REVIEW: Shout Just Fit System Bag

[Amr Kehila]

Can anyone offer a review on this range of bags? Any kind of water intrusion is a problem for me. At the moment I use a mixture of 'Sistema' and Shimano water resistant blue duffel bags. Because they have coated or plastic zips I hose them down and hang inside-out to dry after every single trip. I'm looking for a better option.

[Dan Konig]

I haven't tried them all, but I have the Expedition Bag, the System Jig Bag and some of the Seperate Jig Bags.

I think the jig bags are great, but then again I haven't compared it to too many other similar products (only to other jig bags that are either rolls or those mesh pouches).

The Expedition Bag was really good for me in Eiao, because it is big enough to hold everything and is 100% waterproof. Small gripe is that the pouch on the front of it is held on only with velcro and I dont know what that will be like for longevity as it is already feeling not quite as tight as it did. I like the fact that whilst you can zip up the top, you don't have to during the course of the day as it has a little velcro tie down thing also - so you can (for example) just rip it open, grab your camera, take a quick pic, throw the camera back and let the lid fall back in place and not have to worry about it.

Also that expedition bag 'just' fits in overhead carryon for flying. I got through 9 flights on my last trip by carrying the thing on - perhaps i was lucky!

[Mark Harris]

Is the Shout Expedition bag 100% water proof?  I am always dubious how any bag with zips would be? 

Shout bags are very nice gear though for sure.

For what it is worth I use the large size hPa Fish Box as a local day bag and inside that have my popper roll, a couple of terminal trays, hook box, belt, gloves, medical kit and lots of sundry items zipped away in the drop in tray just under the lid.

For air travel, the smaller size hPa Fish Box is great as hand luggage for reels.

It is very good quality gear indeed.

[Trevor Skinner]

I use the Shout bags with the exception of the Adventure Bag which I don't think is available anymore.

The jigger bag and the larger expedition bag is waterproof in that they both take a good floating when a wave comes over the side or when the spray is of the 'drenched to the skin' variety. They're not waterproof in the sense that you fully submerge them. Because the expedition bag (the bigger of the two) has a semi-rigid lid as well as a soft top sealed by waterproof zippers it's more waterproof than the jigger bag. The expedition bag has a handy gauze compartment in the top to store lures as well.

The water guard case gets water in it because the zipper is only 2/3 the way up what is essentially an attache sized case.

Dan, the velcro on the lid eventually becomes useless. I just make sure I put something like my lure roll on top of it to hold it down when the boat's underway.

Hope this helps.

Regards,



Trevor

[Mark Harris]

Excellent run down Trevor. 

[Mark Harris]

Shimano make some great bags for the domestic Japanese market Amr. The better ones though do not seem to make it to retailers outside of Japan.

I had one of these which I really liked: http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/B003OON4ZC/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en_JP .

I was also playing with the Gamakatsu equivalent of the Shout Expedition Bag at a shop in Singapore. Very nice bag but it was about $100 more than the Shout model.

[Nick Bowles]

Hi Amr,

Been in the same position many times and my bags and luggage evolve all the time. There is no perfect set up and I most probably have about 50 bags, cases and boxes in my fishing room. But for me the Shout set up and range for tackle and lures storage has been the best by quite a fair margin. I have travelled extensively with the gear and although worse for wear now still works well.

I mainly use the following gear:
- Main travel bag North Face Rolling Thunder Bag Large. This is a big daddy of roller bags and fits in everything and because it does not have an extendable handle but straps is quite light compared to a lot of other bags of similar size along with being splash and weatherproof. Shout no longer make the big Adventure Bag, but if you can find one take it!
- I then put the Shout Jigger Bag in my North Face Bag with reels, and breakables inside the jigger bag.
- I also put in a Shout Water Guard Case next to the Jigger bag all in the North Face Bag. This has all my lures, if the lures don't fit in the case I have to many and will reduce. The Jigger and Water Case next to each other leaves a lot of space to pack in clothes and other gear on the top end along with on top of the cases.
- I use a Hots long Jig Bag for all the jigs which I put at the top end of the case above the Jigger and Water Case to hold in place.
- As carry on luggage I use a Hots Duffel Back Pack large, which is a single compartment backpack and fits a lot of gear. I'll sometimes carry my reel bodies if my check in luggage is to much.

I travel heavy with a lot of gear including laptops, cameras, solar panels, sat phones, medical kits, etc so space is an issue along with weight, but this set up might seem a lot but it takes the space and weight to the max. It is all weather and waterproof so can jump on any boat, plane and arrive in any conditions with no problem. In my experience nothing is ever 100% waterproof as zips get left open, hooks make holes etc etc. But try get every bag, box and case you use to be waterproof rated to reduce the percentages of things getting wet.

Hope this helps. But for me Shout is a great product. We also getting in the HPA gear into the shop and have tried it and does work well but heavier and bulkier but will most probably last longer.

Cheers,
Nick

[Cameron Mundy]

the only thing I take on the boat that I rely on to be 100 % waterproof is the pelican case I store my camera and electro ic goodies in. I also use the Shout! expedition bag but I like iit because its a clever range of gear everything fits in perfectly and maximises the amount of gear you can take on the boat in one bag. its a pain when you have 3-4 anglers on the boat and each person  has 3 bags with them

[Martin Gundersen]

Is anyone had problems with airlines and the Shout expedition bag as a carry on luggage?
I'm consider to buy one, and use it for carry on.

[Mark Harris]

Is anyone had problems with airlines and the Shout expedition bag as a carry on luggage?
I'm consider to buy one, and use it for carry on.

It is definitely "officially" too big for hand luggage but you might get lucky sometimes.

[Christoffer Hansen]

Mc works do a bag similar to the hpa n shout. Looks pretty good quality

[Luke Wyrsta]

Chris,

Been looking for that MC Works bag but have found no stock. It was released last year which is most likely why - NO STOCK!

I run a few large Shimano Banar bags as they splash proof and stow-able. Sometimes I'd kill for something rigid 

[Mark Harris]

Yeah, I have a Banar as well and they are nicely splash proof.

On a deck though,  I reckon a rigid, box-type bag is unbeatable.

One of the MC Works bags came up for auction not long ago with a note that they will not be made anymore. That might be true or might have been a ruse to get the price bid up.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Definitely agree Mark! I travel with these bags simply because I can stow them in my luggage and they are light in weight. Easy to travel with and great for the camping/marine application. I can stow 2 in my luggage which also protects my gear and then simply pop them out to get another 60 plus litres each of storage.

[Amr Kehila]

Thanks very much for going to the effort of a long explanation Nick! Thank you Dan, Tev, Mark, Luke and Cameron for your valued input and details and suggestion of other brands. Im going to plan out this purchase so i don't have to do it all over again.