It used to be that every fly fisher had to have a vest. There were reasons for that. Back in the day, most people walked or waded the rivers and streams so you had to have the needed or possibly needed equipment with you. The last thing you want to do is hike back two miles just to get some very important piece of gear/equipment that you forgot.

That still holds true today, if you are going to be walking/wade a river and travel a good distance from your rig. Buy a vest if that is how you are going to fish. Some vests are made partly out of a mesh material to allow for better cooling. The downside is that by the end of the day your shoulders and back will ache a lot, just because you have a vest that has all these nifty pockets and you have to fill them will stuff. Even with a vest, a lanyard is great for holding the tools you are going to definitely need--- hemostats, clippers, nail knot tool, Orvis or Cabela?s Cinch knot tool, floatant, one container of tippet, fishing license, digital camera, etc.

If you are going to fish near your rig and maybe you are on a river that won?t allow you to travel the bank much, then you will be going back to your truck to move to another location. A chest pack would work very nicely and also wear the lanyard.

Now days, the chest packs rival the vest in size and ability to carry items, so buy wisely.

If you are going to be fishing out of a boat most of the time then the lanyard is the only thing you need to wear and buy a gear bag or water tight bag for the rest of your stuff. Your back will thank you at days end.

I use a Mayfly Pouch/Lanyard. The small pouch carries what I need when I am fishing out of a drift boat or my pontoon boat and the rest of my stuff is in the gear bag.

Decide what type of fishing you are going to do and buy accordingly. In the long run you will end up with a vest, a lanyard and a chest pack, it is the nature of the game.

Larry