hard side or soft side tackle box?

[mrpike1973]

hi using the standard 3 tray box now. are the soft sides better. i have a lot of small stuff bare hooks and lead shot small stuff. does this stay good in the clear trays of a soft tackle bag. tired of the 3 tray falling over in the boat. thanks for the help

[itchmesir]

Backpack... keeps your hands free to carry other stuff.. i long left behind the hardsided tackle boxes... the trays work just fine.. the cheaper ones will let things slip around here and there..

[Grum]

Backpack... keeps your hands free to carry other stuff.. i long left behind the hardsided tackle boxes... the trays work just fine.. the cheaper ones will let things slip around here and there..

+1. Now all my old hard boxes are just for storage.

[Hoffer]

No doubt soft side. You can fit so much more in a soft side and get it all organized as well. I labeled all my plastic boxes that fit inside. "Topwater", "deep diving", "raps", etc etc...

Also when you buy the plastic boxes that fit inside...look for the ones that have the anti rust built in...it really does work. They are maybe a few more bucks each - but worth it.

[efgh]

Another plus for soft side T.B. is, they can be moved around in the boat and they make no noise.

[cavalierowner]

I've been considering soft side for a while too. How are they when fishing in the rain? Do they keep the water out? To they absorb the water? Does watertightness, or lack thereof, depend on the manufacturer?

[JeffB]

The nice thing about the soft side box is it takes the shape of what your bringing. You change what boxes and things are going in it by season and species. It seems like compared to the hard box there is always room for something extra.

[paceman]

I used one for a short time a few years ago. It got really wet and heavy and seemed to hold the water a long time. Took forever to dry out. went back to my hard case shortly afterwards.

[dan z]

The soft sided bags are great for organizing thing's and another great thing about there are many sizes to choose from and you can swap our un needed cases .....

[OnAFly]

Soft all the way.

[iffwalleyes]

Good soft sides are they way to go. Something from plano or personally I just got the Cabela's one as they were on sale 2 weeks ago. I would say they are water resistant not proof. But I have not had trouble drying mine out ever. Your trays still keep everything dry and alot of them have a plastic lined pocket for say boxes of fishing line or items that you for sure don't want to get wet. They are well thought out and hold more stuff than one should be allowed to carry.

[itchmesir]

those who said their soft sided tackle box got wet.. you can buy waterproof softside bags... my fishing pack actually has a rainfly

[buzbunni]

I've got both, and I definitely prefer a large hard sided tackle box.

My choice is a Plano 7771.

Waterproof, durable, and can hold tons of tackle/gear.

I have two of them .

I do prefer a soft sided tackle bag for shore fishing, and for that I purchased a Cabela's Advance Angler Pro Series Magnum Tackle Bag.

I'm not a big fan of backpacks (for shore fishing) as I like to be able to reach for new tackle, etc. without unstrapping the bag. With the shoulder strap I can just reach down and switch out gear.

[itchmesir]

Sling packs make it easy to flip your bag around without taking it off...

[NCLaker]

+1 for softsided. Love the flexibility, and easier to haul since the shoulder strap frees up a hand. Only real drawback is getting wet, but rarely an issue since most of my stuff is in plastic cases.

[TyGuy02]

+1 for softsided. Love the flexibility, and easier to haul since the shoulder strap frees up a hand. Only real drawback is getting wet, but rarely an issue since most of my stuff is in plastic cases.

+1 It also is able to hold much more than just tackle. Deck of cards, misc tools, remotes and handhelds when not in use. I haven't used a hardsided in years, so maybe their better now, but I love my cabelas softsided tacklebox. Another plus is that it won't slide around or tip over like a large hardsided box.

[Hoffer]

Yup. Ive got the Cabellas big green one. It must hold like 10 of those larger planos.

Yes, if it rains alot - it can get water down in the bottom. But the plastic trays themselves stay watertight. If I get alot of rain, I just bring it in the end of the day. Take the plastic trays out and then turn the case upside down and let it air dry overnight...no problem.

Like others mentioned its easy to switch out trays. When I go fishing with someone else I may not bring along my whole case. I just have an extra tray handy and then put a few things in from each of my other trays and I am good to go for the day with most everything I need. I still do keep a hard case box in my boat too. Its for all the walleye stuff. Like snells, sinkers, spinners etc...but I am trying to get rid of that too and get everything organized into my soft side this year.

[Dan L]

By far I like the soft sides better. I carry 8 3700 size planos in mine. I also have a few extra 3700's that I change out depending on where I am fishing and what I am fishing for. I have the Cabelas water proof green bag and it is water tight.

[bobbymalone]

I'm not a big fan of backpacks (for shore fishing)

backpacks are sweet if you have to hoof it a ways.

[TyGuy02]

I also forgot to mention the soft-sided works really well for ice fishing gear as well. I've had others bring the big bulky hard sided boxes in my portable and it was really cumbersome

[mrfish1991]

I've been fishing the cabelas backpack tacklebox for years and I absolutly love it. 4 trays go in the bottom and you can get another 1 or 2 in the top if you need to.

[birchbranch]

I received an Explorer Adventure Pack as a gift many years ago and it was outstanding! (softside) When it finally wore out I purchased a Cabelas softside tackle box for around $80 and I have been very dissapointed. Due to the poor design, water builds up quickly in the bottom and the bottom plastic tray gets wet. (inside) None of those plastic trays that I have seen can withstand water if it gets around the hinge area. So, I am not sold on Cabelas, but based on the first softside I had,, I still prefer a softside tackle box. I suppose the obvious choice is to make sure the tackle box is always out of the weather unless you are fishing, so in my case, operator error might apply. However, the only time my tackle box was exposed to the weather when I wasn't fishing was on trips, as my boat resides in the garage at home.

[Fish Head]

Definately soft side! I just purchased the cabelas green magnum soft side bag last Friday. I can't beleive how muc I can fit in it! I already had the small cabelas bag for ice fishing and I liked it so much I decided to go that way for open water too. Go soft side, you'll be glad you did.

[Down Deep]

Definately soft side! I just purchased the cabelas green magnum soft side bag last Friday. I can't beleive how muc I can fit in it! I already had the small cabelas bag for ice fishing and I liked it so much I decided to go that way for open water too. Go soft side, you'll be glad you did.

I've had the Magnum bag for several years and have had the same problem with water building up in the bottom tray. I solved the leeching of water in to boxes by taking a 1/2" X 1" piece of wood furring strips, cut 2 pieces the length of the bag and laid them in the bottom. Problem solved. I also stuff a heavy mill plastic bag inside and if I end up fishing in a downpour I cover it up.

As for the magnum bag, I like that the boxes sit vertical in the bag and by labeling each box I can find exactly what box of baits I want. There is also enough room on the top to store a couple smaller boxes on top. In addition, the side pockets allow for storage of just about everything else I need like sun screen, bug dope, extra hat, tools, line, terminal tackle, phone, gps, maps, etc. One bag and I'm set for a week and can go after just about any species out there.

[northernsportman]

Softside is the obvious choice for me, especially for quick trips. Take the boxes you need for that particular species and go!