The Umpqua LT Fly Boxes have been out for a couple of months at this point. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for a new fly box, so when the new LT fly boxes arrived in store, I couldn't help myself and picked up a UPG LT Standard Fly Box. I don't know about you, but a new fly box seems to inspire briefs spurts of uber-organization. Sorting through a couple of my old fly boxes, I dumped out old three fly rigs with the tippet still attached and started the process of sorting my flies by size, shape, and color. As I started to put my nymphs (which varied in size from 8s to 22s) my first impressions of the new Umpqua LT Fly Box were very positive.
Dave Lovell sorts through this fully stocked Umpqua UPG LT Fly Box.
The slotted TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) not only accepted the flies easily and kept the flies snug and secure inside the box. It definitely has a different texture and feel than you see in comparable boxes that use silicone. One benefit of using TPE instead of silicone, which I haven't had the chance to test even though our winter has been relatively mild, is TPE's resistence to melting at high heat. So, if you leave your new Umpqua UPG LT Fly Box in your car during the high summer heat, you won't return to a mess of flies and melted silicone. Over the past two months, the UPG LT Standard Fly Box has proven to be durable, easy to use, and it's low profile fits well in my already crowded fly fishing bag. The TPE has held up well to consistent use. I haven't experienced any issues with TPE breaking, wearing down, or losing flies. All in all it's been a very worthy addition to my fly fishing bag.
One of the coolest things about the new Umpqua UPG LT fly boxes are the number of specialty insert styles/configurations/options they are available in. I've got my eye on the Daytripper for those summer terrestrials. Stop by the shop or get your Umpqua UPG LT Fly Box in our online shop.
A couple of examples of the numerous configurations offered in the new Umpqua UPG LT Fly Boxes.