Death of Tech Packs / Rise of Dry Packs

[Swattie87]

Anyone else put off by this? 10 years ago pretty much all the major FF gear companies had at least one, if not more, offerings with a backpack style back and a vest style front. With a legitimate hiking backpack suspension and waist belt on many of them.

Yeah, Fishpond has a couple still that are kinda like this, but they’re really just fancy vests with lots of bells and whistles and lack a proper backpack suspension and waist belt. I’m usually fishing all day away from my vehicle, and I like the space the backpack gives me for non-fishing items. Lunch, jacket, etc.

Everything (or almost everything) out there right now backpack style wise is that “dry” or “waterproof” style of pack, and IMO you sacrifice a lot of features and functionality to be “dry/waterproof”. Having a pack that’s waterproof isn’t all that important to me, and it’s a problem I’ve solved on my other packs with a $20 hiking pack cover, for when needed when I’m actually fishing in the rain. Which, as hardcore as I like to think I am, realistically, is a handful of times a year, at most.

Is everyone else actually into those waterproof packs? Am I the weirdo? Anyone have an old William Joseph Exodus they want to part with?

 

[albatross]

The real value of the waterproof packs come in when you need to wade deep, like water between your navel and armpits deep. Nice when my waterproof sling pack can just float behind me in this situation.

 

[Swattie87]

The real value of the waterproof packs come in when you need to wade deep, like water between your navel and armpits deep. Nice when my waterproof sling pack can just float behind me in this situation.

Haha, yeah, small stream guy mostly. I don’t ever wade that deep, intentionally. And if I do, I probably have bigger problems than my pack being wet.

 

[Duriensbane]

friend called me out before about taking a backpack with me and i told him that i do admit i carry to much stuff with me, but im very forget full, and id rather just carry alot of stuff that i MIGHT need then forget something that i do need. Plus im very use to carrying alot of stuff from my time in the military that walking a few miles with a backpack is no sweat. Shoulders get a little sore but ill manage.

 

[gunpowderglass]

I’m also annoyed by this trend. When I went through the gear I was carrying, very little of it actually needed protection from immersion. I think it’s more practical to protect the items that need it rather than compromising accessibility to protect everything.

 

[Broodstock]

I went from an old canvas vest which I fished for 20 plus years, to a bunch of different options in the last couple years. I liked the Patagonia stealth vest, but then I ditched vests totally. I tried a hip pack but they slide down. A hip pack with a shoulder strap was annoying. Then I went to the C&F chest pack which saved a tremendous amount of weight. It’s the best IMO for flexibility and functionality. I pair this with either nothing if I’m close to my vehicle. If I’m walking around and it’s not deep wading or rain I’ll bring a small day pack. If it’s cold or raining or I walk long distances from the car (or bike fish) I’ll bring the orvis waterproof pack. It’s got critical things like water, first aid, phone/keys, food. Sometimes a change of clothes or a layer.

I like a pack for stowing a shell or thermal layer. On long days when it’s cool in the morning and evening and I need to take layers off - this is the way.

I never bought any WJ products but wish they were still making them since they seem to be the best of both worlds.

The Umpqua overlook system seems to be the closest match for a product that is currently available.

 

[Forestfishin]

I’ve noticed that also. For trout fishing I’ve used the same Orvis pack my wife bought me the first fall we had our camp in 2003. Not sure of the name but it’s olive green with a small 2 compartment “backpack” and 2 small packs for the front. Nice because I can see where I’m walking between the two little packs and holds everything I need for a day of hiking and fishing.

When my son got into trout fishing a few years ago I looked but couldn’t find anything similar. Ended up seeing a slightly different version on eBay last year and snagged it.

 

[bigjohn358]

I don't understand why someone wouldn't want waterproof products to keep their gear in... I mean I fish in the rain, I might fall in once a year, I sometimes wade in the water too deep. Why wouldn't someone want to keep their gear dry? I even keep those food safe dry bags inside my fly boxes to keep hooks from rusting and keep all my dry flies in waterproof fly boxes.

 

[Swattie87]

I don't understand why someone wouldn't want waterproof products to keep their gear in... I mean I fish in the rain, I might fall in once a year, I sometimes wade in the water too deep. Why wouldn't someone want to keep their gear dry? I even keep those food safe dry bags inside my fly boxes to keep hooks from rusting and keep all my dry flies in waterproof fly boxes.

It’s not that I don’t want my gear to stay dry. It’s just that I don’t want to give up the convenience features (easy to access pockets on the front, and a good amount of organization in the backpack section) that came on those tech packs of a decade ago. For the couple times a year scenario when my pack may get wet. Most of the dry packs out today are of the “one big pocket” approach. Which makes sense. It’s easier (and cheaper) to make one large pocket waterproof, than several smaller pockets waterproof.

