Soft-sided utility bag with a hard plastic top and stitched zipper
A fabric-bodied utility/tackle bag with a rigid plastic lid that pivots to open and contains molded compartments and flip hatches. The rigid top (base) is attached to the soft fabric sides with a zipper that is stitched directly to the plastic and the fabric so the lid can pivot while remaining connected. Typical users are anglers and outdoorspeople who want a soft bag with an integrated hard, compartmented top for quick access to small items.
(57) What the patent covered
The main independent claim covered a bag having fabric sidewalls forming a main storage space, a hard plastic top body shaped to cover the top opening and having one or more molded storage compartments plus pivoting hatches, and a zipper that is stitched directly to both the plastic base of the top and the fabric sidewalls so the hard top pivots relative to the fabric body while remaining attached.
The distinctive part: Stitching a zipper directly to a substantially hard plastic lid/base that contains molded compartments and pivoting hatches, rather than fastening a hard box inside a separate fabric cover.
Novelty 3/5. At filing, soft-sided tackle bags and hard molded tackle boxes were common; this claimed the specific combination of a molded hard top with internal hatches and a zipper stitched directly to the hard plastic base, which is a clever integration of familiar parts rather than a wholly new product class.
Making it
Injection-mold the hard plastic base with integrated compartments and pivot bosses, mold or stamp hatch parts, sew fabric sidewalls and zipper onto fabric, then mechanically or ultrasonically stitch or fasten zipper tape to the plastic base and assemble hinges and hatches by hand or semi-automated station.
Materials: woven fabric (nylon or polyester) for body, injection-molded plastic (ABS/PP) for hard top/base, coil or molded zipper tape with nylon/polyester stitching, metal or plastic hinge pins for hatches (likely metal or molded plastic), foam or fabric lining (likely)
Manufacturability 4/5. Requires several simple molded parts (top base, hatches), standard fabric sewing operations and a controlled process to attach/secure zipper to rigid plastic; moderate hand assembly for hinges and stitching to plastic.
Is anyone buying?
Comparable products are on sale; this exact design wasn't found. Typical retail price: $40–$100. Two distinct soft-sided tackle bags with integrated hard-top lids offered by Plano; the A-Series Quick Top explicitly features a molded hard-top lid with quick-access compartments, while the Softsider includes a zipperless top design with integrated storage boxes.
- Plano Weekend Softsider Tackle Bag (3500/3600/3700) · FishUSA (Plano Official)$39.99 - $44.99
- Plano A-Series 2.0 Quick Top Tackle Bag (3600/3700) · Outdoors.com (Plano/Mfg listing)$79.99 - $99.99
This demand check was run with a web search in the week of Sep 21, 2026. Listings change often, so treat it as a starting point for your own research.
Who buys it: anglers and outdoors users needing quick-access tackle storage
Before you make it
We didn't find any related continuation or divisional patents still in force, although that doesn't rule out design patents, trademarks or unrelated patents covering the same product.
Stitching a zipper to hard plastic may need specialized assembly tooling and inspection for durable seams; the market is crowded with soft tackle bags and molded boxes, so commercial differentiation is practical risk.
Owners occasionally revive lapsed patents (about 1.5% are), and this page is a research lead rather than legal advice, so get a freedom-to-operate opinion before you manufacture anything.