Got to have it… Gear Reviews
Solar ‘World Wide’ Pod & Accessories
R.R.P £189.99
In my opinion Martin Locke is the Godfather of Stainless and the attention to detail and craftsmanship that goes into every one of Solar’s products (not to mention the innovative thinking) are unsurpassed. Not everyone knows that Lockies’ background is in engineering and this really shines through in the gear. His latest offering to us Carp mortals is yet another winner.
The World Wide pod is possibly the most versatile system so far, it doesn’t matter if you are fishing a 2 acre pond or a 20 acre pit, in Farnham or France, the World Wide (can you guess how it got its name yet?) can be set up to suit just about every situation you are ever likely to encounter.
The pod comes in its own, very compact (and sturdily made, no cheap toot here) carry bag in which is found the 4 fully adjustable legs and the 2 goal post converters. One the outside of the bag the centre bar is strapped in its own protective sleeve.
To set the pod up simply remove the components, slot the centre bar onto the 2 ‘kit off’ style lugs on the goal posts and tighten the screws on the bar. Next simply screw on the 4, independently adjustable legs and you are almost there. Drop your buzz bars into the top of the goalposts, tighten the screws and that’s it. In reality the whole procedure can be carried out comfortably in under 2 minutes (and that’s with the shovel sized hands and sausage fingers that the good lord blessed me with).
The pod in this review is shown with my Neville’s and Solar ‘Butt Banger’ indicators with the new stainless I-Lite Indicator heads (see future review, ‘cos they are the dog’s whatsits as well). All my gear is (and always has been) fitted with ‘kit off’ adapters. Also shown are my own Posi-lock buzz bars.
What all this means in reality is that the set up and take down times are even quicker, which for idle anglers such as myself is a real winner. Pop the buzzers off, undo the centre bar and sling it all in the bag. It is really that simple.
One the bank the pod is truly versatile, you can use it in a conventional role, drop it down low for some serious ‘sneaky beaky’ sessions or jack the old girl right up beach caster style. It doesn’t matter how uneven the swim is as the independently adjustable legs admirably take care of this and because they all operate on the Posi-lock system it isn’t even fiddly to do.
So in summary this really is a great piece of ‘Must have’ gear and definitely falls into the ‘good’ category. Although not the cheapest Pod on the market, you most certainly get what you pay for. It’s tough (and in the highly unlikely event that you do bust it, those nice people at Solar Tackle will fix it F.O.C). It’s very, very pretty (loads of tackle tart appeal) hugely versatile and built to last. If you appreciate the finer things in life then this is the pod for you.
For further information, visit the Solar Tackle website.