Final Rise - New era of upland vests

[Brock A]

Back in 2020, I was in the market for a new upland vest. I saw an Instagram post for a new company. Final Rise. After some quick research, I immediately put my pre order in. I received my vest in June (disclosure, I paid full price) and hit the field with it in early October. I primarily hunt pheasant and quail, slogging miles through cattails and Russian olives. The durability is second to none. I average about 25 – 30 days a season chasing birds and there isn’t a thread out of place.



The layout of the vest is well thought out, clips where needed, pockets in places that pockets should be. The bird pouch is a perfect size for 3 roosters with room for a bonus mallard or two. The harness has miles of adjustability to fit a wide range of torsos and the waist belt resembles that of some big game packs, meaning the ability to adjust the weight from your shoulders to your hips is there. The dual water bottle pockets are conveniently located so you can grab with one hand and the shoulder straps are nice and thin, so your shooting isn’t interfered with.



I have worn this vest for hundreds of miles from the Chukar hills in Eastern Washington to the sunflower fields of South Dakota and it hasn’t missed a beat. Final Rise has since come out with improved versions of the original design along with all sorts of accessories. I will be using the Summit XT for this upcoming bird season. Keep tabs here for my thoughts on the new vest as well as a full Rokslide review once my GSP’s bring me back some birds to fill it up!

 

[roosterdown]

I'm a fan, though more minimalist in style, so bought Matt's smaller Sidekick vest. I have modded it pretty significantly and have it set up exactly the way I like for the way I hunt in the Dakotas.

Although smaller than the other models, I had four roosters in it multiple times - and also very much appreciate that weight being on my hips, not my shoulders.

Great quality.

Looks like he has some Field Pants coming out - interested to see how they fit into the scene.

 

[Brock A]

I'm a fan, though more minimalist in style, so bought Matt's smaller Sidekick vest. I have modded it pretty significantly and have it set up exactly the way I like for the way I hunt in the Dakotas.

Although smaller than the other models, I had four roosters in it multiple times - and also very much appreciate that weight being on my hips, not my shoulders.

Great quality.

Looks like he has some Field Pants coming out - interested to see how they fit into the scene.

I have been throwing around the idea of the Sidekick as I am training a new pup currently. Could be nice for that! I will be interested in the pants as well.

 

[robby denning]

Looks good Brock. I used to love to hunt pheasants before life got too crazy to fit it all in. I was a terrible shot but when I connected, did the war dance everytime.

And a pheasent aged a week (guts in) in the fridge is some fine fine eating. My fav game bird meat

 

[roosterdown]

Looks good Brock. I used to love to hunt pheasants before life got too crazy to fit it all in. I was a terrible shot but when I connected, did the war dance everytime.

And a pheasent aged a week (guts in) in the fridge is some fine fine eating. My fav game bird meat

100% agree - I age all my birds 5-8 days (gotta be cool, obviously) before processing. Not only more tender/better eating but easier/cleaner to process.

 

[KurtR]

I have cleaned literally thousands of pheasants guiding and i cant image how bad the guts smell after sitting for 5 days. We had some people who came from europe who would hang them but they cleaned their own birds.

 

[roosterdown]

I have cleaned literally thousands of pheasants guiding and i cant image how bad the guts smell after sitting for 5 days. We had some people who came from europe who would hang them but they cleaned their own birds.

You've dealt with way more birds than me. However if you've not tried aging, I would encourage you to give it a go.

As long as they get cooled within the first handful of hours and then stay between freezing and the low 40's odor is not an issue. Additionally the enzymes have had time to work and they are easier to skin, wings & tail twist off easier; also the innards tend to come out as more of a clump compared to fresh. (Gut shot birds do of course smell more, regardless of when they are cleaned.)

Your final product is better table fare.

 

[30338]

I have and appreciate my Final Rise vest. Another worthy vest made in USA is the Hunt Redi vests. I think either of these would be exceptional. Need to get more miles on my Final Rise this fall. Darn sheep tag distracted me last year.

 

[Brock A]

The goods have arrived! I received the XT system as well as the sidekick. I switched the harness over to the sidekick, as I am training a new GSP and the Sidekick seems perfect for the couple tools needed. That was smooth, reminds me of swapping a bag on a Exo or Kifaru.



I got an afternoon of work in with the Sidekick. Put the dummy, bumper, water bottles and birds (training quail) in it upon retrieval. Loving this setup. Stay tuned for input once I get more time in with both vests. Going to do some comparing soon with the new XT vs the original vest.

 

[Macintosh]

These look really similar to the wingworks vests Im more familiar with. Are they significantly different? (Aside from being produced in higher numbers)

 

[Wheels]

These look really similar to the wingworks vests Im more familiar with. Are they significantly different? (Aside from being produced in higher numbers)

I also have a Wingworks vest, I think FInal Rise came onto the scene when Wingworks really cut back on production due to family medical issues. Looks like he pretty much copied Wingworks design.

 

[Brock A]

These look really similar to the wingworks vests Im more familiar with. Are they significantly different? (Aside from being produced in higher numbers)

I do not have any experience with Wingworks so I cannot comment on any significant differences. I will check them out though.

 

[Macintosh]

Would be interesting to compare. Ww has always been made in limited qty’s so harder to get, but they really pioneered and have been making this design for 20ish years thats now been adopted by most of the new high-end strap vests on the market, so to me they are the standard that all strap vests should be compared to. If the final rise is very similar, as it looks, it might be ho-hum from an innovation standpoint, but simply being available much of the time would be a welcome change for many people. Im sure the differences are more nuanced so would be interested if anyone has experience with both.

 

[JD Jones]

I can’t claim I have years of experience on both but I have worn both in the field on the hunt. I hunt with a lot of folk who have had both and some have switched from wing works to final rise. Others are planning on it if the WW ever dies. There is not a huge difference but there are subtle ones. Don’t disagree that WW paved the way but from wearing both albeit not as much on a WW, the final rise gets my vote as well. It seems to fit and adjust better for me. I do also have to be honest .. WW and their lack of inventory at times (all the time?) concerns me. Exclusivity I think helped propel them and I think Final Rise has made a great product to compete

 

[Brock A]

Side note, Final Rise is running a sale this weekend... FR23

 

[sconnieVLP]

The shell/side pouches seem to hang really low, are those annoying at all? Did the XT come with Velcro shell loops to add to the loop panel inside the pouch?

 

[frans]

Side note, Final Rise is running a sale this weekend... FR23

Took advantage of this to order me a Summit XT.

 

[bearrock10]

Just got mine and love it so far!

 

[robby denning]

I have cleaned literally thousands of pheasants guiding and i cant image how bad the guts smell after sitting for 5 days. We had some people who came from europe who would hang them but they cleaned their own birds.

notice I said we age them in the fridge. They actually stink less because they’re not warm.

And yip, learned the technique from a guy that lived in England

 

[adieatrick]

Love my Hunt Redi.