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The Waistpack/chestpack Revolution...what Happened To Vests?


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also love my Fishpond chest pack! Wear mine as a fanny pack and like Brian said, just spin it around and it is out of your way! Dont think I could go back to a vest.

Fish On!

Mike Utt

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift from God, that’s why its called the Present!”

"If we ever forget that we are ONE NATION UNDER GOD, then we will be a nation gone under" - Ronald Reagan

Member: www.ozarkflyfishers.org

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Gadgets fill the pockets, they dangle from the neck and belt.

The overflow fills the trunk.

The aggregate poundage becoms tonage.

Aldo Leopold

I am too guilty of this and need to lighten up.

Marty

"We have met the enemy and it is us",

Pogo

   If you compete with your fellow anglers, you become their competitor, If you help them you become their friend"

Lefty Kreh

    " Never display your knowledge, you only share it"

Lefty Kreh

         "Eat more bass and there will be more room for walleye to grow!"

BilletHead

    " One thing in life is for sure. If you are careful you can straddle the barbed wire fence but make one mistake and you will be hurting"

BilletHead

  P.S. "May your fences be short or hope you have long legs"

BilletHead

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What surprises me is that more people don't go to over-the-shoulder packs (or...why there aren't more over-the-shoulder packs). I don't like waist or fanny packs because I often wade in water deep enough to get the pack wet if it's around my waist. I don't like chest packs because I don't like something sticking out in front of me all the time. I still use a vest most of the time, but have worn fanny packs as over the shoulder packs quite a bit when wet-wading in hot weather, and I have a William Joseph over-the-shoulder pack that I'm trying to get used to...it's a little too big for my liking. What I think I'd like the best would be a nice over the shoulder pack that is compact, and has really good padding designed for over the shoulder use on the strap. The beauty of such a pack is that you can wear it high on your back and out of any danger of getting wet, and then just grab the strap in front and pull and the pack slides around your side under your arm to the front where you can get stuff out of it. Or you can wear it on your side where the gadgets attached to it are within instant reach, but slide it up to your upper back whenever you get into deeper water.

Seems like I'm always trying to come up with better ways of doing things when it comes to fishing, stuff that isn't available commercially. Like the perfect pair of wet-wading shoes, or the best tackle carrying system for canoes. But the tackle companies aren't asking my opinion!

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I'm with you Al. I have an old olive drab military gas mask bag that does just the job you are talking about. They can be had at most military surplus stores are on line for just a few dollars and are jut the thing for going light.

Dano

Glass Has Class

"from the laid back lane in the Arkansas Ozarks"

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Al and Dano I have also been looking for a shoulder type bag or one in the other category. I have been eye balling this manufacture for a while. After missing one for sale locally for about half there retail price. http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/viewCa...sp?idCategory=4

Jon Joy

___________

"A jerk at one end of the line is enough." unknown author

The Second Amendment was written for hunting tyrants not ducks.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin, 1759

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I haven't really found anything I REALLY like.

I liked my old Orvis vest, but often wished it was a shorty. When it's hot out, it's a little too warm. But I don't really like the mesh style.

I got an Orvis pack with the hydration bladder a few years ago. I thought it looked like the ultimate solution: pack style so it's comfortable and gives lots of freedom for arm movement; carry some water with you; room for a rain jacket and snacks in the back; nice pockets up front. But - I find myself jacking with it a lot. Here's some things I don't like:

* There are a ton of zippers on the front, and they've all got a little opening in the ring where the tab joins the zipper. I seem to get my tippet caught in there pretty often.

* The pockets zip about halfway down on one side, so if I forget to zip it closed, I can lose a $$$ box of flies pretty easily. It'd be nice if they only opened across the top, then I could leave them open.

* The vest is adjustable in all the right places, but there are tag-ends hanging all over the place. It would be nice if there was either a pocket to hide them in, or some other kind of gizmo to tidy things up.

* I don't use the bladder like I thought I would. I feel the need to clean it between uses, which for me means removing it, washing it and drying it out completely for a couple days so I don't get mold.

* The tube over the shoulder always seems to be in the way. (Come to think of it - I'm just gonna take that thing out).

So the search continues...

John

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Well I think I will stick with my vest. I have used waist packs and still do sometimes but I really like my vest. I'm one of those guys that doesn't mind paying extra for quality. Yes I have a Fishpond vest (and looking to buy another with a backpack attached) and Simms waders. One thing that has occurred to me after at least 35 years of fishing is that quality does cost more. Yeah you can get by with cheaper equipment but you can gain a lot with paying more for quality if you do it within reason. You can go overboard.

And for all of you that think a vest is too heavy and uncomfortable and hot in the summer. Try a quality vest like a Fishpond and you will see that you can gain something by paying the extra money. My old vest had no padding and was always cutting into my neck. I hardly know that my current vest is on and I have everything right there. I have even tried to get in my car a few time forgetting that I was still wearing it. Of course that's when the net gets stuck in the door jamb and I end up laying in the parking lot looking like an idiot.

Disclaimer: I look like an idiot when I'm fishing anyway. But I'm having a blast!

 

 

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I'm with ness on this one. I am still looking for something I REALLY like. I had a full sized vest and then went to a shorty before going to a Bucks Bags pack vest thingy. Maybe I'll never find what I'm looking for, but the over the shoulder deal sounds pretty good.

This brought up a memory from one of the popular flyfishing magazines from 20 years ago or so. It was a short article that detailed the contents of Lee Wulff's fishing vest. Interesting (to me anyway). He had so much stuff in there, it was unbelievable! One thing Lee said (tongue in cheek I'm sure) is that it's OK to have a lot of stuff in your vest because the extra weight makes you more stable when wading in heavy current!

Tight lines everybody.....

"Life is like a beanstalk, isn't it." ~ John Geirach

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