Anyone use a fanny/lumbar pack instead of vest?

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ksherbine

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I'm looking for a new vest/pack and saw the lumbar pack from TFO. It has a neck strap for deep water wading.

Has anyone had any experience for one of those vs. a vest or sling/chest pack?

This is for my son who's just getting into fly fishing and has a pretty minimalist approach to it.

Thanks!
Kirk
 
I'm most comfortable with a fanny pack. I use the William Joseph Surge pack. It has magnetic closures on all the pockets and openings. There are no zippers. This was a huge bonus for me because I used to leave my zippered pockets open and lose things. These pockets will close themselves if you forget. There is an optional neck strap which I use all the time. The pack can be worn to the front back or sides. I find the pack most comfortable worn to the left side. It even makes a nice elbow rest when you are stripping line. I highly recommend it. which ever pack you go with, definitely get a pack with a shoulder strap.
 
I use a fanny pack for my smallmouth stream fishing, where I have just a box of poppers and streamers, a pair of clippers, and a spool of tippet. Also use one for my shad fishing where I use a simple selection of flies. When I carry very little a fanny pack works for me.

However, my trout fishing is pretty much with a vest, where I have a larger variety of tackle (5 tippet spools, floatant, dessicant, weights, floats, drying box, etc) at the ready at all times and just put in different fly boxes for each trip.
 
and has a pretty minimalist approach to it. 

I too tend to "go light".

However, I still use a vest.

A ventilated mesh shorty with nothing hanging on it works great for me.

Most days it's a flybox in the left lower pocket, a spool of tippet (and maybe an extra leader or two) along with a few strike indicators in the lower right pocket, a set of forceps and nippers top right, and into the stream I go.

Everything is easily accessible, separated, and balanced. I don't even notice that I'm wearing it since it fits closely and it is borne by my shoulders, not a single strap holding something leveraged out away from my body that I always noticed with any pack I tried.

I grew up fishing with a vest, and have just never changed.

Just because you fish with a vest doesn't mean you have to be a loaded down gear freak.
 
I use a Simms Headwaters waist pack. I ditched my vest about six years ago. If I store my tippets spools in the flip out pocket in waders, I can store up to five of the full size C&F style boxes plus two of the small C&F boxes. I have recently switched to some of the slimmer fly boxes as well. I keep all of my terminal tackle: shot, forceps, indicators, and floatant in the flip out pocket. I rarely feel like I have left something behind.

Agree about the shoulder strap...make sure it has one.

I switched because with a vest I realized I was carrying way too much stuff.
 
ksherbine wrote:
I'm looking for a new vest/pack and saw the lumbar pack from TFO. It has a neck strap for deep water wading.

Has anyone had any experience for one of those vs. a vest or sling/chest pack?

This is for my son who's just getting into fly fishing and has a pretty minimalist approach to it.

Thanks!
Kirk
I haven't worn a vest in 1000 years. If your son already has a minimalist approach, half the battle is over.

For trout fishing I have homemade waist belt with removable pouches and flies in a chest box. Other setups include a a chest pack for warmwater and a shoulder bag for brookie fishing.

Regardless of the route you choose keep this in mind, when I am fishing with the waist belt and pouches and need to wade deep, I just slide the belt up to my chest area. If it gets extreme, I sling the belt over my shoulder.

Maybe not as fancy as a shoulder strap but if you find the features you/he like in a fanny or lumbar pack without a shoulder strap, you can try my solution.

 
I tossed the vest a couple years ago and replaced it with the Fishpond Waterdance lumbar pack. It holds everything one needs for a day on the trout stream. Easy access and it is out of the way. It too has a shoulder strap.
 
I went from a vest to a backpack. The vest always weighed me down and I always got to hot from wearing it all day in the sun. So I always ended up having to carry the vest around. Now the backpack I wear or just throw it up on shore. It’s a sling backpack.
 
https://vedavoo.com/product/tightlines-sling/

Not sure what your budget is but the tight lines pack is great for a minimalist. Big enough to carry everything you need to fish but not big enough to carry everything you want (and is probably unnecessary) to fish. The only thing I wish it had was a place to pack a water bottle. Which the seam sling from vedavoo does have. But the seam is also a bit larger which means that you’d be compelled to pack more stuff in it. Regardless I like the tight lines sling pack very much. Lots of good options out there though so be thorough and look into a bunch of them.
 
Ditched the vest many many years ago. I use a cabelas lumber/sling pack for when I want more then an altoid tin can carry. I like it because it carries two bottle of water. I use it as a lumber pack only and it doubles as my wader belt. When I'm traversing deeper water I just hike it up to my chest but it's a rare occasion where I go that deep.

I also hang a lanyard between my wader straps where my nippers, tippet, forceps, floatant and a drying cork hang. Never was into carrying lots of crap.

 
My son and I use this sling pack. We really like it because it is a horizontal pack. Wade in deep water and adjust the sling. Minimal investment for a beginner.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-SLING-PACK/2459264.uts?slotId=0
 
I have an Umpqua LEDGES 650 ZS WAIST PACK that I may consider selling if someone would be interested. It definitely holds a lot of gear for a waste pack.
 
Pretty soon we will all be debating what type of Fly Fisher Person you are if you wear a vest vs a fanny pack :) LOL!
 
Went away from a vest a few years ago. Went through a few sling and fanny packs and settled in on the Fishpond Summit sling pack. It distributes the weight in the pack evenly and fits just right.

Ron
 
I have tried every pack possible and always seem to come back to the vest as my best approach. I do tend to change techniques often during the day, nymphs, indicator nymphs, dries, streamers and find I want most of the other stuff as well (floatant, desiccant, tippet, nippers.)

But the biggest thing for me is I use a net and there is no place on a pack to carry a decent net, whereas I can put it on a clip on the back of my vest.
 
Zanotti wrote:
I have tried every pack possible and always seem to come back to the vest as my best approach. I do tend to change techniques often during the day, nymphs, indicator nymphs, dries, streamers and find I want most of the other stuff as well (floatant, desiccant, tippet, nippers.)

But the biggest thing for me is I use a net and there is no place on a pack to carry a decent net, whereas I can put it on a clip on the back of my vest.

I'm the same way as you...I can't get away from a vest. I am trying to find a way to downsize for when its raining though. I haven't quite figured that out yet!
 
Fanny packs are great in the rain. I wear my jacket over the pack and it's not hard to access as long as your rain jacket isn't too tight.
 
have both a fishpond and a sims fanny. I like them only problem I had was the net. But, a modification to the handle made carrying a net with the fanny work and work well. You can tuck it between the belt and your self or make a bent clip to stash it over your belt.
 
Why not attach the net to the Wader suspenders. Most waders have a loop or d ring just for that. If not, it is easy to rig a d ring to the suspenders in order to hang the net. Yes I know some do not always wear chest waders.
 
weight of net vs stretch of suspenders. the weight usually wins.
 
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