ndhgm
New member
Just went through my first season with my Tenzing TZ BV13 Bird Vest from the Pheasants Forever store and I thought that I would throw up a review on it since there didn?t seem to be much out there on it. Hope people find it useful.
First a little bit about what I was looking for in a vest. I had been looking for a new pheasant vest for a while now. For many years I used the same standard Redhead vest, but I wanted to upgrade for several reasons. One being that new stuff is cool and neat, who doesn?t like new stuff. But the main reason was for comfort. Years of rugby, military deployments, and general physical stupidity have taken their toll on my shoulders, neck and back. I found that with a standard vest the weight tended to pull it forward against my the back of my neck. This was especially true in morning with the front pockets loaded with shells, and even coming back in with a couple birds (they always seemed to drift to the front of the game pouch as I walked). Because of this I set my sights on a strap style vest, rather than another traditional style vest so that the weight would be more evenly distributed across my shoulders similar to the way military load bearing equipment works. I looked at several different variations and tried out a few that I could find either in stores or with hunting buddies (Wing Works, Bird ?n Lite, LL Bean, etc.), but ended up landing on the Tenzing.
Price ? $215. I know, I know? it?s a lot to pay for a vest (cue some old-timer mentioning that he paid less for his shotgun, dog, and probably wife), but the price was offset considerably for me by an old un-used Pheasants Forever gift card that my dad allowed me to liberate from his clutches. That being said, after hunting with the vest for a season I would be willing to pay full price for it.
Key features that I liked:
Weight distribution ? It is perfect. Whether loaded up with birds at the end of the day or shells in the morning it sits evenly on the shoulders. It also places some of the load on the hips with the waist strap which makes it easier on the back. I thought that this might become annoying when going through heavier brush and up creek beds, but it was not an issue at all.
Pockets ? There is one for everything. I tend to dress in layers and adjust as the temperature calls for so the large pocket on the pack was very handy for bulkier clothing. It isn?t so big though that you feel like you have a backpack on. There was even room in the back pocket for a field stripped MRE for lunch. The front pockets have two compartments, one which is open with shell loops and another in front of that with a Velcro flap. One of the things I had heard from others was that the shell loops were unusable, but I had no issues with them. The loops on the outside were a little difficult to get shells into the first time out, but there was never any problem getting the shells out with gloves on and they loosened up with use. On one preserve hunt where I typically go through a box and a half of shells due to the high number of birds I loaded the shell loops and had loose shells in the bottom of the open pockets. Nothing fell out and the pockets were snug enough so that it didn?t feel like there were shells rattling around in my vest pockets. The elastic mesh pockets in the front where perfectly sized for my dog collar remote and I was able to position it so that I could reach down and push the buttons through the mesh without pulling out the remote each time, this was really handy. These mesh pockets also worked well for storing light weight gloves. The game pouch also unzips in the front on both sides which made loading birds in very easy even as it filled up. Finally there is a bungee/suspension section on the back of the vest that is great for a bulkier coat or rain jacket.
Hydration system ? I am a naturally sweaty dude (the Irish are not a tropical people) and I look for a hydration system on most vests, backpacks, etc. that I buy because I like to have water throughout the day. The vest doesn?t come with a bladder, so I used a spare Camelbak bladder that I had laying around. There is a compartment in the back section of the vest with opening for the hose to go through and two clips to hold it in place on the straps. I added an additional bungee clip to secure the very end of the hose also, but it would fine without it. One thing that I really liked was the fact that the bladder pouch is lined so that the condensation from the bladder doesn?t leak through the back of the vest and soak through your shirt. People that use Camelbaks regularly know how annoying this can be and I was glad that it wasn?t an issue. Also, giving water to a dog with a Camelbak is kind of a pain in the ass, they just aren?t designed for it. It can be done, but it takes a minute and you usually have to take off whatever the Camelbak is in. It isn?t a problem with the vest, it?s a reality with bladder systems.
