[Fly2Fish]

Anyone have any thoughts or experience on what seems to be a very innovative fishing vest? Thought after 30 years it might be time to upgrade mine.

[Fish Bones]

I love this vest... in the olive green not the orange. This is probably my favorite vest on the market. However, its not a big seller for whatever reason... maybe its the price tag.

[tie one on]

Aztec Angler,

How does the WJ vest compare in storage capacity
to other vests on the market ?

Does it have D rings for net or wading staff ?

What features might it have that others do not ?

I own their wading staff & love it. It has saved me
numerous times from taking a unexpected dip.

The first staff I had gave me a little trouble, but they
replaced it straight away.

Thanks for the info,

Tie One On

[Fly2Fish]

I'll wait for Aztec Anglers definitive reply on this, but here's my take:
Rather than the conventional D-ring on the top back of the vest, WJ Fusion has the equivalent of a plastic-tube enclosed loop which seems to me to be the functional equivalent. One of the major features that this vest has - which is important to me - is a drop-down "workstation". Other great features are captive zingers. One feature I'm not sure about is the hydration bladder. It has 100 oz. (3 liters) capacity, but when full, it will yank down the back, causing the vest front to move up to an unworkable positon. This may be because I have tried on too large a size, but it's an open question for me.

[Fly2Fish]

Further to my earlier posting, I found that a smaller size does indeed limit the vest pulldown in back resulting in the front pulling up. These vests are sized, as they say, to fit comfortably over a jacket, and I found that the Medium was plenty roomy over a lined jacket even though I usually wear a Large in shirts and jackets. I would also add that unless you really need 3 quarts-plus of water in its optional hydration bladder, halving that amount to what still seems a very ample 3-pint supply for a day on the stream markedly reduces the tendency of the vest to want to pull down in the back. Of course, you could eliminate that tendency entirely by not opting for the optional hydration bladder (leaving more back pocket storage space) and instead wearing a water bottle on your belt.

Other unique (to me) features of this remarkable vest in addition to what I mentioned earlier are the dual-zippered molded-form pockets, which makes it less likely for items to fall out when opened in an overstuffed condition, and the flashlight built into the vest front zipper pull.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is whether there is a rod holder - hard to believe there wouldn't be in a vest as well equipped as this one. There is a velcro tab on the top that looks like the top part of one, but I don't see a loop along the bottom front to hold the rod butt. Perhaps the adjustable elastic tightening loops on each side of the front bottom are meant to double for rod holders?