New chair

Earlier this year I treated myself to a new piece of kit to celebrate my (semi)retirement. I know, just stopping work is not the most original of excuses but it was about the only way I could justify to myself the substantial spend on something as basic as a chair to park my bum on when fishing. Up until now I have been sitting on either my old seatbox which was originally used for shore fishing or a wee rucksack/stool. Neither were ideal for different reasons. The elderly black seatbox is heavy, awkward, unstable and hopeless on anything other than a billiard table smooth and dead level bank. At various times I have fallen off it, slid inelegantly down the bank while perched on it and frequently cursed the lack of any comfort or support it supplied. The rucksack stool is very good for when I am travelling light or am just out for an hour but it is not comfortable if I am fishing anything other than a short session. It’s also quite low and just getting up from it is proving to be a challenge these days with my dodgy knees. As I am intending doing a lot of fishing from now on I wanted a really comfy chair that could cope with different ground conditions. Bear in mind that here in Ireland most of the coarse fishing is from open banks, not stands. So, tossing caution to the wind, I lashed out and bought myself a Korum S23 Deluxe.

Before I go on to talk about the chair let me say that opinions on any piece of fishing gear are always divided, but chairs seem to be a particularly divisive subject. I read lots and lots of reviews, watched videos and talked to other anglers before plumping for the S23. The Korum got some excellent reviews and a good few disparaging one too, but then so did every other chair from different manufacturers. Time will tell if I made the right choice but for now I am happy with what I bought. I am under no illusions here, Korum, like pretty much every other tackle supplier, source their goods from the far east. Build quality and longevity are always a concern when buying goods from there, but since very little is manufactured here in Europe these days we have limited alternatives to pick from.

The first thing that strikes you when you see see this chair up close is how big it is. It is huge! I did consider buying the standard version of the chair but the main frame is actually the same size and anyway the Deluxe model has some important features I wanted. The large format design is supposed to make it more stable and the sturdy frame does its job well in that respect. Those metal frames are made from 23mm square section metal (hence the name S23) and the legs etc attach via special moulded connectors with robust grips to tighten it all up. I specifically wanted to get the Deluxe version of this chair as it comes with 4 telescopic legs. This allows me to set it up nice and steady, no matter how rough and uneven the bank is. Each leg is adjustable and is spring loaded, making it very easy to adjust. Big, swivelling mud feet add to the stability. One other nice little feature is the top of each leg has a standard thread insert, ideal for screwing in a wee butt rest for example. The chair looks nice too, not that anyone will ever see it. The muted olives and greens of the fabric blend in with the Irish vegetation. The whole package looks sturdy and in use is proving to be strong and stable.

The seat itself is super comfortable. The position of the back is adjustable and the neat little arm rests can be tucked out of the way if required. I find that feature is very handy when using the feeder rod because the arm rests would really be in the way if you couldn’t fold them up. Erecting the chair takes only a few seconds and taking it down is even quicker. At a tad over 8 kilos, I guess the chair is light for what it is (but I still find it heavy). It is bulky and awkward to carry but I accept that as the price I have to pay for all the good features I enjoy. I don’t think it is possible to make a chair that meets every single demand of anglers, we all want different things to meet our individual fishing needs. Considering chairs like this are up against high end seat boxes so beloved of the competition lads and pole fishers, I think it does pretty well.

While I was at it, I also bought the barrow kit for the S23. I could never previously justify buying a barrow for my coarse fishing, indeed I’ve never seen one used by other anglers where I fish here in Ireland. I don’t do over-nighters for carp for example, so lugging huge amounts of gear is not part of my fishing. However, my dodgy knees and ankles mean walking any distance with a heavily laden rucksack can be a painful business. It seemed to me that the option of converting my chair into a barrow sounded like a very good idea and so more of my limited hard earned cash promptly changed hands. The barrow conversion kit consists of an adaptor which screws on the frame of the chair, the handles and a great big wheel. First impressions were it all looked a bit agricultural and heavy but in practice the conversion is light in the hand and works really well. The adaptor is left in situ once it has been bolted on so you don’t need to worry about that once it is in place. The single front wheel takes only seconds to screw in position on the adaptor, then the handles slide on to the frame and are tightened up using large thumb screws. Finally, lift the two back legs of the chair and you are off! When I get to my chosen spot I take off the handles and extend the legs but leave the wheel in place. It is not something I use every time I go coarse fishing but is has come in very handy on some venues where I have to lug gear a fair distance. I get most use out of the barrow when I go roving along canal towpaths. Free from obstructions like fences or drains, I can go for miles pushing the barrow instead of carting it on my back. As I say, it is an expensive addition to the chair and is certainly not a bit of kit that would suit everyone, but for me in my circumstances it was worth the money.