Material quality and fit ? The vest is very well made and so far has proven to be extremely durable. The zippers are high quality and the elastic and stitching has had no issues thus far. I typically go through anything with nylon stitching and use a lighter to melt any loose threads so that they don?t pull out or become a problem, I did this with this vest and it has not any issues so far. The shell loops are elastic and the stitching on them has held great (the loops on my old vest lasted only 1 and a half seasons before they pulled all the way out). I have been through brambles, thorns, briars and thickets without any snags causing a rip or any damage to the vest. I got the PF version of the vest which has more blaze orange than the standard model which I like so that I don?t have to worry about each of my layers having some orange. The fit is very customizable and is easy to adjust. I have a large chest and large shoulders with an average to smaller sized waist and it fits me perfect. It is snug enough to not feel like it is flopping all over the place when you are walking, but was in no way restrictive when taking shots or moving through dense brush. I was also wondering how if the buttstock would catch on the shoulder straps when coming up for a shot, but it was never an issue.
Stuff I couldn?t care less about or didn?t like:
There is a stow-away blaze orange cover that can be hooked up to the back of the vest. I thought this was stupid considering there is plenty of orange on the PF version. I can see it being something for standard version that I guess might be useful, but I don?t know. Just seemed unnecessary, buy an orange sweatshirt.
Part of the vest is made of a fleece like fabric which, while it seems to be very durable, attracts a lot of burs. I would have liked to just have it be just like cotton or nylon or something that I wouldn?t have to pick burs out of after getting back from the field. True, there is always a few stow-aways that make it back to the truck, but there seem to be a lot more with this vest.
You can unzip the game pouch, supposedly to clean it. I have never once cleaned out the game pouch on my old vest, honestly didn?t even know that was something people did, weirdos. Anyway, it is handy for getting out the birds when you?re back at the truck.
The only straps that don?t have a bungee/elastic thingy to keep them out of the way are the waist band straps. This isn?t a huge issue because I was able to just tuck the excess strap into the waist band, but I with all the attention that went into the rest of this vest I don?t know why there wasn?t a bungee or elastic or Velcro or something on these.
Conclusion:
I really like this vest. I am planning on using it for all my small game hunting in the future. It is versatile and very high quality. There is very little that I would change on this vest, save the price, but you are getting something worth the money you are spending. I really liked how comfortable it was and the way the weight was distributed. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.
Link to the Vest on PF Store
Link to the version on Tenzing website
First a little bit about what I was looking for in a vest. I had been looking for a new pheasant vest for a while now. For many years I used the same standard Redhead vest, but I wanted to upgrade for several reasons. One being that new stuff is cool and neat, who doesn?t like new stuff. But the main reason was for comfort. Years of rugby, military deployments, and general physical stupidity have taken their toll on my shoulders, neck and back. I found that with a standard vest the weight tended to pull it forward against my the back of my neck. This was especially true in morning with the front pockets loaded with shells, and even coming back in with a couple birds (they always seemed to drift to the front of the game pouch as I walked). Because of this I set my sights on a strap style vest, rather than another traditional style vest so that the weight would be more evenly distributed across my shoulders similar to the way military load bearing equipment works. I looked at several different variations and tried out a few that I could find either in stores or with hunting buddies (Wing Works, Bird ?n Lite, LL Bean, etc.), but ended up landing on the Tenzing.
Price ? $215. I know, I know? it?s a lot to pay for a vest (cue some old-timer mentioning that he paid less for his shotgun, dog, and probably wife), but the price was offset considerably for me by an old un-used Pheasants Forever gift card that my dad allowed me to liberate from his clutches. That being said, after hunting with the vest for a season I would be willing to pay full price for it.
Key features that I liked:
Weight distribution ? It is perfect. Whether loaded up with birds at the end of the day or shells in the morning it sits evenly on the shoulders. It also places some of the load on the hips with the waist strap which makes it easier on the back. I thought that this might become annoying when going through heavier brush and up creek beds, but it was not an issue at all.
