The game bag was built into the body of the garment instead of the more practical outside game bag and birds would cook with their own body heat from lack of air flow as they pressed against my sweaty back. It had many other pockets as well: a couple in the back, some inside, but none were useful or fulfilled any need in their placement. They advertised this vest as being able to last over 100 years and its most innovated feature was a pocket that wouldn’t squish your sandwich. I chose a waxed canvas version from a well-known company. I fell for that aspect of vest ownership when I first started upland bird hunting over 25 years ago.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the more pockets you had the more you looked like you knew what you were doing. Of course vests have evolved a great deal since their original employment. Ever since Lee Wulff cut the sleeves off a safari jacket to create the first fly-fishing vest, we’ve been hooked. This last one clutch piece of gear is as much a statement piece as it is functional.Ī vest says that you are purposeful and ready for anything, each one of your pockets bulging with the accoutrements to take on any possibility an adventure may throw at you. The ubiquitous fly-fishing vest, tactical vest, camera gear vest, turkey vest, shooting vest, falconry vest, technician’s vest, and of course the upland bird hunting vest. It seems the only thing we American sportsmen and sportswomen love more than a good starter kit is a vest.

Pyke Gear, Hunt Redi, and Final Rise: the age of Modular System Upland Vests is Upon us in an Exciting Age of Upland Revival.

Squish knife set