I’m fine keeping anything I don’t want to get wet in a Ziploc in my pack, and just using a pack cover for when it rains. As mentioned, from a practical perspective, that’s a few times a year, at most.

If I fall, and get the pack wet, which probably does happen about once a year, unless it’s Summer time and I don’t care that I’m wet, that’s probably at least warranting a return to the vehicle to change type of scenario for me. If not a total loss and punt on the day altogether if it’s cold enough out. I’m often miles away from my vehicle, and if I fall and get wet, it’s often not practical for me to hike all the way back to the vehicle, change, and hike back to where I left off. That may take several hours. So if I get wet to the point I’m uncomfortable, I often just hike out and go home. Again, in that scenario, I don’t care if my pack is wet.

A wet pack has never stopped me from fishing. PITA to lay everything out to dry when you get home, yes. But a wet pack, by itself, is not a day-ender for me.

 

[bringthepain]

I have a backpack/chestpack combo that might suit what you are looking for and its not expensive. I listed it here a while back i will rebump the post or PM me

 

[Swattie87]

I have a backpack/chestpack combo that might suit what you are looking for and its not expensive. I listed it here a while back i will rebump the post or PM me

Yeah, thanks, I remember seeing that. I have one similar to that one (LL Bean) already, and aren’t really in the market for one at the moment. Just wish companies were still making that style of pack more.

The William Joseph Exodus packs are my holy grail. But I imagine anyone who has one of those knows what they have and aren’t parting with it.

 

[Forestfishin]

It’s not that I don’t want my gear to stay dry. It’s just that I don’t want to give up the convenience features (easy to access pockets on the front, and a good amount of organization in the backpack section) that came on those tech packs of a decade ago. For the couple times a year scenario when my pack may get wet. Most of the dry packs out today are of the “one big pocket” approach. Which makes sense. It’s easier (and cheaper) to make one large pocket waterproof, than several smaller pockets waterproof.

I’m fine keeping anything I don’t want to get wet in a Ziploc in my pack, and just using a pack cover for when it rains. As mentioned, from a practical perspective, that’s a few times a year, at most.

If I fall, and get the pack wet, which probably does happen about once a year, unless it’s Summer time and I don’t care that I’m wet, that’s probably at least warranting a return to the vehicle to change type of scenario for me. If not a total loss and punt on the day altogether if it’s cold enough out. I’m often miles away from my vehicle, and if I fall and get wet, it’s often not practical for me to hike all the way back to the vehicle, change, and hike back to where I left off. That may take several hours. So if I get wet to the point I’m uncomfortable, I often just hike out and go home. Again, in that scenario, I don’t care if my pack is wet.

A wet pack has never stopped me from fishing. PITA to lay everything out to dry when you get home, yes. But a wet pack, by itself, is not a day-ender for me.

Pretty much all this. I can’t remember an instance stopping fishing because of stuff getting too wet but I mostly fish small streams. Can see the benefit of the submersible stuff if fishing deeper water where one step might be one too many.

Would be nice if there were a few more options as described in the op.

 

[Nocktavius]

Waterproof wins out over more features all day every day for me. Fall in once or wade a bit too deep and all your gear is soaked. Then when you get home tired cold and wet, you need to remember to empty it out, put each fly on a paper towel, wait 2-3 days and then reload all your boxes. And these things should be geared more toward bigger/deeper water because let's face it- we all can go fish a brookie stream with a clear film cannister of flies, some floatant, a spool of tippet and a pair of nippers. Heck, all of that fits in my front waders pocket.

If you're looking for more zippered pockets than 1-2 you're either carrying way too much stuff or you're hopelessly disorganized.

 

[Swattie87]

I can fit all my fishing specific items easily into a small chest pack, if I wanted to. I’m actually fairly minimalist when it comes to actual fishing gear. For example, I never carry more than fly box. In fact, I have my fly boxes set up deliberately so that I never have to carry more than one - decided by the type of stream I’m fishing and the conditions that day. I can’t even remember the last time I carried more than one fly box with me.

I like the backpack (with pockets on the front for the actual fishing related items), specifically because I am fishing small streams and am often miles away from my vehicle. I’d say on the average small stream, all day outing for me I cover about 3 miles of water. Sometimes as many as 4 or 5. Think about that, that’s possibly 10 miles of hiking. I want to be able to carry my lunch, enough water for the day, and any layers I take off or put on throughout the day. There is very little in the backpack portion of my pack that’s actually a fishing related item. A spare pare of hemo’s and a spare leader or two, both of which I could fit up front if I wanted to, but don’t, simply because they’re not items I use often. That’s it. The rest is all stuff I want to take with me to make the day more enjoyable. I don’t like not eating or drinking for 12+ hours straight, and I like to be comfortable when I’m both moving and hiking, and if I stop for lunch or to fish a nice spot for a while.

