TBR 2 Barbel Tripod
by Andrew Davies
TBR2 in 'normal' use on a bank high Severn, first time out with tripod and had 5 fish in first 5 casts!
I have to admit that I never really thought of buying a tripod, despite having occasionally managed with an old Ian Golds sea fishing rest on occasional trips to the River Wye. Having now used the TBR 2 for my barbel fishing on the Lower Severn I wonder how I managed without one. One of the main advantages of using a tripod is that the Delkims are always perpendicular to the line; hence more efficient, especially in flowing rivers where bites are not necessarily screaming runs.
Here's what Trafford Angling Supplies have to say about their tripod :
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That is a fair description of the product and it is difficult to argue with any of that. For my part I have used the tripod quite extensively on the Lower Severn, where than banks consist of fairly soft mud. I have used it in particularly horrendous autumn storms and the tripod performed perfectly. Admittedly I haven't yet had chance to try it out on Gravel/Concrete etc - but I am assured that it works well in these circumstances. The first thing I noticed was just how solid it was once set up with the legs just pushed into the ground - it really isn't going anywhere. A criticism of some of my sea fishing tripods is that they can become very unstable once one of the rods has been lifted - this is not the case with the TBR2.
It's not going anywhere!
When I had set the tripod up a little bit low on a sloping bank I was concerned that a ferocious take could actually pull a rod out of the cups and I thought that perhaps an option to use a buzzer bar on the back would be nice. Well an email to Trafford angling the following week told me that it could be arranged and that the cost for a spare buzzer would cost around a fiver.
| The 'business end'. The buzzer bar is locked in place with a plastic thumbscrew - it is actually quite easy to tighten/loosen even with cold/wet hands. They can be folded parallel with the rest when folded, but the front buzzer bar didn-t quite sit square due to the nut on the rear of the threaded section. The central boss is a fairly simple design with the rear leg being fixed in place and the front legs are allowed to be at nearly any angle allowing a good deal of adjustment. It also has a hook which I found useful for hanging spare baited rigs from. |
The major plus point for me is that it packs down very small, and is exceptionally light (just over a kilo). It will easily fit into most quivers although I would recommend removing the 'buzzer bars' completely to prevent any damage.
On this occasion I had to use the tripod in a high setting to keep the line out of marginal vegetation!
Trafford's website also lists some spare parts, as well as narrower cups to splay the rods and a single rod conversion. Personally well impressed by the ability to buy spare parts, it's very likely that I will lose some at some point.
In conclusion I reckon it's a great bit of kit offering decent value for money, and after hearing about other manufacturers tripods needing to be 'customised' I reckon this is probably top of the pile at the moment. Long term I will monitor how the plastic parts cope, but I don't anticipate any problems.
Cost £39.99, from Trafford Angling Supplies. (Note that the website is still suggesting an introductory price of £34.99, get in there quick!) but please mention BFW if you make an enquiry and/or order one.
BFW score 9 out of 10
Andrew Davies
Feb 2007
