We travel quite a bit with fishing gear, and you might think we have our ‘travel system’ down to a science. However, we’re always looking for new ways to travel with rods and reels that’s not only convenient, but also gets our gear to our destination in one piece.
One of our favorite ways as of late is via the Safe Passage Carry-It-All Rod and Gear Case from Orvis, and today we’re going to tell you about it.
Orvis Safe Passage Carry-It-All Rod and Gear Case
Let’s face it, rods and reels aren’t cheap. Therefore, we like to travel with our rods and reels on us whenever possible. For the most part, we’ve found most airlines to be pretty excepting with carrying on rods and reels. However, we have heard of some airlines starting to crack down on bringing rod tubes onto the plane. Not to worry, the Carry-It-All case is a great solution!
Hard sided with a slim profile, the Carry-It-All case is able to safely house up to six four-piece fly rods and plenty of other gear (ahem, like reels) in a package basically the size of a violin case. We won’t go so far as to say it’s guaranteed to meet carry- on requirements, as we’ve been surprised before. However, we will say we haven’t had an issue yet! Here are a few of our favorite features.
Rod Protection
Traveling with rod tubes can be a bit of a pain; they’re big, clunky, and occasionally subject to being gate checked. However, with the Carry-It-All, no rod tubes are needed as the hard plastic sides keep the case from being crushed. Simply store rods in their socks and latch down with Orvis’ clever magnetized straps to keep from bouncing around.
Customizable Dividers
The Carry-It-All features simple customizable velcro dividers to allow you to best organize your gear. With the orientation of the dividers shown below, we were able to comfortably fit six 9 foot, 4 piece fly rods, 4 large reels, 2 large fly boxes, and a dslr camera that, you guessed it, was used to take this photo!
The Carry-It-All is not only useful for the angler flying from destination to destination however, it also makes for great organization in the pickup as well!
Aside from the main compartment, the Carry-It-All also features three mesh pockets that are great for smaller items like leaders, tippet, fly lines, and so on, as well as zippered pockets on the outside for passports or other travel documents.
Durability
One of the first things we noticed when we got our hands on the Carry-It-All was how well it appeared to be made. The outer fabric is made of a super rugged cordura-like material that we honestly can’t see wearing out any time soon. The case also features a comfortable shoulder strap that can be removed if used as checked luggage.
Conclusion
If you can’t already tell, we really like the Carry-It-All case. We think its a great option for the angler looking for a better way to transport their single hand fly rods. While it’s not quite long enough to carry rods over 9 feet in length, Orvis also makes a larger model to accomodate single hand and switch rods up to 11 feet long as well.
The Carry-It-All case retails for $159.00 ($179.00 for large model) and comes in two colors. For more information, check it out on Orvis’ website, here.
Here’s our product review policy and FTC disclosure.
The Orvis rod & reel bag is great for 9 foot rods (and 11 foot switch rods in the larger size), but can’t accommodate longer Spey rods. However, Fishpond has come out with their 45″ Dakota rod and reel bag, which is very similar to the Orvis in design, but it can accommodate 4 or more Spey rods up to 13’6″ long, and a boat load of gear.
I keep my tubed traditional 2 piece rods in a ski bag for carrying and storage. It also works for 3 piece tubed Spey rods. It’s certainly easier to find than individual tubes, especially short ones, which are really good at falling down, rolling under furniture and hiding.