William And Joseph

[Terry Beeson]

I was in BackCountry Outfitters this morning and noticed Michael has a new "William and Joseph" line of vests, packs, etc. in the shop. I commented about it being out of my price range, but to my surprise, it was not as expensive as I thought! Good looking stuff... I especially like the built in zingers. I've got a W&J chest pack that I like (caught it on clearance) but it's an older model. I'm looking closer now at some of the vests at BCO...

Any of you use W&J? Comments?

[Greg]

Michael showed me the William and Joseph line this week too Terry. I thought it looked like really nice stuff but I'm a dedicated Simms guy.....

Their stuff hasn't let me down yet although it is a bit on the expensive side.

Greg

[flyfshn]

Terry, bought a WJ Fusion vest on this forum, used it a couple of times and wound up selling it on Ebay. Did not like the molded pockets. Have a WJ Riptide and I really like it. It has tons of room for everything I carried in my vest and then some. I really like the built in zingers and it is very comfortable with the pading (good back support). Only drawback is the fact that it is large enough to carry everything, which weighs it down. I really like the WJ products, but not many shops carry their product and I am not sure why.....other than price. I wouldn't be able to afford them......buy mine used!

[Terry Beeson]

Mike,

I was surprised that the prices at BCO on W&J items was pretty doggone reasonable. Sure were a lot better than the Fish Pond brand next to it...

[vanven]

Just to add a bit about W&J. I own a Fusion vest and love it. With a search you can find the glowing review I wrote in this forum a couple years ago.

Last fishing trip I broke one of the built in zingers. I called their customer service number last week and to my amazement a live person answered the phone. She was extremely helpful and offered everything from fixing the vest for me to just sending out new zingers. I elected to have them send me new zingers. They arent exactly easy to install so she reassured me that I could call back when I got them and they would walk me through the process. I got the zingers in 2 days. I know their equipment ships with a warranty card that says something about supporting the item for the lenght of YOUR life, not the item. I never imagined that I would have to put it to use. I was truely amazed with the quality of service I recieved and will continue to look for their products first when I need a new toy.

-Jerod

[Project Healing Waters]

I use a LOT of WJ stuff and have since they first started this line and asked me to field test and review a bunch of stuff. Their hunting brand, Badlands, had been a gear sponsor of my hunting business. I don't love EVERY product they make, but I love MANY of their products and the way they stand behind their gear and take care of their customers. FYI, they don't care if you buy it at a garage sale. If it is WJ gear, they will repair or replace it FREE (including shipping both ways) regardless of how or why it got damaged. In fact, they say they will replace stuff if you get too fat for it!

FYI, they have also been pretty supportive of Project Healing Waters. All around good folks. And they have become more sensitive to price points in the past couple of years. In the early days, some of their gear was WAY over-priced. Not anymore. In fact, I think they have the best breathable wader buy on the market right now in their W-2 waders @ $179.

I was glad to see Backcountry Outfitters start to carry the WJ brand. I think it will be good for him. My favorite WJ product right now other than their waders (which Michael has opted NOT to carry) is their Hemocuts. This is a high quality hemostat with a flat bite out on the tip, serrated bite for grip deeper in, and a 1.5" razor-sharp scissor at the back end of the scissoring blades. They also have an eye-clearing punch just behind the "business end" of the hemos at the start of the handles that is fantastic. So they will grip, squeeze, cut, and clear hook eyes with the exact same motion/grip. Without adjusting them in your hand or anything, you can remove a hook, pinch on a split-shot, clear the eye of a hook, and cut the excess tippet off of a fly or knot. This effectively eliminated TWO other dangling tools from my pack. I now have ONLY the Hemocuts hanging from a retractor...nothing else. And that's cool!

[Micheal Kyle]

I carry the Hemocuts they were with all my other hemostats and scissors. I just checked and there are 4 pair.

Michael

[troutloop]

I was in BackCountry Outfitters this morning and noticed Michael has a new "William and Joseph" line of vests, packs, etc. in the shop. I commented about it being out of my price range, but to my surprise, it was not as expensive as I thought! Good looking stuff... I especially like the built in zingers. I've got a W&J chest pack that I like (caught it on clearance) but it's an older model. I'm looking closer now at some of the vests at BCO...

Any of you use W&J? Comments?

I would recommend moving away from vests the willy j fanny packs are great and you will get that weight off of your shoulders

[Project Healing Waters]

I agree with Troutloop. I wore vests for years...always had shoulder/neck pain after a full day of fishing. It often drove me off the water. Then I started testing WJ chest packs and other tech vests. The chest packs were an improvement in the pain department...especially WJ's. But I still had neck pain...no shoulder pain. (I have a damaged Superscapulary nerve from injuries and suffered a TBI in the military that make upper back pain a persistent issue for me) About two years ago, I decided to start testing fanny-style packs and the minimalist chest packs from multiple manufacturers. I found that the fanny pack is the way to go for me in the pain department...zero. They are also much cooler for summertime wear. BUT, I also figured out that I need a waterproof one. I don't fish deep, but in the Ozarks, you sometimes need to wade deep to get to a good fishing spot. In the non-waterproof department, I like the Clear Creek fanny pack for a small one. But the WJ's carry much more stuff even more comfortably. They're simply top notch. And LO AND BEHOLD! Later this summer WJ is coming out with a whole line of WATERPROOF packs! I will be the first guy in line. They also have a new line coming out this summer called the MAG line. I have a prototype chest pack now. Aside from very minor neck fatigue (not pain) due to the way it is worn, it's also awesome. No zippers, snaps, buckles on the pack and only one quick release buckle in the back. All closures are accomplished with magnetic tubing instead of zippers. They are way cool and everything closes itself when you're done. No fiddling with zippers, etc. Brilliant! I hope the waterproof line uses the MAG closures. We'll see.