Pockets ? There is one for everything. I tend to dress in layers and adjust as the temperature calls for so the large pocket on the pack was very handy for bulkier clothing. It isn?t so big though that you feel like you have a backpack on. There was even room in the back pocket for a field stripped MRE for lunch. The front pockets have two compartments, one which is open with shell loops and another in front of that with a Velcro flap. One of the things I had heard from others was that the shell loops were unusable, but I had no issues with them. The loops on the outside were a little difficult to get shells into the first time out, but there was never any problem getting the shells out with gloves on and they loosened up with use. On one preserve hunt where I typically go through a box and a half of shells due to the high number of birds I loaded the shell loops and had loose shells in the bottom of the open pockets. Nothing fell out and the pockets were snug enough so that it didn?t feel like there were shells rattling around in my vest pockets. The elastic mesh pockets in the front where perfectly sized for my dog collar remote and I was able to position it so that I could reach down and push the buttons through the mesh without pulling out the remote each time, this was really handy. These mesh pockets also worked well for storing light weight gloves. The game pouch also unzips in the front on both sides which made loading birds in very easy even as it filled up. Finally there is a bungee/suspension section on the back of the vest that is great for a bulkier coat or rain jacket.
Hydration system ? I am a naturally sweaty dude (the Irish are not a tropical people) and I look for a hydration system on most vests, backpacks, etc. that I buy because I like to have water throughout the day. The vest doesn?t come with a bladder, so I used a spare Camelbak bladder that I had laying around. There is a compartment in the back section of the vest with opening for the hose to go through and two clips to hold it in place on the straps. I added an additional bungee clip to secure the very end of the hose also, but it would fine without it. One thing that I really liked was the fact that the bladder pouch is lined so that the condensation from the bladder doesn?t leak through the back of the vest and soak through your shirt. People that use Camelbaks regularly know how annoying this can be and I was glad that it wasn?t an issue. Also, giving water to a dog with a Camelbak is kind of a pain in the ass, they just aren?t designed for it. It can be done, but it takes a minute and you usually have to take off whatever the Camelbak is in. It isn?t a problem with the vest, it?s a reality with bladder systems.
Material quality and fit ? The vest is very well made and so far has proven to be extremely durable. The zippers are high quality and the elastic and stitching has had no issues thus far. I typically go through anything with nylon stitching and use a lighter to melt any loose threads so that they don?t pull out or become a problem, I did this with this vest and it has not any issues so far. The shell loops are elastic and the stitching on them has held great (the loops on my old vest lasted only 1 and a half seasons before they pulled all the way out). I have been through brambles, thorns, briars and thickets without any snags causing a rip or any damage to the vest. I got the PF version of the vest which has more blaze orange than the standard model which I like so that I don?t have to worry about each of my layers having some orange. The fit is very customizable and is easy to adjust. I have a large chest and large shoulders with an average to smaller sized waist and it fits me perfect. It is snug enough to not feel like it is flopping all over the place when you are walking, but was in no way restrictive when taking shots or moving through dense brush. I was also wondering how if the buttstock would catch on the shoulder straps when coming up for a shot, but it was never an issue.
Stuff I couldn?t care less about or didn?t like:
There is a stow-away blaze orange cover that can be hooked up to the back of the vest. I thought this was stupid considering there is plenty of orange on the PF version. I can see it being something for standard version that I guess might be useful, but I don?t know. Just seemed unnecessary, buy an orange sweatshirt.
Part of the vest is made of a fleece like fabric which, while it seems to be very durable, attracts a lot of burs. I would have liked to just have it be just like cotton or nylon or something that I wouldn?t have to pick burs out of after getting back from the field. True, there is always a few stow-aways that make it back to the truck, but there seem to be a lot more with this vest.
You can unzip the game pouch, supposedly to clean it. I have never once cleaned out the game pouch on my old vest, honestly didn?t even know that was something people did, weirdos. Anyway, it is handy for getting out the birds when you?re back at the truck.
The only straps that don?t have a bungee/elastic thingy to keep them out of the way are the waist band straps. This isn?t a huge issue because I was able to just tuck the excess strap into the waist band, but I with all the attention that went into the rest of this vest I don?t know why there wasn?t a bungee or elastic or Velcro or something on these.
Conclusion:
I really like this vest. I am planning on using it for all my small game hunting in the future. It is versatile and very high quality. There is very little that I would change on this vest, save the price, but you are getting something worth the money you are spending. I really liked how comfortable it was and the way the weight was distributed. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.
Link to the Vest on PF Store
Link to the version on Tenzing website
