Wild River's Tackle Tek Nomad XP Backpack

I remember as a kid my dad had an old metal tackle box. Then as new technologies became available, my dad’s tackle box became plastic. Well, the Tackle Tek Nomad XP from Wild River is not your dad’s tackle bag. It is a state-of-the-art backpack that seems to be something Captain Kirk could have used.

Wild River is an exciting new brand of outdoor adventure gear from Custom LeatherCraft (CLC). CLC has over 30 years of construction trade experience manufacturing tool belts and tool bags. The company applied that knowledge and know-how to their new Wild River gear, which includes Tackle Tek, a soft tackle line offering a high level of innovation and quality.

(Gary Elliott photo)

The Tackle Tek Nomad XP comes with power adapter tips and a USB cable. This came in very handy when my phone or blue tooth speakers ran low. It also has an optional clip-on solar panel for trickle charging your integrated 5000mAh rechargeable USB power supply. You can charge the USB power supply before you leave though, so you don’t need the solar panel.

(Gary Elliott photo)

If that isn’t cool enough, there is a rotating three level light to illuminate your work area with a white or green light. This tackle bag has all of these cool options and the ability to hold up to six 3600 series and four 3500 series trays.

(Gary Elliott photo)

Let’s take a look at all of the storage areas. The top has a sunglass case to store your eyewear. When you unzip the top, there is a large storage area lined in orange no-snag material for visibility. Then on each side, there are zipper storage areas with pouches on the outside of them. Each pouch measures 6 inches high by 5 inches wide. Below each of the zipper storage areas is even more zippered storage. The additional storage measures 9 inches high by 7 inches wide and includes a divider to separate your items.

(Gary Elliott photo)

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Along the top and each side is lashing to hang items you may need throughout your fishing trip. It even includes a fishing plier holder that clips in and securely holds pliers, so they are there for you when you need them.

On the front of the bag is a zippered area that unzips to become a work area. It is also lined with orange for visibility. The work area holds your charger and has three pocket areas to store items. Just above that, of course, is your three positioned light for lighting your work area in early morning or late evening darkness.

(Gary Elliott photo)

On the bottom of the front is a zippered area where important items, like lures, can be stored in the 3600 or 3500 series plastic containers. The containers keep everything neatly stacked and secured so nothing falls out.

The back of the bag has two nicely padded straps so you can walk out comfortably and hands-free to your boat or fishing spot. A convenient strap is also located on top, for those times you just want to grab the bag and run.

I am not done yet, there is more! Underneath the bag is a hidden rain cover and base pads to help reduce wear and keep it out of the moisture. You get all of these features for barely over 5 pounds. Price is high at $229.99 and the price drops with each of the other models.

I found this tackle pack held what I needed and more for a day’s fishing and it was handy on my kayak. I recommend leashing the pack when out; however, as I found it was designed more for the angler walking out to a lake or pond. The light came in very handy and the recharger kept my phone charged for the day. If you’re afraid of getting the charger wet, put it in a waterproof case or bag and store it in the tackle bag.

The quality of the Tackle Tek Nomad XP is awesome and is backed by a 90-day warranty. Make sure to keep your receipt though, because the warrantee requires you to send in the receipt (or a copy of it) when sending the pack in for warranty issues. After the warranty expires, there is a $25.00 charge for any repairs and a check or money order must accompany the pack when returning.

There’s just one drawback of this bag – the straps are not detachable. If you do use it on a kayak, it would be nice to have removable straps. I found the straps got in the way when grabbing it from the driver’s seat of the kayak. But, I can’t say anything negative about the bag’s overall quality, convenience of pockets and storage.

For more information, please visit http://www.gowildriver.com/.

Review written by Gary Elliott, facilitator of www.Facebook.com/GarysOutdoorNewsandReviews and @garys_outdoor_news_and_reviews.