Carpology Brew Kit

Carpology magazine are now at the top of the list each month for a lot of carp anglers when it comes to buying magazines. Jo Wright and the team have come a long way from their original conception of a magazine that was a small booklet that was available free from local tackle shops, to being a market leader in original material and information.

A few months ago, UKMA noticed the Carpology Brew Kit in the magazine and thought that it was a brilliant idea as well as seeing the benefits that it would give to us instantly.

As carp anglers, we are always looking at ways of lightening the amount of kit that we take with us - even on long sessions. One area that previously was a nightmare to cut down on was the de facto essential kit to make a hot drink on the bank, but also carry enough to last the session if unexpected visitors (or the baillif!) came round. All of the other off the shelf kits where contained in a large pouch or even in a whole carryall of their own, which just added to the amount of kit taken by the angler (which meant that they were less likely to move onto showing fish if it entailed a long walk to the other end of the lake). If the angler lightened up too much to the bare essentials, they usually neglected the "guest" cup and took a lot less supplies meaning that you were out of luck with a brew if you made a visit to a "mate".
Being the socialble lot, the Carpology team have thought about this and come up with the ideal solution to this age old problem - a small pouch that can contain everything that the angler would need to keep a brew to hand, even for a guest!

Essentially the Brew Kit is a selection of screw top containers, flip top bottles, cutlery set and two mugs held all together in a small insulated pouch. You may be asking yourself "why should I buy one of these instead of using what I already use?". Good question, but once you have seen one of these you will want one!

The pouch that the kit is contained in, is a lot smaller than others available, meaning that it will fit easily into the smallest of bags without taking up all the space. The pouch measures approximately 20cm x 20cm x 12cm and really is a little Tardis. Made from a heavy duty waterproof outer that has a high quality zip with double pullers, and is insulated to keep items fresh even in summer.

Supplied in the pouch are the following; 2 x Carpology metal mugs, 1 x large flip top bottle, 4 x small flip top bottles, 1 x large screw top tub, 2 x small screw top tubs and a metal cutlery set.

The clever part is how everything fits together inside to make optimal use of the space. When in transit or storage, the screw top tubs fit perfectly inside the 2 mugs, the large bottle fits down the centre with the cutlery on top and the 4 small flip top bottles fit perfectly in the remaining space together.

The metal mugs are larger than your usual mugs associated with similar products, and actually keep the drink hot for a long time. The handles are also made of metal and feel solid, rather than the plastic handles generally fitted to fishing mugs. The outer of the mugs has been finished in a nice carpy green colour that look the part as well as not blinding other anglers or the fish in bright conditions.

The screw top tubs are the perfect size for a short session or overnighter and will hold items such as tea bags, coffee and sugar. Having the refillable tubs means that you arent lugging around more than that you actually require, which keeps the weight down and also means that you always have fresh ingredients. The same goes with the flip top bottles; the larger bottle has been designed for holding milk but can be used to hold other liquids if you don't take milk with you. The smaller bottles are ideal size for taking sauces, oils or even washing up liquid! Each of the bottles has a secure flip top that we didn't find leaked (something that all anglers hate!). Due to the secure tops, it will take a lot of opening and closing for them to work loose and will last a very long time. The caps also screw off for easy refilling.

Last but not least, is the cutlery set. We all liked the idea of the caribineer clip to hold everything together in one place, but we thought that although the kit was adequate, it let down the whole package slightly by not being the best cutlery that we have seen. We found the items to be uncomfortable to use and slightly flimsy - especially when trying to cut and stick a fork into various meats that we had cooked. The knife was fine for buttering bread, but was a struggle to use to cut anything cleanly or easily. Each of the cutlery items has been embossed with the Carpology name. We have all replaced the supplied cutlery with our existing sets, which is a shame compared to the quality of the other items in the kit. If the cutlery was changed, none of us would have a problem with paying a little extra cash for the complete package to compensate for any additional cost.

Overall we shall all be using one of these Brew Kits for our requirements, and other than the slight cutlery kit letdown, it is perfect for all anglers to carry in their kit. The SSP of the Carpology Brew Kit is £21.99 and can be bought from some tackle shops as well as direct from Carpology themselves.

For more information on Carpology and the magazine, please visit the Carpology website by clicking the image below.