Simms Headwater Waist/Chest Pack
- This topic has 19 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated Jan 29, 2009 at 7:11 pm by
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A discussion in a local forum, as well as an upcoming cold weather trip have me strongly pushing towards a waist pack. I am also working on minimizing the gear I step into the water with. I want a couple of C&F fly boxes (nymph and streamer), nippers, hemo’s, tippett, and leaders, indicators. That’s it. I am going through a few plusses to a waist pack tring to justify the purchase. Help me convince my wife. Cabela’s has this pack in the $60 range and I have some gift cards to burn.
Pros
- Simms makes quality gear
- Easier to layer clothes in the winter without a bulky vest
- Cold weather means less deep wading so not concerned about dunking the pack
- Wearable in the summer when it is hot and the heavy vest is too bulky
- lumbar support – I was looking for a back supporting wading belt anyway
Cons
- It is almost a fanny pack, and i typically fish near Branson, MO……I don’t want to be a redneck. At least it isn’t teal.
- Lack of storage compared to my W&J Fusion Vest
- With no vest, where do i wear my net?
- Weight, is this thing going to be bulky?
Thanks in advance.
-Jerod*edited for clarity
i’m in the market for a new chest pack, something to carry a bit more.
do y’all think the fly shops in colorado will be having some deals this time of year since its winter?looking at w.joseph vs. fishpond.
the simms one above looks a bit bulky but the hip straps are wide enough to displace the weight.
With no vest, where do i wear my net?
Try sticking your net, handle down, into the belt of the waistpack on your back.
Ive used Sages fanny pack for two seasons. Really like it.
Plenty of storage including two web pockets for water bottles. What I like about the most is.
a) lumbar support
b) can swing it to either hip to take the weight load your lower back, or if either hip need a break after a few hours, swing it to other side.With the easily adjustable belt you can wear as much or as little by way of clothing as the season dictates. One size fits all seasons and on those hot summer days, you don’t have a vest or chest pack adding to the sweat. The weight and material is down on your hip.
A waist pack makes you a redneck??? That’s new to me.
I thought a “fanny pack” makes you a granny or an 80s throwback.
hey, I wear one!
It seems that in every group that visits Silver Dollar City there is at least one teal fanny pack.
Personally, a waistpack (my preferred name – don’t try “fanny pack” on our Aussie friends) carries connotations of flats fishing and minimalism to me.
Personally, a waistpack (my preferred name – don’t try “fanny pack” on our Aussie friends)
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
If you want simple and minimalist, look at Patagonia’s rendition. None of the bells and whistles, but enough space to get the job done.
This Flytedeck caught my eye a few months ago but it might be pushing the minimal envelope for me. This picture is courtesy of their website.
I’ve worn a vest, chest pack and waist pack, and I’ll probably never go back to wearing anything but a waist pack. Vest was always too much (too hot, in the way, heavy), chest pack was somewhat uncomfortable because something was always hanging down.
Waist pack is a good way to carry all you need (including lunch/water), and it’s out of the way. Unless something changes, I’ll never use anything else.
By the way, I use a William Joseph pack and I’ve got no complaints with it.
Personally, a waistpack (my preferred name – don’t try “fanny pack” on our Aussie friends) …
Or us South Africans… but it is getting better understood, what with you Yanks invading all our TV space… Like we could ever make a decent Movie or Series… we only have good / hot actresses… LOL
I love my waist pack, but can’t seem to find a compromise between a back pack, Patagonia, and a waist pack…
In the mountains, I have to carry a back pack, with fleece, rain jacket, beanie, first aid kit, snake bite kit, re-hydration kit, food, etc…
My nearest fishable stream is an hour and a half away, but it gets hot, so a pack is again the best, even though you are close to the car, you can’t drink the water in the stream, so I drop a hydration pack in the back pack, I will kill ½ a gallon in the morning and another in the afternoon. When its cooler, or overcast, I fish it with a waist pack.But waist packs have their own issues, where do you put the DSLR, Lens’s and other stuff, I now have more gadgets and gismos with me on the river than ever before. I have minimized my fishing stuff, but seem to be expanding in the other areas… I can’t drop the DSLR onto my chest, if I can’t see my feet, I fall over…
The 2009 fly fishing catalogs are starting to show up and it looks like the new gear colors are shades of gray, dark reds, and dark oranges.
I have William Joseph that’s a few years old now, but it converts between waist pack (for shore or shallow wading) to a chest pack (for deeper wading or surf fishing). As a bonus, the belt is very supportive of my baddish back, so it’s my wading belt when not carrying the pack. The icing, on a trip to Mexico a couple years ago, the water bottle holder was perfect for Pacifico cans while in the surf.
My main issue with waist packs is, um, my waist. I have to hoist it back up more than I’d like.
WJ’s new magnetic chest & wait packs are intriguing. Salt water ruins zippers.
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