For years I never used a vest. The reason was for the same reason stated in the article. They were just too heavy and I found they got in the way when I was fishing. I also lost a lot of stuff out of them.

I just used a small pouch that held two or three small fly boxes and a few other essentials and I used a lanyard.


I ended up buying a vest last summer...the Filson Strap Vest. I'm not sure what the major driving force was that got me to put the bucks down for it. I always liked it's classic look but I think the reason I felt I had to have it was because I was needing a way to carry a rainjacket, food and drink with me on full day outings. I really didn't want to use my regular day pack for that. This vest has a nice little pouch in the back that would hold all that.

This year the vest started out HEAVY ... but now I have that tamed down again. What is with the idea that we have to fill every pocket? I had the thing stuffed at first. Now I go through the vest every couple of weeks, sometimes every couple of days, to decide what is now what is now obsolete. There's no point in carrying several boxes of flies I won't use and other items I won't be using on a particular outing. Most of my tools are still on my lanyard. On some nice days or a short outings I don't even need the vest. Once I've fished an area I can get it down to one box and my lanyard.
My wading staff is attached to my belt.