Kayak crates are used to store your gear and keep it safe. A good kayak crate can be a rod holder, be a place to store your tackle boxes and more.
- Customizable to meet your needs
- Many to chose from
- Easy to make yourself
- Doesn't have to cost much
- Helps with loading, unloading and carrying your gear
- Without a lid your stuff can fall out
- Some are too big for the back of the kayak
Why Buy A Kayak Crate?
Kayak crates come in a few shapes and sizes. The most common is the simple milk crate with a few pieces of pvc for rod holders attached with zip ties. It is probably why we call them crates instead of boxes.
Once you have your crate you will want to use bungees to hold it down. Rod holders make this a simple task otherwise you can add a few bungee lashings.
You can make your own kayak crate for a few bucks or go all out and buy one for over $100. It doesn’t matter, a good home-made kayak crate is just as impressive as those ‘store bought’ ones. They both solve the same problem, holding tackle boxes, leader line, bug spray, sun tan lotion, radio and anything else you can fit in there.
On the other end of the spectrum are YakAttack’s BlackPak and Hobie’s H-Crate. These crates do two things really well, they hold your stuff and they look good doing it. Both are excellent choices and make great gifts for the kayak fisherman in your family. (HINT) One thing to be aware of is that both are a little large and may not fit in all kayak rear decks. Be sure to measure where you want your crate to go before buying one.
Building your own kayak crate
Making your own kayak crate is pretty easy. You’ll need a milk crate, 4 feet of 1 ¼ PVC pipe and some zip ties. Cut the pipe into 12” pieces, clean the edges, zip tie them to the crate for rod holders and you’re set to go. You should also cut a 12” piece of pool noodle in half lengthwise and zip tie it to the bottom of your crate. This allows your crate to be padded on the bottom and keep your gear a couple of inches off the bottom of the kayak deck so your gear isn’t sitting in water.
A lot of DIYer’s buy two kayak crates and use the second crate as a lid. Cut the sides off, flip it upside down and attach it to the top of the other crate and use zip ties as hinges.
If you want to get fancy with your rod holders, you can get a bottle, heat up the end of the pvc and give your rod holder some flare.
If you are concerned about keeping any of your gear dry, gallon size zip lock bags are easy and cheap.
Recommended Kayak Crates
After going through crate after crate, I ended up with a Yak Attack Black Pak. The Black Pak is lightweight, keeps your gear dry, and is designed so you can add rod holders in the front, back or sides.
DIY Kayak Crates Videos & More
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