Storage crates have been popular with kayak anglers since the dawn of the sport, although in the early days most of us got by relatively agricultural solutions, such as milk crates, usually customized with rod holders fashioned from PVC tubing and secured with cable ties. The science of fishing kayak storage crates has evolved heavily over time, however and now there are purpose built solutions that do the same job, but better. We stock 3 of the worlds most popular premium storage crate options and today we’re comparing them head-to-head; the Hobie H-Crate, the Railblaza Gear Hub, and the YakAttack BlackPak Pro. All three are lightweight, durable, and built specifically for kayak (and SUP) fishing, but they shine in different ways. Of these variants, the Hobie H-Crate has been around the longest so lets start there.
The Hobie H-Crate (and its slightly smaller Jr. version) is the original premium fishing kayak storage crate. These were designed specifically by Hobie for their own kayaks but are totally usable on just about any kayak model. What sets the H-Crates apart from the Railblaza and Yakattack options is the H-Rail sections at the top of the crate. The advantage here is that these allow you to add H-Rail fittings to the crate, so if you wanted to add a light pole or camera boom this would be a pretty good way of achieving it. The side panels also incorporate grid walls for captive nuts, which allow for bolting on extra accessories to the side, such as extra rod tubes. The H-Crate already has 4 integrated rod tubes at each corner section and these also have a small shock cord leashing toggles, which you can use to secure accessories into the tubes. The base also has skid pads for silent & grippy contact. Hobie H-Crates do not come with a lid, but Hobie to offer an add on lid in the form of H-Crate Soft Lids.
Hobie H-Crates are fairly straight forward to assemble and although they can also be disassembled for flat packing, very few people would bother doing this. As you may expect from Hobie, H-crates are great quality and are a really good option if you were planning to use H-Rail fittings in conjunction with it then one of these is probably your best option. They’re not cheap, however, which is a good segue into our next option, the Railblaza Gear Hub.
The Railblaza Gear Hub was introduced to the market a few years back and very quickly established itself as the best value for money kayak crate available, especially for paddlers with a soft spot for Railblaza accessories, due to the modularity and configuration options it provides. With similar dimensions to the Hobie H-Crate Jnr, the Gear Hub is one of the smaller crates available and is likely to be a good option for kayaks with limited space in the storage well. Its also one of the lightest options on offer, which makes it suitable for weight conscious users and or kayaks with limited weight carrying capacity. The reduced weight doesn’t mean reduced quality, however, because the Gear Hub is made with the same same quality as the rest of Railblaza’s gear.
Much like Hobie H-Crates, Gear Hub’s also have rod holders built into each corner and these also have their own bungee leash for securing items, but unlike H-Crates, Gear Hubs do come with a lid. The Gear Hub doesn’t use straps to secure it into the hull, but the side walls incorporate small hooks that can be used in conjunction with the shock cord (found in the rear of most fishing kayaks) to secure it in place, which is a quick and clever way to do it. There is also a large slot built into the left & right sides (which double as hand holds for carrying the crate) that can be used with products such as Vibe Bungee clips or Bonafide Omni Hooks to keep it held in place securely.
There are also track slots on each side with are compatible with various track style accessory mounting bases (such as Railblaza Tracloader SidePorts) that can also be used to add light / flag poles (such as Railblaza Visibility Kits), and these slots are also compatible with Railblaza Rod Stow tubes, making it easy enough to add extra storage capacity for rods, nets, gaffs, etc. Gear Hubs also have small rubber feet that keep it quiet and firmly planted.
Its pretty hard to go wrong with a Railblaza Gear hub, especially if you don’t need too much storage capacity and or are on a limited budget. We’re confident is saying these are the best bang for buck of the lot.
Last but certainly not least we also have Yakattack BlackPaks, which are available in several colours (not just black) and 3 different sizes; 13 x 13“, 13 x 16” and 16 x 16“. These are more comparable to Hobie H-Crates in terms of pricing but are superior to both H-Crates and Gear Hubs in terms of versatility, which is probably why they are currently the best selling fishing crate in the world. Designed and built in the USA, the quality is on point and the design is second to none. YakAttack clearly put a lot of thought into the design of these, offering an incredible amount of customization options, which is partly due to the GridLoc 2D mounting points that are on every panel. The Gridloc system consists of multiple reinforced attachment points arranged in a grid-like layout that allows you to mount various accessories on both the inside and outside of the panels for organizing tackle, rods, tools, and other gear. The Gridloc system is compatible with a lot of the accessories on offer from YakAttack, including their market-leading Tethertube Rod Holders.Â
Favouring higher internal capacity, Blackpacs don’t have rod holders built into each corner like the H-Crates and Gear Hubs, but they are supplied with Tethertube rod holders, which can be positioned where they suits you best.. The 13 x 13″ size comes with 3 of these, the 13 x 16″ comes with 4 and the 16 x 16 comes with 6. Adding more if required is trivial and effortless to install. While H-Crates and Gear Hubs do have leashes for each rod tube, the Yakattack Tethertubes have a more secure and user friendly leash built into them.
Blackpac’s come with a hinged lid (with water shedding design) and it is closed securely with easy to operate latches. These lids can be replaced with Shortstack Storage Upgrade Kits, which have a dual function of performing in the role of a lid while offering increased storage capacity. This feature makes Blackpac’s significantly more upgradable, so if you find yourself requiring more secure storage space it can be easily achieved with one of these.
Blackpac’s can be secured into the rear storage well of almost any kayak in similar fashion to Railblaza Gear Hubs. If the storage well has a shock cord arrangement the crates can be secured by hooking the shock cord over the hooks on each corner of the crate. They can also be secured with Omni hooks in the same way.
While none of the crates mentioned here are waterproof, the Blackpacs are sealed far more than the H-Crate or Gear Hub.
To summarize these crates, we would say that the Blackpac series are the best overall design and are also of the highest quality. Although they are more expensive than Gear Hubs, their pricing is pretty close to the H-Crates and overall we’d have to say that they are the better product. They have more versatility, they’ll do a much better job of keeping water out, and they come with a lid – you don’t have to add it as an optional extra (which makes the Hobie crates more expensive). Unless you were absolutely determined to use Hobie’s H-Rail accessories, we would suggest the Blackpac as the better option of the 2. On the other hand, if you’re working with a stricter budget you really can’t go too far wrong with a Railblaza Gear Hub, as it is well made and designed and certainly offers great value for money.
