Will the Orvis Ultralight Vest break my heart like all the others before it?

[photoguy]

Hey all- I think I now understand why my wife has so many pairs of shoes as I seem to have a similar affliction for fishing vests (if she only knew ). Trying to find the perfect one in a world where perfection likely doesn't exist. In that perfect world I could fish all day with one of those simple lanyards with a small fly box and one or two other things. But, it just seems that I can't bring myself to go that quite that naked.

Anyway, my vest quest has taken me through a lot of different things. I've tried regular vests, chest packs, double chest packs, slings, hip packs, etc. and now I've seemingly gone full circle back to exploring a vest. As I write this there's an Orvis Ultralight vest winking at me and sitting she occupies the chair next to me. I'm hoping it's 'the one'. Maybe? Could be?.

The plusses- It's light. Somewhat minimalist design. Love the vertical zippers as they pull much easier than horizontal ones. Decent amount of space. Fit's unobtrusively. And did I say it's light?

The minuses- It's minimalist- there's really no hanging much from it without adding zingers or other modifications, everything will need to go into a pocket. It's not inexpensive at $140, though I've seen much higher priced vests.

The concern- I tend to carry 'a lot' never knowing what I'm going to run into. I've reorganized my flies so that they fit into fewer boxes and the vest holds them pretty easily. But, it's the other things- floatant(s), thermometer,tweezers,weights,indicators, knife, etc. that I'll have to do some thinking on how best to carry. Where a lot of other vests have 'things' to attach to and hang things from, this really has nothing.., nada..and I don't want to load this up with zingers and try and turn it into something it isn't.

And the things is, I've been down this road before. Something looks great and it is, but only for a while. I'm fickle I guess and it seems something different always comes along to steal my heart.

The question- Just wondering- anybody have any practical experience with this vest? I've left the tags on and Orvis is great at returns but hoping to get some insight from first hand users before I get it wet and get fish gunk on it. So, while it seems at the moment like it could be a good match, I'm simply wondering if anyone else has tried this and their impressions...will it break my heart like all the others before it and leave me scouring websites and fly shops like a jilted lover?

And as always, appreciate any input!

 

[Ard]

I kinda strayed away from what you really ask and got into bulk and weight. Too late now because I already typed it and you're stuck with it and me

The part about being able to attach stuff may be a problem for you but for me it's always the final load weight.

Like you I've tried many different things. Just a couple days ago I could have been filmed with a Fishpond Sling Pack sprawled on the counter at a local shop as I carefully examined each nook and cranny of it's potential carrying capacity. This year has been way different than any other here. With the super low water it is not possible to use my boat so my friend who would join me in that boat provides the means for transit. He has a bush plane and we fly. That means I don't have my old tote bag filled with anything and everything or the Plano Soft Side bag stuffed with fly boxes and tippets - hooks and leaders. And that's been an adjustment for me.

I've posted many times boasting about my minimalist approach, just a small fly box - spool of tippet and a pack of hooks. The sordid truth is that I have 20 pounds of gear with me but it is left in a parked boat not over 100 yards away while I fish, now you know the real truth

Planes are not like boats, with the boat we can fish a hundred yard stretch then move along up or down river, not that way with a plane. Once it's parked on some gravel or sandbar we often find ourselves a mile or more away from it and so I'm forced to carry some things I normally wouldn't be toting with...….. That's what had me looking at the sling pack but I didn't bite, I'm hoping for rain first.

So what am I trying to say about the vest you want and are inquiring about? Just yesterday I was once again reminded that it isn't the vest or jacket, it's not the brand or design of the pack. It's the load! I had that Simms jacket stuffed to the gills (pun intended ) with fly boxes, tippet, hooks, and camera. By days end my shoulders ached just as though I'd been wearing a vest or pack and may be ready to consider whether my pain was associated with the design of it.

The vest you are considering may be just fine if you can find a way to keep that weight of load down. It's amazing to me how little it really takes when slung over my otherwise unencumbered shoulders and collar bone etc. how little it takes to make me uncomfortable after six hours. You can keep the vest if you can somehow scale down the load.

 

[bocianka1]

I haven't used the ultralight, but I find adding a few zingers inevitable. There are some things that i just need quick and easy access to and that I don't want to drop in the river. For me that is nippers, hemostats, and if I can find the right place to hang it, my floatant. The minimalist vest might not come premade with attachments for everything, but it's usually worth it to me to add them.

