I have been using Trakker bivvies for as long as I can remember, initially I was slow to get onto the Armo revolution but once I did I kicked myself for not changing sooner! This bivvy is in my opinion the most versatile one on the market by far. I have fished in storms on 10,000 acre French reservoirs one week and done a single overnighter on my local syndicate the next, the Armo copes with both superbly. It goes up quickly and once up is rock solid. The MkII one man is my preferred home, I’ve been punishing the same one for the last few years and if I cant ruin it no-one can. The peak over the door keeps the rain out of the bivvy and I use the spacer bars for rigidity and so I can fold the bivvy down in the day to air it out and get a better view of the lake. I would recommend the tensioning strap for summer fishing without a groundsheet too, it means less weight and it goes up quicker.
BIVVIES AND BROLLIES
SLEEPING BAGS
Trakker is renowned for its quality sleeping bags and bedchair covers. The breathable 5 season bags such as the Armotexx, Peachskin Big Z and Jackal Realtree APG offer the best protection against the coldest winter weather. The phenomenally successful Big Snooze is a great value 3 season bag that can be turned into a 5 season with the help of one of Trakker’s bedchair covers.
Armotexx Sleeping Bag |
Armotexx Sleeve |
 |
 |
The Jackal APG Thermal Cover |
The Jackal APG 5 Season Sleeping Bag |
 |
 |
Thermal Bedchair Lined Cover |
Big Z Peachskin |
 |
 |
Big Snooze |
|
 |
|
We’ve come a long way in bivvy design. Long gone are the days of the pegging plastic sheets to the ribs of your umbrella, as I used to do back in the mid 80’s. Most of the credit for today’s modern classic bivvies has to go to Trakker and Chris Manifold, in fact if it wasn’t for Chris’ forward thinking mind and Trakker’s manufacturing capabilities then the bivvy market wouldn’t be what it is today.
Chris was the brains behind all three of the most successful bivvies ever made, the Evolution, Armadillo and the Pioneer system. The Evo was sold to Fox, which left trakker to market the remaining two. Now I’ll be the first to admit that for shear popularity the Armo(whether it’s the Mk 1, Mk 2 or the Trident) will go down in history as the best selling bivvy ever!!  I suppose this is why every single other manufacturer copies it to the hilt!! But my own personal favourite is without doubt the Pioneer Ultralite. I do love the concept, space and stability of the Armo, but for my own style of angling, the Ultralite wins hands down everytime.
My own fishing can sometimes involve moving up to 3 or 4 times during a weekend and for speed and agility you simply can’t beat the Pioneer, I can have the bivvy down and the gear on the barrow in around 5 minutes, which on pressured big fish waters can mean the difference between getting in that vacant swim where the fish are showing or not.
I still own a very old trakker 50’’ MPB brolly, but if you look at the design of the Ultralite, it’s basically a brolly with the ribs on the outside, which in turn gives you much more room inside than a conventional brolly system. Add to that a zip off front to convert it into a full coverage bivvy system, and make it in Aquatexx, what more could you want??
 I will have to comment on the new Trident though. I’ve been using mine more and more of late and I must say that the versatility is awesome. It does fit most of the criteria’s for my fishing due to the fact the poles only have 2 breaks, this means it’s much quicker to assemble and pack away than a Mk1 or Mk2. The whole front panel zips off to give you the option of using it as a quick over night shelter, as does the porch.
I used my Trident on a recent trip to France in conjunction with an extended winter skin. I then completely zipped the front off, this gave me at least another couple of feet in floor space inside, which is absolutely perfect for those trips as most of us do tend to take everything including the kitchen sink when we are away for a week.
The same as it’s predecessor the Mk 2, the Trident is manufactured in Aquatexx, which doesn’t expand or contract in changing weather conditions, it’s also the most stable of shelters. Peace of mind is paramount once inside your bivvy, after all, you don’t want the next big South Westerly wind to move in, along with the carp, only to find you holding on to your inferior product, or worse still, picking the remains of it up after the wind has blown it to pieces.
Whichever bivvy you choose from the Trakker range you can be confident it’s been manufactured to the highest of standards, with superior quality materials, and from the market leader in bivvy design and manufacturing.
TRAKKER CLOTHING
There are several key factors I look for in my Angling clothing. It has to be fuctional, practical and to a certain degree, stylish. I’m pleased to say that each one of Trakker’s clothing lines tick all three boxes.
Now I am terribly fussy about what I’ll recommend to people because what suits one will not always suit the next. But I can honestly say that with the trakker clothing, there is something for everybody. How do I know this? Because we all had input into its design, that’s how.
We decided to leave the famous Bundle Deal as it was. The numbers we sold last year dictated this. It really is an awesome product for a very low price.
This year has seen the introduction of a number of new clothing ranges from Trakker. Firstly we have the return of the Polar Fleece Range. We’ve re-vamped the old Polar Range by adding elastic draw cords as opposed to elastics, .
Next we have a new two piece undersuit which is obviously aimed at the colder months but for those summer nights when it goes a bit chilly, you can simply throw this on under you combats. The upper garment has a detachable zipped hood and a ¾ zip for extra comfort. I would personally wear this item right through the year as it offers everything I require from a hoodie.
We then move onto the Windproof Fleeces. These are a particular favourite of mine. We’ve manufactured them in a slightly darker Green, the Red ‘Armo’ logo is present on the right arm, and the famous Trakker badge is embroidered in a subtle light Green colour on the left breast. Both the sweatshirt and the jacket come with draw string ties as standard, and they are lined with a fully windproof and breathable lining. All in all they are a very stylish but functionable fleece, and are sure to be a sure fire hit with the angler looking for a garment which is a much more than your run of the mill fleece.
Finally we have the Stormtex range. This is the flagship range of fully waterproof clothing for 2007/8 from trakker. The range consists of saloppetes, waterproof sweatshirt, waterproof jacket and a superb smock garment, which wouldn’t look out of place in any high street fashion shop. We are going to market these products in such a way that you will look fashionable and stylish, whilst retaining all the qualities you’ve come to expect from Trakker’s clothing.
Because I’ve been carp angling for near on 20 years, I sometimes know instantly what the market is lacking. The moment I saw the first samples of the Stormtex range, I knew it would be a winner with carp anglers up and down the country, and on first impressions, I wasn’t wrong.
SLEEPING BAGS
Like the rest of our products the Rock Solid Range is totally made in the UK.
This range of stainless is chunkier than your normal run-of-the-mill stuff. The tube we use is 16mm diameter and the solid for the tops of the sticks and buzz bars is 20mm diameter, this makes for an extremely stable set-up.
We utilise a stepped point on the banksticks which makes them easier to get in to hard ground, another little feature we use is that on the snag bars the bankstick threads are offset by an inch so that when your indicators come down they don’t smack into your sticks.
The Patriot Pod is compatible with any length of stick and will accept either 2, 3 or 4 rod snag bars, we do two versions of the pod, one for our sticks and one that will accept standard diameter sticks.
Also available are two different types of wraps one is designed to accept a pod and 4 banksticks, the other will hold up to 8 banksticks, these then roll up and Velcro shut so they can be stored in your rucksack or rod bag.
© Copyright Leslies of Luton and any featured companies or trademark owners.
No part of this website may be reproduced in any way, either electronic or mechanical,
without the express permission of the author.
|
