Sling packs, etc. vs traditional vests

[Fredrick]

That kid on the log looks to be taller that you Tom :lol:
I might be owning one of these in the future


http://www.orvis.com/p/safe-passage-guide-sling-pack/14zh

 

[AkDan76]

Exactly my thoughts kev!

Though in my simms i can strap a coat to the bottom. Haul water a lunch and all my gear. The large sims is huge!

I almost bought the orvis guide. But liked the layout of the simms better. Im going to at some point buy the smaller simms for the light weight trips and keep the guide for the longer hikes or all day away from the rig trips.

The perfect rig would be a combination of the simms and orvis guide. They both have good features!

 

[afishinado]

Fredrick wrote:
That kid on the log looks to be taller that you Tom :lol:
I might be owning one of these in the future


Nah, he's short like me...but gawl dangit, everytime I looked up, he had a fish on!

 

[brookieaddict]

I have been using an Orvis Safe pasage sling pack since they brought it out. It's no perfect but what is. I stoped in to get some leaders and low and behold a Fish Pond sling pack followed me out the door!!! I think i'm in love.

 

[coachbarak]

I do that as well!!! I went to a local shop for some tying thread and walked out with 90 bucks in tying materials, a Simms gear bag and a new reel for my dad. LOL. As for sling packs, I bought a William Joseph Creel last summer. Going to break it in this Sunday finally. Been using a Fishpond satchel up til now.

 

[dryflyguy]

PennKev wrote:
I don't know how much crap you guys actually carry but I have the Orvis guide sling and I can carry way more junk than I'll use in a given day.

If you are the types that NEEDS to carry a rain jacket all the time, or NEEDS to carry a loaf of bread and a camp stove, or whatever, then sling packs are not gonna be for you. But if you just need to carry your flies, shot, leaders, indicators, and a few fly boxes most of the sling packs will be more than adequate. A larger pack like the Orvis guide will give you enough room for a fair amount of extra stuff. I carry several boxes, a bunch of nymph rig stuff, line dressing, extra tippet/leader material and a ton of stuff I forgot I even own.

If you can't carry everything in a large sling pack, you don't need a sling or vest, you need a pack mule.

Just wondering if you hike in to fish remote places. I do it a lot. And I really don't enjoy being caught in a downpour, and getting drenched.
If there's any threat of rain, I'm packing a raincoat.
Even for most of my brookie excursions the last few summers, there was almost always some chance of rain. And many times, I had to use it

 

[coachbarak]

I am a big guy and my raincoat is a 4XLT from Columbia. It fits nice in that Creel from W&J. Along with three fly boxes, extra socks, leader wallet, maybe a granola bar or two and some jerky, little first aid kit and some mosquito repellent.

 

[gfen]

Fredrick wrote:
That kid on the log looks to be taller that you Tom :lol:
I might be owning one of these in the future
http://www.orvis.com/p/safe-passage-guide-sling-pack/14zh

I never thought I'd see the day where Frederick makes a short joke at someone else's expense.

Wow.

 

[DanL]

I picked up the new Orvis Guide Sling Pack they came out with this year and there's a ton of room in it. Pretty sure I can take everything and a really thin rain jacket I have and still have some room. They also have the water bottle holder on the outside so that won't take up space you could use for fly fishing gear.

Hoping to try it out here soon, but I've gone fro the vest to a chest pack, to that Simms Crosswater chest/waist pack and hoping this sling is where I end up.

 

[AkDan76]

Dryflyguy.

There's straps on the bottom of the large simms sling for a jacket if you have it full enough you can get it inside. No need to leave the jacket at home!

 

[PennKev]

dryflyguy wrote:

Just wondering if you hike in to fish remote places. I do it a lot. And I really don't enjoy being caught in a downpour, and getting drenched.
If there's any threat of rain, I'm packing a raincoat.
Even for most of my brookie excursions the last few summers, there was almost always some chance of rain. And many times, I had to use it

I do hike in a lot.

If i get wet, i get wet.
It comes down to two situations for me. Either it is too cool to be comfortable when wet, in which case I am already wearing something weatherproof and don't need to carry it. Or, it is warm enough that being wet is no big deal, so i don't have to carry anything. On top of that I have some quick drying clothing that I've come to like for most warm weather fishing so I am usually dry fairly quickly even if I do get rained on.

Like I said, If you NEED to carry an rain jacket or anything else like that, a sling pack is not for you. If you just need your tackle then they are great. I've owned three or four vests and my current sling pack holds everything I typically carried in any of my vests. I occasionally miss having the large back pockets of a vest, but I don't miss the bulging front pockets or added discomfort of another layer of clothing in the summer.

