Whilst on one of my many tours around the World Wide Web looking for anything new and exciting the world of angling had to offer. I came across an old familiar friend. Mel Wilde's Octoplus Range of seat box levelling systems, attachments and accessories have over the years been used by virtually every angler who has owned a continental seat box. You can be sure that Mel’s pioneering development into seat box attachments paved the way for the modern systems that we all use today.
So with numerous companies now producing seat boxes and box attachments, would this Family run company continue to produce products that are innovative and original without cutting corners on build quality yet still be able to compete in the already competitive world of seat boxes and accessories? Well the answer is a simple yes! By sticking to his original morals of British Built Products for British Anglers, Octoplus are well and truly back in the game.
Mel and the Octoplus team take great pride in the fact that every component of every box is manufactured and assembled with in their own factory or sourced from other manufacturers located with in the United Kingdom. They have produced a range of seat boxes and accessories that are very distinctive in appearance, with numerous innovative design features making them totally unique. So when Mel offered to send a couple of samples down for us to review, we couldn’t wait to have a nose.
 Octoplus Strong Box
This range of seat boxes is unlike anything else available on the UK market at this present time, to be totally honest the Octoplus Strongbox range has more features than a footballers Cheshire mansion and looks as stylish a the accompanying Lexus. “So what exactly makes it a must have over other seat boxes available to the UK Match Angler at present” I here you say, well read on as we go through the new features and components that the Strong box has to offer.
The Seat
The Strongbox has an ergonomically designed moulded seat system, although many anglers would thrown at the thought of sitting an piece of moulded plastic for 5 hours, I can assure you, I have and it was as comfortable as anything I have ever used in the past. I personally found the seat both comfortable and practical in its design allowing me to place a pole or rod between my legs and secure it in place without affecting my comfort or having to change my posture in any way. Under the seat is a framed storage tray suitable for storing pole winders or a shallow tackle box.
Stability
The frame houses the four square legs with their revolutionary profile which allows the wing nuts to be tightened fully but still allowing the legs to slide freely in their housing when loosened, no jamming due to leg damage. This profile also makes the legs very stable. Attached to the end of the legs is the Octoplus legendary swivelling mud feet now in grey which if you have never used them revolutionised seat boxes in the later part of the last millennium.
Storage
 Both the front and cross drawers on the Strongbox have a unique latch bar system which enables your drawers to be locked in place whilst in transit without the need of any retaining pins straps or magnets. This is achieved by a simple latch bar situated at the front of the drawer; by pushing down on the bar you release the latch making access to the draw possible. To re-secure the drawer you simply push the drawer back over the red latch bar, once you here it click into place the drawer is then re-secure.
The front draws are more than capable of storing all your essentials, as you can see from the picture, I had a very large amount of terminal tackle organised and at hand.
To compliment the front drawers, deeper side drawers are on all boxes in the range. These are come with built in dividers which can be removed or added to secure and organise your tackle. The side drawers are perfect for storing all larger items like feeders, big shot dispensers and any other such terminal items.
The moulded base unit is superb in it’s simplicity of design, it has two removable dividing walls which can be positioned in any one of 12 receptacle slots, making the base units storage options so versatile any anglers will be able to organise there precious tackle exactly how the want it. With adequate depth and space for reels to 4000 size, catapults and small metalwork like keep net arms. This complements the draw storage system perfectly.
A nice feature with the Strongbox is the retro fit accessories available for it. Which include a drop down cushion pole bar. This is designed to fit directly to the box legs instead of a foot plate because lets face it most fisheries provide excellent platforms to fish from, so a foot plate is unnecessary (though a foot plate can be fitted if needed). The carrying strap is secured with fasteners and clips on the side of the box, although the box is obviously very strong, its quite light and its point of balance when carried is excellent.
Replacing Fixtures and Fitting
In the unfortunate situation of a component braking or being misplace, Mel and his team have established a spares service that is second to none. As we all know, the majority of seat boxes sold in the UK are manufactured overseas and parts are a nightmare to get hold of to say the least. However, Octoplus guarantee to their customers that all spares are readily available as the majority are produced in house and can be sent out to you by return of post.
TOP FEATURE
All the Strong Box fixtures and fittings have allen key, philips screw or a 13mm nut fixing. This is a major advantage to the angler, making all latches, catches and brackets changeable without the need to send any part of the box back to the manufacturer.
Final Thoughts
The box I reviewed was the Strongbox DS which gives you 2 shallow front drawers and 4 deeper side drawers and I struggled to fill it. Add to this huge draw space, the generous storage space created by the moulded base unit and anything you would normally carry will comfortably fit in this compact unit. After testing the Strongbox for over 5 months now, I feel that Octoplus Products have developed a seat box that can suit the requirements of the majority of course and match anglers alike.
Other models available
STD - Standard drawer - 2 x front drawer & 2 x side drawer £225.00
DS - Double side drawer - 2 x front drawer & 4 x side drawer £265.00
DF - Double front drawer – 4 x front drawer & 2 x side drawer £295.00
Super Stool – 1 x Shallow top tray & leg store neatly under base £125.00
For more information please visit
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