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CommentsFront-and-Center Packs
What you need to know before picking a fly-fishing chest pack.
This one's a first for me. For an assortment of reasons, over the 20-plus years of gear reporting I've done for FR&R, I've never reviewed chest packs in these pages.
I field-tested a number of them when the product idea was new and most were unsatisfactory on many counts, not the least of which were puzzlingly overdedicated and often useless storage features and complicated, uncomfortable harnesses. In time, designs improved, and suddenly everyone with a sewing machine and a few spare yards of Cordura was pounding out packs, knocking off each other's products, flooding the market with so many chest packs that anything remotely approaching a comprehensive review article was impossible.
But two things happened. The market weaklings have been weeded out, and the originally small contingent of chest-pack users has grown. Younger anglers in particular seem to be eschewing fly vests, partly I think as a matter of personal style, and partly for some defensible practical reasons. I confined my researches to the "classic" version of the chest pack, with a single, front-riding pack (that is, no rear cargo pouch), but I omitted the ultra-compact, single-fly-box models, which are more specialized. When a product allowed for two or more configurations—as chest pack, lumbar pack or creel-style shoulder bag—I tested them out only in chest and shoulder modes. Fanny packs are, to me, a rather different animal.
Finally, to give some idea of pack capacity, I used the widely available medium-size fly boxes—about 7-by-4-by-1. It's only a rough idea of what you can fit in the pack, but it's better than nothing. We cover ten packs including two exclusivley for the Web.
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Make: Cabella
Model: Low-Profile Chest Vest Price: $24.95 Website: www.cabellas.com |
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Online Bonus
Make: fishpond Model: Blue River Price: $69.00 Website: www.fishpondusa.com |
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Make: fishpond
Model: Windwalker Price: $79.00 Website: www.fishpondusa.com |
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Make: L.L. Beans
Model: Switch Pack Price: $25.00 Website: www.llbean.com |
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Make: Loon
Model:Fishing System Price: $49.95 Website: www.loonoutdoors.com |
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Make: Patagonia
Model: Hip Chest Pack Price: $68.00 Website: www.patagonia.com |
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Online Bonus
Make: William Joseph Model: Old School Price: $39.00 Website: www.williamjoseph.net |
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Make: William Joseph
Model: Solo Price: $49.00 Website: www.williamjoseph.net |
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Make: Willaim Joseph
Model: Access Price: $69.00 Website: www.williamjoseph.net |
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Make: Orvis
Model: Safe Passage Sling Pack Price: $49.00 Website: www.orvis.com |
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Make: Patagonia
Model: Double Haul Price: $125.00 Website: www.patagonia.com |
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Make: William Joseph
Model: Equinox Price: $89.00 Website: www.williamjoseph.net |
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Make: Simms
Model: Drey Creek Backpack |
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Make: Simms
Model: Dry Creek Chest/Hip Pack |
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