Next up on our list of favorites: The Fishpond Stormshadow Vest.
I feel like I’ve been on a never-ending quest for the best way to carry my gear on the water. I don’t usually carry much; I don’t need anything big. But I’m picky, and I’ve tried pretty much everything. Hip packs, sling packs, chest packs, backpacks, vests… They all have their pros and cons but the one thing I’ve found pretty consistent is that I don’t like swinging a bag around from behind to access my stuff. I like it right there on my chest, ready to use. So even though they haven’t been “in style” for a while, I’ve always preferred a vest. Thus, I was pretty excited to see Fishpond release a new-school vest/chest pack with a tactical vest style.
It ain’t cheap, but everything I’ve used from Fishpond has been super functional and very durable. I’m a huge fan of the brand. The Stormshadow vest is no different. I’ve been running it through the wringer for months now, and it still looks basically brand new.
The Stormshadow vest is a minimalist carry option. I carry one big fly box and a mini nymph box in the big pocket. I keep my phone in the waterproof chest pocket. (These giant zip-lock style waterproof zippers are awesome and have worked just fine so far.) On the inside of the front panel, there’s a zippered pocket that is slim but happily holds things like a leader wallet, tippet rings, license, etc. On the front side, there are plenty of places to hang tools or attach zingers. There are perfect spots for hemostats, nippers, floatant, a hook sharpener, a full tippet holder, and of course my Rod Roost and Fly Roost. There’s a stretch pocket next to the big main pocket that can hold other oddly shaped items like a indicators, a small box of flies, thermometer, etc.
On the backside, you have the option to hang a small net from a d-ring or a larger long-handled net in the net sleeve. We’ve been consistently using our vests with the Fishpond Guide net and even though it’s a little overkill for a lot of of Northern Utah fish, carrying the net this way is by far the best option I’ve ever tried, and the extra reach of the longer net comes in very handy. I also have a Fishpond Native net, which is much smaller and shorter and I find myself using it less and less in favor of the bigger Guide net.
There are a couple of minor downsides to the vest. Probably the biggest is that if you put too much stuff in the front panel and don’t have enough weight on the back, the whole vest can tend to want to sag downward on the front side. It’s easy enough to avoid: Just don’t get too crazy adding stuff to the front pockets, and keep a net in the slot on the backside to counter-balance the front. To be clear I really have to pack the front full of stuff to have it start to sag downward.
Second negative, the front and back panel can be a little uncomfortable if the weather is really hot. I fished with this all summer and only got hot and sweaty under it during the hottest weather, but it’s not as comfortable in the heat as a hip pack or a traditional vest.
This is a minor quibble but it’s clearly made for right handed people. I’m a lefty, and in a perfect world the big main pocket would be on the right side instead of the left. But it’s not a big deal.
Lastly if you need to carry a bunch of stuff, this is not going to do it for you, except for one cool option: It comes with adapters to connect the front panel to any of Fishponds backpacks. It’s a slick option if you want the chest pack and an option to carry a bunch of stuff on your back. Otherwise, your only option is to add a hip bag. I haven’t tried that, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
I highly recommend the Fishpond Stormshadow. Especially If you like to have your tools and flies easily accessible, want a little waterproof protection for some items, and want to carry a net on your back. It’s easily my favorite piece of equipment I’ve ever used for carrying my gear and don’t have plans to use anything else anytime soon.