if cheaper.

8 out of 10 for Rod Bands.

Both items directly available from Cotswold Aquarius - Telephone 01285 869090 (brochure available).

Going by these reviewed items Cotswold Aquarius make some very nice, well thought out gear. They do a wide range of luggage, including unhooking mats and slings. They have made some recent new additions to their range including a Roamer Chair and Multi Roamer Bucket. If you are in the market for some good gear - go check them out before buying any other gear – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

They can be contacted on 01285 869090.

Bob Gill (bgit) September 2001