Focus on the ultralight vest in terms of how much of the bulky gear you need. How many fly boxes, how many tippet spools, strike indicators, split shot and leaders. That's where the weight comes in, and that's where you usually have to make the tough decisions on what you need and where you will store it. Good luck deciding. Trying to balance having enough to be prepared for anything and not walking around like a pack mule is the ever present dilemma for all fisherman.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[photoguy]

Thanks for the valuable input guys. Right now I'm eyeing this vest and she's smiling back seductively. She wants me to change my ways and maybe I should listen.

I'm also glad to know that I'm not alone hearing this sirens call. :gossip:

 

[Ard]

My problem here is that a vest has limited use opportunity, this year is an anomaly due to the drought but it is a recurring cycle for 4 seasons now. Generally you need the G4 rain and wind protection so I don't even consider a vest. I hope you keep it and come to a sort of happy medium regarding the amount of things you take with each trip out

 

[sparsegraystubble]

Thanks for the valuable input guys. Right now I'm eyeing this vest and she's smiling back seductively. She wants me to change my ways and maybe I should listen.

I'm also glad to know that I'm not alone hearing this sirens call. :gossip:

Please let us know how this soap opera turns out. Those of us pack and vest junkies who are always looking want to know whether you are living happily ever after.

Good luck,

Don

 

[photoguy]

Please let us know how this soap opera turns out. Those of us pack and vest junkies who are always looking want to know whether you are living happily ever after.

Good luck,

Don

Well, I've been eying it all week, wondering if it'll stay or go. The one thing that I really like are the vertical zippers as I find them much easier to open and close with one hand when wearing it. I'm still not entirely convinced though that the zippers alone will make this a keeper. Sitting right next to it is my older Reddington vest. It has more storage and a few other things that the Orvis doesn't and it was 1/3 the price. I've been loading them both up and wearing them to see if the Orvis is worth the premium and so far only the zippers stand out.

 

[Ard]

Since this is about vests, have I ever told you about my 1980 Stream Designs vest?

Yeah baby, the year was 1979 and I had spent the entire 12 months coveting the Stream Designs vest. The ultimate fly fishing vest, 25 pockets man, 25 of them! SO over the winter I ordered one and spring of 1980 saw me hanging around stream access areas just to watch people stare and drool at my vest.



Yep I still have it

When I say I used to carry too much stuff I don't exaggerate at all. That thing would hold even my Wheatley 32 compartment fan boy fly box and 2 extra spools for my Hardy Featherweight reel. Fly boxes - streamer wallets anything you can imagine buddy I had 25 pockets!

I ended up retiring it after I had it worked on.



I had bought this gold inlayed etching in 1978 and the same woman who made the super cool embroidered shirts for John Denver transferred the image to my vest using thread.





I stopped using it when I managed to get a small tear on the back to the right of the image. If I ever move back to the lower 48 I'll use it again I think. That's the only one of those like that one in the whole world I'm pretty sure. I have a lot of old stuff that isn't worn out.

 

[sparsegraystubble]

Around that same 1980 time I moved back to trout country from Southern California and my first of many purchases was a Columbia vest with more pockets than i had ever seen on one garment before.

And I kept buying more items to fill those pockets. What was the purpose of the pockets being there if I didn’t use them, right?

That was when my back and shoulders were much younger than they are now. I have no idea where that vest ended up, but the bottom row of pockets are probably wet, at least they always were for me.

After that I got an Orvis shorty vest that had huge pockets for big fly boxes, but a lot fewer of them. As a kamikaze wader (in those days) even those bottom pockets seemed to always be wet.

Finally ended up with a succession of chest packs including my current Umpqua 500 Overlook. Now I am running a test between that chest pack and the Umpqua Swiftwater Tech Vest.

Who knows where that will end up. But other vests,such as the Orvis being discussed here or even sling packs could end up in the game.

In other words, I have the same affliction as our OP on this thread.

Maybe I should just hire a 14 year old to carry my stuff, sort of like a fishing gun bearer.

Don

 

[photoguy]

That's a nice looking vest Ard! Really like the embroidery! And it reminds me...I have a vest from the early 70's as well. Mine is a Kassnar brand. Made in Hong Kong and 60% Polyester, 40% Cotton. Strangely, despite hanging in a closet all these years, while the polyester part is probably unchanged, the cotton portion has shrunk significantly as I can no longer get it on. And the percentages seem just about right.

