Review: Tacky Fly Box

A new concept in fly storage

When I first saw the Kickstarter launch of the Tacky Fly Box, I'll admit I was a bit intrigued but yet fairly skeptical. I've seen a lot of gimicky fly box ideas float around over the years and hardly any hold up to the standard foam or slotted foam styles we've all used. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of using silicon instead of the standard foam that fly boxes have been using for years.

So without having used the Tacky box, I had a few main gripes about my current box setups that I hoped the Tacky box would overcome. 

• The slots on my slotted foam boxes tend to grow wider as I move flies in and out -- to the point where they won't even hold a fly.
• I have several foam boxes where, after sitting in the hot sun for a time, the foam and adhesive used to glue them to the box would delaminate and the foam would warp or just peel off.
• I've had a few instances where my plastic foam slotted boxes were crushed when I sat on or leaned on my pack or bag.
• Some fly boxes, after long-term use, lose their ability to shut securely. Combine that with foam that doesn't hold flies and you create a recipe for a dropped box that will easily spill its contents. I did that once and spent quite a bit of time picking up small flies from the dirt and rocks. It was awesome.

Tacky Fly Box

So when we finally got some Tacky Boxes in the mail, I was eager to try them out. The first thing that jumped out at me was that these boxes are sturdy. They are made with a high quality polycarbonate that appears to be very shatter resistant. They'd have to be very strong as you can witness by the Sasquatch abuse shown in the video review below. And the magnetic closure mechanisms work great, holding it securely shut.

In terms of size, they have a very thin profile and fit nicely into a lot of pockets on my various fishing packs and bags. So size-wise, they're great. 

My Tacky Fly Box of dry fly all-stars for the high country

As far as fly storage goes, these boxes will hold typically fewer flies (168 to be exact) than some of the bigger slotted foam boxes, but you actually end up being able to more securely and comfortably store your flies due to the silicon material and the fact that the slots are offset from row to row. This is a great advantage over the typical foam slotted versions and I'd say evens the playing field in terms of the number of slots. For me, it was actually a very good exercise to pare down some of my foam boxes and create an "all star" dry fly box for the high country (shown here). 

And even with the bigger flies I have in the box, there is enough clearance that the lid closes with no issues. Now I'm not likely to store my 3/0 bass poppers or Double-Wide Cheech Leeches in here, but most everything else would fit fine.

So double thumbs up from us on this one. After a lot of testing, poking and prodding with the boxes, both Cheech and I are in the process of moving most of our flies into new homes.  Check out the video review below and buy the boxes here.