One company that really did itself a favour by demonstrating it’s wares at the NEC show this Year is Badger International many of you will have heard of this firm and probably will have seen it’s glossy adverts.
Equally many of you will be aware of some of the controversy surrounding this company with rival companies doing their best to rubbish the products it sells.
Like many others I am wary of buying goods by mail order and especially when the price of those goods is so apparently low. Therefore like many people I have reserved my judgement on this firm and it’s products.
In the end I needn’t have worried as when I like many others actually got my hands on some of their stuff at the NEC I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of many of the products.
One item in particular caught my eye and that is the subject of this review.
In terms of angling shelters it could be argued that we have never had it so good with the current market awash with all manner of different bivvy systems available to us at all manner of price ranges each system having it’s own advantages and drawbacks.
Amongst short session anglers and those who prefer a mobile approach to their style of angling umbrella systems have remained very popular they are also often a practical answer on waters where dome type bivvies are banned.
The development of the oval brollie with built in storm sides brought an additional degree of shelter and comfort and these have remained popular despite being expensive with an average price of around £120.
However Badger have broken the price barrier in a big way with their new oval brollie so what’s the catch?
The initial impression is of a very well made quality item with both the frame of the brollie and the cover both looking pretty bomb proof.
Is it big enough? The short answer is yes it easily accommodates my JRC Coccon Bedchair and all my gear with plenty of room to spare so no problem there.
It is quick and easy to erect the whole process including pegging out is done in the matter of a couple of minutes. As with all these system the centre pole is removed once the brollie is up and pegged out leaving loads of room underneath.
To aid stability the brollie is provided with fitted storm-caps on the two centre top ribs and good quality storm poles are available from Badger at £13.99p a pair.
I have chosen to add a further pair of storm caps to the ribs that are above each of the storm sides, these can be bought as an extra for £9.99p fitting these is very simple and only takes five minutes, though they are not essential by any means they, are a useful extra.
We had a lot of fun subjecting the brollie to the hosepipe test to check for water tightness and after half an hour of blasting the brollie on full pressure, the only sign of water ingress was at a couple of points where the elastic sheaths have been fitted to house the tips of the brollie’s ribs where the stitching hasn’t been sealed. The amount of ingress was only a drop and it is right on the outer rim and therefore shouldn’t affect anyone, the problem is the same on any brollie that uses this sheath system to house the ends of the ribs. Needless to say that a quick wipe of seam sealer cured it! I don’t want to overplay this point as in reality nobody would be affected by it and I’m just being super critical.
An interesting little addition is the fitting of three ladder lock points on the skirt of the brollie, which will allow for the fitting of a clip in ground sheet at some point in the future.
I feel that this product will be a big seller for Badger as it really does provide a quick and convenient shelter option for the session angler at very reasonable cost
The price…..Ah yes I’m glad you reminded me about that !!!!
£59.99
http://www.badgerclassics.com/
Alan Roe
March, 2002
