I have been using this vest to fly fish freestone streams and rivers in New England and couldn't be happier with the vest/pack. The waist belt seals my chest waders and takes the load off my shoulders, there is plenty of room to bring water and snacks, extra reels, 4-5 flyboxes, etc. The only draw back is that there is no lapel loop to hold my rod when tying on new flys or tippets. It has the butt loop for resting the reel end of the rod in but no loop or velcro strip to hold the upper part? I thought maybe mine was defective, but it seems that this feature was overlooked.
I frequently hike 5+ miles to remote waters so this is a great vest pack for carrying gear. Functionally, it is more a vest than a pack.
There is ample room and zippered pockes tfor tippets, leader, fly boxes, first aid kit, lunch and other necessities. A great product.
A couple of drawbacks. There wasn't enough room for waders/wading boots and wading jacket in the limited pack area, this could be an area for improvement, enlarging the pack to at least double the size might help. The other improvement that might be made is to accomodate 2 rod case holders on either side of the rear pack.
Overall a great product but could be even better with slight improvements.
I finally replaced my worn out original vest with the Rapid River Vest Pack. I was not disappointed. The unique design with many many pockets and a backpack style belt and straps holds an incredible amount of gear but rides comfortably on your hips. I am pretty short but I don't feel swallowed up by the vest. The price is very reasonable.The zippers seem durable so far and I would recommend this vest without hesitation.
I looked around for a bag and decide on a vest, I liked the fact that this vest had easy access to compartments and had plenty of storage. My favorite feature of the vest is the lower belt and comfortable shoulder straps. Liked all the adjustments so it fits well and I'm a big guy. I'd recommend this fishing vest to any of my friends. Would love to see some belt attachments such as a pole holder so I could change flys and use both hands.