The barrow kit comes with a health warning though. I have seen photos posted by S23 users showing busted welds on the frame after using the barrow kit. I am very wary of loading too much on to the seat when I am using it as a barrow. After all, the frame is only made from aluminium and is not designed to cope with too much weight. I have no intention of piling lots of heavy luggage on to the seat, it will simply be an easy way of transporting the seat itself with the likes of my brolly, a bag of tackle and the rods on top.

Korum sell a wide selection of accessories which can be used with the S23 chair. I did consider a feeder arm which fits on to a leg of the chair but I suspect any movement I would make on the chair would surely transmit through to the rod. For now, I will just continue to use bank sticks for my feeder rod. A side tray could be a useful addition so that option remains a possibility for the future. Having somewhere so easily at hand for bait, spare tackle etc does seem to be a very good idea. There are some very nice (and very expensive) side trays out there, but I have to draw the line somewhere or else this chair will have me bankrupted!

I have used the chair a good few times now and my first impressions are mixed but generally positive. On the downside it is just as heavy and awkward as I thought it would be, but it is only slightly bigger and heavier than a lot of the other chairs on the market. Even when folded the chair takes up a lot of space, something which is an issues for me as I drive a tiny car (Toyota obviously did not factor in the transportation of an S23 chair when they designed the Yaris). This is hardly a criticism though as I knew full well the dimensions of the chair when I bought it. The large size is also a drawback due to the small dimensions of many Irish fishing stands. IFI timber stands are usually very narrow affairs with the slippery timber slats are often too tiny for the Korum to safely sit on. I have been caught out once already when I rocked up to a distant timber stand only to find the chair was too big to fit on to it without endangering life and limb. I knew this before I bought this chair so I can’t really say it is a fault. Fishing from open bank pegs was always my motivation for buying this chair and it performs admirably in those conditions. So far the build quality has not been a problem but time will tell how the somewhat lightly designed back adjusters will stand up to frequent use.

On the plus side, those telescopic legs are excellent and I feel safe and secure on even the most challenging of banks. The self extending feature on the legs really does work and makes setting up the chair very quick and easy. Importantly, the S23 is very comfortable; compared to what I was using before and my new chair feels like a throne. It has plenty of support and enough adjustment to cater for any sitting position. I even took it to Cropredy and sat in it for three long festival days and I never felt uncomfortable in it. There are removable covers on the arm rests which I initially thought nothing of but in use this is a great addition – the covers come off and can be tossed in the washing machine to remove the inevitable muck we coarse fishers generate. It is early days, but so far I am happy with the S23, let’s hope the build quality is good enough to let me get a few seasons out of it. Shortly after I bought my chair Korum replaced it with a mark 2 version which probably explains why I got my one at such a huge reduction in price.

One thing I did not really think through was if I now use the chair for most of my coarse fishing how do I carry my tackle if the seatbox is not there? A plethora of old rucksacks and tackle bags reside in my fishing room, so I figured I would easily find something to fill that gap in that glorious confusion. For a while it looked like I had misjudged my hoard of dilapidated luggage, but deep in the recesses of the hall press I unearthed my old Fishpond ‘Boulder’ bag. This olive green bag used to accompany me during days as a consultant when I roamed across vast swathes of the known world. A safe and commodious laptop bag which converted to a rucksack when required, it was an expensive purchase but it lasted well despite years of abuse. Now it looks dishevelled and sports a very rustic repair I carried out on a large tear beside a zip some years ago. Cleaned up and with a little imagination, it actually works quite well as a coarse fishing bag. I will add a couple of carabiners to give me extra fixing points but apart from that it is basically good to go. All my essential gear fits inside and it is very comfortable on my back. Note that I said ‘essential’, the seatbox had become a repository for all manner of unnecessary bits and bobs simply because there was space to be filled inside. I will turn deaf ear to those who mock my lack of the latest 60 litre capacity, camouflaged, branded luggage and instead revel in my repurposing of the faithfull sack.

Where oh where did the carefree days of my youth go? I used to go fishing with a small satchel containing all my tackle with maybe a few odds and ends tucked into me pockets for good measure. Now I ‘need’ more equipment than a regiment of dragoons for a few hours on the bank. How did I allow my angling life to become so unnecessarily complicated? I feel that no matter how much gear I have I never have the right thing, be that rod, end tackle or bait. I know I am not alone in facing this first world dilemma. Maybe I need to grasp the thorn, sell off most of my ‘stuff’ and get right back to basics. The very thought terrifies me though! At least I now have a nice chair I can sit on while pondering!