 

[poopdeck]

I'm with pennkev. I personally can't stand wearing rain gear and prefer simply being wet when it's not cold out. If its cold out I'm already dressed appropriately. If its cold out and I know i will get wet ill stay home and work in the shop.

I loaded up my new bag and found it is way larger than I will ever need. It seems quite bulbous to me but I'm gonna give it a try. Also made a lanyard which is probably all I really need if I could find a convenient place to carry my water bottle.

 

[joebamboo]

I converted to the Fishpond Waterdance fanny pack several years ago. It is large enough to carry a folded LLBean rainjacket and several fly boxes and water bottles. A lanyard that attached to the wader suspenders rather than around the neck is invaluable.

This combo allows for a lot more upper body flexibility and comfort.

 

[AkDan76]

"Like I said, If you NEED to carry an rain jacket or anything else like that, a sling pack is not for you."

Again this is a PARTIALLY false statement. Many slings didn't think this part out and do not come with straps for a jacket...the large simms sling DOES in fact have a nifty spot out of the way for a rain jacket! (one of the not great joys of fishing up here, 70 one minute, raining and 40 the next...but man the fish LOL!)

I didn't think to look at the regular simms to see if it had a jacket strap on the bottom of it. If its their I didn't notice it, I don't believe it is.....Once I got home with the large simms I saw it and am grateful for it!


I'm not partial to any company, orvis, simms dan baileys, Sa, Ross etc...they are all good and stand behind their products....

 

[concord9]

I tired of my vest and researched sling and waist packs for about two months prior to the Lancaster Fishing show.

At the show, I tried the Fishpond sling, the Umpqua, and the Simms guide sling. I currently have an Orvis sling pack (the older style), and didn't much care for it.

I decided on the Simms guide sling, and I couldn't be happier. Incredibly well designed. I have used it probably 10-15 times on the water since the beginning of February and it is simply awesome.
I will never go back to a vest.

It does take some thought and for me, some trial and error to set it up best for me. Nippers and forceps both front and back. I need to have access to both tools whether the sling is forward or back.
With a little practice, it has become pretty flawless to swing the pack around, change leaders, add tippet, change flies, etc.
The nice thing about the Simms pack is the small workstation in the front compartment. It has velcro outside and you can attach your floatant and/or tippet (pack comes with both holders) there for easy access. I carry 4 fly boxes in mine, and there's room for alot more. I've got a pocket for leaders, split shot, strike indicators.
Holds my cigars too...

I also hang a net off of mine, and that is very well designed also. The D ring hangs off center of the pack so when you swing it around the net stays out of your way.

 

[AkDan76]

Hang your nippers off your wader strap or in a chest pocket on your shirt. I used to clip my hemos to my shirt or wader strap as well before the sling.

 

[Maurice]

I have a William Joseph sling pack, Used it a year, liked it at first but the front pouch was a bit small for my universal box. So I was constantly swinging it around to get flies...since moves to a waist pack.

I was able to hang all my tippet, nippers, hemos, amadou patch in front. When I needed a raincoat for possible downpours, I would just carabeaner it to my waderbelt.

I am thinking about putting it up for sale in the swap forum.

The back is plenty big enough for four more boxes a couple bottles of water and a few granola bars or a sammich if you put it in a crush proof case.

 

[poopdeck]

I have found the perfect non bag/pack for me. I went out with my new lanyard that hangs from my wader straps. Perfect! I might have to gift away the new waist pack I picked up last month. The lanyard holds tippet, nippers, forceps, a floatant bottle and a small fly box. Everything I need with no fuss. Oh lanyard where have you been my whole life.

 

[joseywales]

Why get rid of the waist pack? I didn't like the lanyard hanging around my neck, so I made a lanyard and attached it to elastic bincoluar straps. These are the straps that wear criss cross across your back, to hold he binos at your chest, and distribute the weight on the shoulders.

However, when wearing a lanyard, or my contraption, where do I store my flies? I keep a couple small fly boxes on my lanyard, or flat boxes in my shirt, but I want to bring more with me. Enter a waist pack. I'm looking at a couple waist packs now, so we'll see what happens. I don't think I want anything too big.

 

[poopdeck]

I'm pretty much the exact opposite. I try to carry less. When I carried more only 5% or 10% of what I carried got used. Now I try to carry just the 5% which is easily carried in one little tin. Sometimes I carry an extra in my pocket. Most times this approach works just fine. Sometimes it don't. It's the classic taking the good with the bad.

About the only thing I like about the waist pack is it has spots for two water bottles but with the lanyard i may just use a hydration pack. The lanyard is only about 10" long with loops on the end to slip over wader straps so you feel no weight at all.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_0nTadpl6Lg&autoplay=1

This is what I made except I used duo lock snaps threaded onto the cord during the weaving process.