Upland Vest

[tgus59]

I'm looking for an upland vest with enough room for the basics, a large water bottle, and a pouch I can load several pheasants in without taking the vest off. Any recommendations?

 

[BrotherBrown]

I like my Browning Bird-N-Lite strap vest. It is easy to load and has pouches for two water bottles. It also carries the weight on your hips which helps on long days afield. I also have had good luck with the LLBean vests if you like a traditional vest. These are front loaders which is super nice for loading birds, but they don’t have dedicated water bottle pouches. I just carry them in the side of the back pouch and they ride nice.

 

[Walking Birds]

I got a Cabela's vest last year that I really like

https://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-UPLAND-PRO-STRAP-VEST/2525719.uts?slotId=2

A lot of the local QF folks here in AZ like the Q5 vests as well, but they're kinda spendy

https://q5outdoorproducts.com/

 

[Dos Perros]

The WingWorks is the creme de la creme of western bird vests as far as I'm concerned. The Quillomene is nice as well.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I think a bit depends on where you hunt and how.

I hunt a bit back east and western Kansas once a year, never more than a mile or two from the truck, temps can be high 70s to freezing. I have tried a few over the years. Traditional vests. Bird n lite. Q5. Filson. Orvis.

I find strap vest work best in a wider range of temps. Traditional vests were too hot in tee shirt weather and didn’t allow for layering underneath very well. The technical and modular vest from bird n lite and Q5 are worth looking at. I gave my bird n lite to my brother. I have a Q5 - probably top of the heap and a price to match - but don’t use it much. If I was running dogs or needed more gear due to distance from vehicle I would use it.

I keep coming back to my Orvis vest. Had it for over 10 years. Simple. Adjustable. Breathable. Holds a couple of boxes of shells. A couple of bottles of water and the other essentials. Can even hold a water bladder if you are in to that sort of thing. It has picked up a bit of character over the years but is still going strong. I expect my walking legs will wear out before this vest does.

https://www.orvis.com/p/waxed-cotton-strap-vest/6y15

 

[BadDogPSD]

I just received my WingWorks vest and am very impressed with the quality. It's comfortable and has good adjustability. The hip belt takes the weight off my shoulders too. I think it's going to work very well for me.

 

[beerbucksducks]

I’ve had the LL Bean Technical Upland vest for a year now and am really liking it.


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[twall13]

I upgraded to a Wingworks vest last year from a cabelas vest that was falling apart. I put it through the ringer last season and came away very impressed. It transfers the weight to your hips well when loaded with shells and birds. It's durable and I like the layout and modularity. It's probably overkill for most guys and it's spendy but as far as I'm concerned it's the last upland vest I'll ever buy.

My brother has a tenzing and while he likes the layout he says it's pretty uncomfortable when loaded with any weight.

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[Salmonchaser]

Wing works or Quillomene.

 

[Tower]

Filson Tin Game Bag, will last a couple generations. They also have other strap vests with more pockets, called Pro Guide I think.

 

[Salmonchaser]

A lot depends on where and how you hunt. Kansas or South Dakota Prairie are one thing, Hell’s Canyon is quite another. I prefer the Quilomene because I can carry up to a gallon of water, two boxes of shells, first aid for me and the dogs and a couple of chukar. The wife uses the wing works, fits her better and she doesn’t carry as much gear.
Both fit and wear like good assault packs helping with moving through rough country.
My Quilomene is probably 20 years old I have had it into a saddle shop for a few repairs but still think it’s a pretty good deal.

 

[Salmonchaser]

In answer to the OP question; I can stuff eight roosters in the game bag W/O taking it off.

 

[Justinbear]

Spin off question, with these vests are people running water bladders or bottles?

 

[twall13]

I've always run bottles personally. Makes it easier to give my dog some water when needed. While I'm sure I could rig something up in the game bag, none of my vests have ever had a specific place to run a bladder anyway. Even if they did I'd probably still just run bottles.

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[Salmonchaser]

I run bladders, easy to squirt water into the dogs. Wife has h2o bottles on the belt.i

 

[NEhunter]

The WingWorks is the creme de la creme of western bird vests as far as I'm concerned. The Quillomene is nice as well.

This.... Wing Works vests are fantastic, best best I’ve ran hands down.


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[Grousehunterdan]

One more for the WingWorks vest I think I’m going on nine years and still holding up

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[cubdriver84d]

Wingworks for me too. I run a water bladder for me and two bottles for the dog.

 

[Trial153]

I use a filson strap vest when we hare hunt. I can keep my garmin in it for My hounds and it has enough pockets for shells and gloves... I like that I can layer under it for any weather and ots fairly minimal I design

 

[twoadaydanny]

I've got a Filson and a Wingworks. They're kind of apples and oranges. The Filson is my favorite for that style of vest. It's better made and more durable than what I would consider to be its competitors. If you want something more minimalist, it's great. But I don't think I've worn it in the field a single time since I picked up a Wingworks. The Wingworks is head and shoulders above anything else I've seen.