Les McBride didn’t know what to make of the Humpalumpa Big Fishing Trolley when he took it out for testing, but he came back from the beach and delivered a glowing report.
As a confirmed boat angler, shore fishing for me is a bit of a novelty these days, and when Planet Sea Fishing gaffer Steve Souter heard that I had gotten desperate enough to indulge in some flounder fishing from a local beach, he knew he had the ideal candidate to test a new bit of kit.
On the morning of the trip an email from Steve proclaimed: “Come by the house I’ve something for you to test for the magazine.” Expecting it to be a rod or reel I arrived to find a weird looking pale blue-framed trolley device with a handle, some straps and two huge wheels sitting by his front door. “Just the thing for a big lazy lump like you to transport your gear to the beach” (or something slightly more cutting) was his greeting as I walked up looking confused.
At a glance I thought it could be some Heath-Robinson contraption brought to life for some bizarre S & M experiment, but was told it was actually a Humpalumpa Big beach trolley. “Oh right, one of those…(?)” None the wiser I had a quick look over it, admired how solid the frame was, marvelled at the big balloon tyres and was impressed with the quality of the straps which come as standard, before placing it in the car. I was just going to have to fly by the seat of my pants as to how Humpalumpa actually worked.
Cart horse
My son and I arrived at the car park before the crowds appeared and set about tackling how best to fit our volumous Shakespeare tackle box and other clutter to the Humpalumpa. What a cinch, the platform folds down, the handle pulls up, the wheels clip securely on, and you’re ready to rock and roll – bingo! No tools are required for the assembly or disassembly, and despite my initial trepidation, a four-year old could get to grips with the Humpalumpa without looking at the user instructions.
The box and other fishing stuff sat on it squarely, and the long straps held them down rock solid. Attaching my rod holdall required a bit more thought but was easily addressed with a couple of long bungee cords from the car. These were unceremoniously rigged up and wrapped in every way possible securely fixing the rod bag upright to the handle.
The other guys turned up and you can imagine the ‘sissy’ comments made by the group of ‘real men’ when they clapped eyes on the readied Humpalumpa beach cart. They were soon to eat their words as we started the torturous drudge to the shore. Getting there involves a one mile plus hike along a dirt path, up the back of a steep sand dune and down onto the beach. We set off with my son nominated as trolley driver.
Walking behind and observing, I could immediately see the Humpalumpa benefits. All our gear: tackle box, bait, waterproofs and rods were effortlessly trundling along, with no bouncing or bumping due to the low pressure in the big tyres acting like suspension. There was no sign of tipping over on account of the wide wheelbase, and the foam grip on the handle was very comfortable according to the driver! The years of a big heavy, sciatica-courting tackle box digging into my side, a bag of rods and tripod relentlessly bumping me to death, along with a cool box or bait bucket in one hand and a lifesaving bottle of water in the other were obliterated in a blink. The climb up the back of the sand dune was a doddle and made all the more pleasurable by the trail of cursing and profusely sweating dissenters we’d left in our wake.
The steeper climb down on the other side was a bit tricky. It involved one of us at either end of the trolley having to carry it down manually as the exposed side of the dune was broken up with soft sand in between big tufts of grass, making a path too narrow for the wide wheelbase. Not a problem with two of us, but could have been challenging for a lone angler. There is a slightly longer flatter path to this beach, which doesn’t involve the climb over the steep sand dune; I’d probably use that route next time.
Big wheels keep on turning
The big wheels hardly dented the soft sand as we headed to our chosen mark. On arrival I could take stock of what we had achieved. We had carted all our gear over a mile and not even broken a sweat. I thought to myself, welcome to 21st century shore fishing… I could get used to this.
The beach was a fairly flat and shallow. We used a tripod to hold our rods as we fished but left the tackle box and bait beside the Humpalumpa well up the shore, as gear can get washed away with the surf here.
I started thinking about the things the Humpalumpa was missing. A bait table/tackle tray and a custom rest to support the rod looked very viable possibilities. Shore anglers are probably the most resourceful, and with necessity being the mother of invention, I’m sure there will be some ingenious devices evidenced on some outrageously blinged Humpalumpas on the shore match circuit soon. If the Humpalumpa catches on as much as I think it will, I wouldn’t be surprised if the more inventive tackle manufacturers design attachments especially for it.
For the journey back to the cars we piled as much of the other guys’ gear on the trolley as we could to really test it… apparently this Humpalumpa model can carry up to 75kg. We didn’t get near this payload but it took all we stacked onto it in its stride. Unloaded, the excellent Humpalumpa was folded and disassembled in one minute flat and stowed safely in the boot.
The initially mocking company underwent a serve attitude makeover between the start and finish of the day. To a man there was hands-on interest at the end of the session, and several confessions of never having seen anything like the Humpalumpa before. I wouldn’t be at all surprised, if, next time, there are other Humpalumpas in the company.
Possible improvements
This is a well thought out trolley, and there isn’t a great that I could suggest improving. Proper lugs or anchor points for bungee cords in various locations would
be a welcome feature however. I’m confident there will be a plethora of third party add-on parts available in the not too distant future. If the likes of a clip-on bait/tackle tray and telescopic rod rest pole were to become available then many more anglers would surely be bitten by a more multifunctional Humpalumpa bug.
Conclusions
I would be happy to pay the £99.99 RRP for the large model I tested. The build quality is excellent, and the Humpalumpa will last for many years if properly looked after. It’s not much use for serious rock and cliff anglers, but for people who fish remote bass beaches, long piers, and matches on shingle beaches such as Chesil where a long walk to your peg is often required, this trolley could be indispensable. Older or infirm anglers who often have to compromise on how much gear they take will find the Humpalumpa a godsend.
I feel there are uses for the dedicated boat match anglers who often kill themselves dragging tackle boxes, weight buckets, cool boxes full of baits and umpteen rods several hundred yards from the marina car park to the boat pontoon. This can mean several killer journeys that knock seven bells out of anglers long before they’ve locked horns with a fish. If any of this sounds frighteningly familiar, the answer and key to more enjoyable fishing is a Humpalumpa.
Some technical details
- Weight: 8.2 kg (18 lbs)
- Payload capacity: 75 Kg (165 lbs)
- Material: Tubular steel
- Platform dimensions: 35.6 cm wide x 36.8 cm deep (14″ wide x 14.5″ deep)
- Width inc wheels: 74.9 cm (29.5″)
- Folded – frame & wheels: 73.7 cm L x 38.1 cm W x 30.5 cm H (29″L x 15″W x 12″H)
- Handle height: 73.7 cm to 124.5 cm (29″ to 49″)
- Finish: Epoxy powder coated
- Fat Balloon Wheels: 30 cm dia x 18 cm wide (11.8″ dia x 7″ wide)
Best price found at publication: £99.99 direct from Humpalumpa