And sparsegraystubble, I hear you. Sometimes I feel like I'm carrying the entire fly shop on my shoulders. That's why I had an interest in the Orvis vest. As I've been thinking about it though, maybe I'll return the Orvis and simply try to discipline myself to carry less in the multi pocket vest I already own. Pursue a more Zen-like approach. That would likely feel good both physically and 'spiritually'...if that's the right word. And as I'm significantly less nimble in a fast moving river than I used to be, the lighter weight would probably be beneficial.

 

[Ard]

Mine was so heavy that it made my shoulders sore at age 26. If I use it in the future it will have very few things on board and it too seems to have shrunk a little or is that me getting larger...………...

 

[photoguy]

No, they definitely shrink Ard.

 

[iv_wjb]

Since this is about vests, have I ever told you about my 1980 Stream Designs vest?

Yeah baby, the year was 1979 and I had spent the entire 12 months coveting the Stream Designs vest. The ultimate fly fishing vest, 25 pockets man, 25 of them! SO over the winter I ordered one and spring of 1980 saw me hanging around stream access areas just to watch people stare and drool at my vest.



Yep I still have it

When I say I used to carry too much stuff I don't exaggerate at all. That thing would hold even my Wheatley 32 compartment fan boy fly box and 2 extra spools for my Hardy Featherweight reel. Fly boxes - streamer wallets anything you can imagine buddy I had 25 pockets!

I ended up retiring it after I had it worked on.



I had bought this gold inlayed etching in 1978 and the same woman who made the super cool embroidered shirts for John Denver transferred the image to my vest using thread.





I stopped using it when I managed to get a small tear on the back to the right of the image. If I ever move back to the lower 48 I'll use it again I think. That's the only one of those like that one in the whole world I'm pretty sure. I have a lot of old stuff that isn't worn out.

That’s an awesome vest Ard.. What a treasure!!

I just pressed the buy button on the Ultralight vest... I’m looking forward to trying it out this upcoming Season!

 

[tcorfey]

Well, I've been eying it all week, wondering if it'll stay or go. The one thing that I really like are the vertical zippers as I find them much easier to open and close with one hand when wearing it. I'm still not entirely convinced though that the zippers alone will make this a keeper. Sitting right next to it is my older Reddington vest. It has more storage and a few other things that the Orvis doesn't and it was 1/3 the price. I've been loading them both up and wearing them to see if the Orvis is worth the premium and so far only the zippers stand out.

Photoguy, so did you end up keeping the vest? Has it worked out for you?

 

[iv_wjb]

Photoguy, so did you end up keeping the vest? Has it worked out for you?

I, too, am curious...

 

[photoguy]

I, too, am curious...

I should have reported back, sorry.

Well...in the end, I returned it, but not after packing it and walking around the house for a week (my wife is convinced that I'm nuts). It is a very nice well thought out vest and ticked off 85% of everything that I wanted. I ended up literally doing a side by side comparison with my chest pack- It's a double design as opposed to a single pouch, and the 2 pouches aren't all that big but big enough to carry the ton of stuff that I carry. When I loaded up the Ultralight with all of my stuffI carry in my chest pack, it wasn't so ultra light anymore. I often fish with my son and carry the days needs for the two of us. If I could pare down my load it would have been ideal.

 

[iv_wjb]

Sorry to hear it wasn’t satisfactory for you and your needs but, I appreciate your review- thanks!!

I ordered the vest today (it’s on backorder for international shipping) so, I’ll have to report my findings in due course... I’m looking for something really minimalist to wear in the boat that gives me some quick access to frequently used items, rather than digging-through the boat bag and through all the other junk. I’m hoping it’ll do the trick!

Thanks, again ??

 

[Punter]

Orvis Ultra Light Vest.
I had it delivered, but it wasn't right for me, so I returned it.
I wanted a vest that had storage that didn't stick out, and impede me when using a double hander.
So I ended up buying the Guideline Expedition which seems to suit me better as it is adjustable.
John

 

[iv_wjb]

Orvis Ultra Light Vest.
I had it delivered, but it wasn't right for me, so I returned it.
I wanted a vest that had storage that didn't stick out, and impede me when using a double hander.
So I ended up buying the Guideline Expedition which seems to suit me better as it is adjustable.
John

Very interesting product lineup from Guideline... I’d never heard of them. Thanks!