ProLatch and cam latch
Also called cam latch, positive latch
The locking mechanism on a utility box lid. A good one closes with an audible click and does not pop open in a bag.
ProLatch is Plano's name for its latch design and the word has spread to mean any positive, audible latch on a tackle tray. The mechanism matters because a tray full of hooks and jigs that opens inside a backpack is a genuinely bad afternoon.
Cheap friction lids rely on the plastic gripping itself, and they loosen with temperature changes and use. A cam latch physically pulls the lid down against the box and holds it there.
You can hear the difference. Close a good tray and it snaps. Close a bad one and it just sort of settles.
Latch count matters as well as latch type. A long 3700 tray with two latches will bow in the middle under a full load of jigs, so better trays in that size use three or four.
Waterproof versions add a rubber gasket in the lid channel and are worth having for hooks and any tray that lives in a boat.
Hold a tray upside down and shake it in the shop. If the lid shifts at all, put it back.
Related terms
Where this comes up
The guides that use prolatch and cam latch and show it on real gear.
ProLatch and cam latch is one of 206 terms in the glossary.
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