Edit: The main downside of a traditional backpack as a fishing pack is that it’s on your back. Meaning you either have to take it off, or awkwardly try to get it around to your front to access it. The waterproof ones seem even harder to easily access, and when you do, all your gear is piled on top of each other at the bottom in a single large compartment when you open it. Kind of silly if all you’re looking to do is apply desiccant or change your fly.

Backpacks (with the appropriate suspension and waist belt) are far better at carrying weight comfortably than vests, slings, chest, lumbar packs, whatever. It’s not like I’m carrying 40 lbs, but I’ll often carry 96 oz’s of water on an all day Summer outing. A backpack does this best.

Tech Packs in my mind were the best of both worlds because they are backpacks first, for the most part. But have just enough up front storage to avoid having to take the pack off for routine fishing changes…flies/floatant/tippet/shot etc.

 

[Skook]

Several years ago, I bought a Patagonia Guidewater waterproof backpack from the classified section of another fly fishing forum for 1/3 the normal retail price. I couldn't tell it from new. In fact, the tag was still on it. Patagonia had discontinued this model and replaced it with some other similar pack, so the Guidewater was the old style when I bought it. Now, the Guidewater is back for the past few years, and the other pack (I forget the model) is gone.

Anyway, Patagonia also sells its Stealth Convertible Vest, which is designed to come apart so that the front of the vest can be used either with the back of the vest like a traditional fishing vest or to have just the front portion of the vest connect to a backpack, such as the Guidewater. Several years ago, I picked up the convertible vest when it was 40% or 50% off (color changes that next year), so now I can use the vest and pack together, although I don't use them together often.

The convertible vest is on sale now (31% discount) for $69. Perhaps the vest can be paired with some other brand's daypack, or maybe another daypack can be easily modified to work with the vest. I believe you can even use one-half of the vest and pair it with a sling pack. It should work with Patagonia's waterproof and non-waterproof packs like their Stealth Pack 30L, which is also on sale.

Here is a link at Patagonia's website with pics and a product demonstration video for a better explanation:

Patagonia Stealth Convertible Vest

 

[bigjohn358]

It’s not that I don’t want my gear to stay dry. It’s just that I don’t want to give up the convenience features (easy to access pockets on the front, and a good amount of organization in the backpack section) that came on those tech packs of a decade ago. For the couple times a year scenario when my pack may get wet. Most of the dry packs out today are of the “one big pocket” approach. Which makes sense. It’s easier (and cheaper) to make one large pocket waterproof, than several smaller pockets waterproof.

I’m fine keeping anything I don’t want to get wet in a Ziploc in my pack, and just using a pack cover for when it rains. As mentioned, from a practical perspective, that’s a few times a year, at most.

If I fall, and get the pack wet, which probably does happen about once a year, unless it’s Summer time and I don’t care that I’m wet, that’s probably at least warranting a return to the vehicle to change type of scenario for me. If not a total loss and punt on the day altogether if it’s cold enough out. I’m often miles away from my vehicle, and if I fall and get wet, it’s often not practical for me to hike all the way back to the vehicle, change, and hike back to where I left off. That may take several hours. So if I get wet to the point I’m uncomfortable, I often just hike out and go home. Again, in that scenario, I don’t care if my pack is wet.

A wet pack has never stopped me from fishing. PITA to lay everything out to dry when you get home, yes. But a wet pack, by itself, is not a day-ender for me.

I never met any fisherman who keeps stuff in a backpack that they want quick easy access to since you have to take a backpack off to access anything in it. Any backpack I ever used I've attached smaller pocket style tactical pouches that are supposed to go on belts to the shoulder straps or the strap that went across the chest, or wore a fanny pack of some sort if I had to, or just filled cargo shorts pockets if wet wadding for the items I'd want quick access to.

 

[Swattie87]

I never met any fisherman who keeps stuff in a backpack that they want quick easy access to since you have to take a backpack off to access anything in it. Any backpack I ever used I've attached smaller pocket style tactical pouches that are supposed to go on belts to the shoulder straps or the strap that went across the chest, or wore a fanny pack of some sort if I had to, or just filled cargo shorts pockets if wet wadding for the items I'd want quick access to.

So you get my dilemma then. 😜

They used to make packs that did just that very thing right out of the box, without having to add anything to them!

I’m not trying to knock the waterproof packs, though I’ll admit it probably comes off that way. If they’re selling, and people are enjoying using them, that’s great. They’re just not the solution for me and I wish there was more diversity in the current options out there. If something were to happen to my Bean, right now, I’d be limited to used options, if I could even find them.