Upland strap vest you can load birds in

T

Tomahawker

Active member
I’ve got a Badlands vest which is great BUT…have to take it off to pocket birds…pain in the ass. Any suggestions? If you can’t pocket birds with ease don’t mention it.
 
I broke down and bought a Final Rise Summit vest last summer, a pricey vest needless to say but I love that thing. Can handle 3 roosters in the pouch and I can load them easily while wearing it. It seems well made and should hold up just as long (probably longer judging by the construction of it) as my last Browning Strap vest which lasted me almost 10 years before I retired it for the final rise. So far it's been a worthy investment.
 
I'm running Chief Upland, but I honestly feel it's overkill if just doing pheasant hunting. It's great for mountain and prairie hunting where you'll be out for half or more of the day. I love the adjustability of it so you can truly get all the pockets in the exact place you want them to be. It has held up very well to my abuse over 2 years so I think it can easily last a decade or more.
 
Munster927 said:
I broke down and bought a Final Rise Summit vest last summer, a pricey vest needless to say but I love that thing. Can handle 3 roosters in the pouch and I can load them easily while wearing it. It seems well made and should hold up just as long (probably longer judging by the construction of it) as my last Browning Strap vest which lasted me almost 10 years before I retired it for the final rise. So far it's been a worthy investment.
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I've been looking at the final rise myself. Just have a hard time justifying the cost. My cabelas strap vest 20 plus years is still in good shape and can handle 4 roosters, but doesn't have much for storage. Glad to hear your review.
 
I use an Orvis and easy to put birds in. When guiding I use a browning vest that can handle 10-12 pheasants in the bag if needed. Also easy to put birds in.
 
Miforester said:
I've been looking at the final rise myself. Just have a hard time justifying the cost. My cabelas strap vest 20 plus years is still in good shape and can handle 4 roosters, but doesn't have much for storage. Glad to hear your review.
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I had a hard time justifying it too but decided to go for it. My Browning strap vest started giving me back pain when carrying heavy loads (which is more often than not now due to the warmer falls, I'm carrying a lot more water than normal for the dogs).

If I had to guess weight wise, when the vest is at its heaviest it's probably close to 10 pounds, and I hardly noticed it this fall (no more back pain). The final rise handled the weight much better than my old one and actually feels comfortable to wear. A lot of handy little pockets, and all I added outside of the "stock" vest was the rear zippered pouch that has some odds and ends that are just in case items. I recommend the vest, even if the price is a hard pill to swallow haha
 
Munster927 said:
I had a hard time justifying it too but decided to go for it. My Browning strap vest started giving me back pain when carrying heavy loads (which is more often than not now due to the warmer falls, I'm carrying a lot more water than normal for the dogs).

If I had to guess weight wise, when the vest is at its heaviest it's probably close to 10 pounds, and I hardly noticed it this fall (no more back pain). The final rise handled the weight much better than my old one and actually feels comfortable to wear. A lot of handy little pockets, and all I added outside of the "stock" vest was the rear zippered pouch that has some odds and ends that are just in case items. I recommend the vest, even if the price is a hard pill to swallow haha
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Much appreciated, I might pull the trigger as any water I carry in my current vest is in the game bag.
 
Another Final Rise user here. I bought one when they were first released and love it! I carry a lot of water for my dogs and it is really nice to have all the weight on your hips and not on your shoulders. The cost is worth it.
 
If you can find one you can't go wrong with a WingWorks vest. I've had one for probably 15 years and it still looks like new. Carries two 1 liter bottles that are easy to remove and reload while wearing the vest. And loading the game bag is very easy while to have the vest on. Probably the easiest of any strap vest out there.
 
Dakotazeb said:
If you can find one you can't go wrong with a WingWorks vest. I've had one for probably 15 years and it still looks like new. Carries two 1 liter bottles that are easy to remove and reload while wearing the vest. And loading the game bag is very easy while to have the vest on. Probably the easiest of any strap vest out there.
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I agree, WingWorks does make a great vest if you can order one. I check periodically and have never found that they are accepting orders.
 
I love my Filson vest. It is the older version so it might be a challenge to find. It has lots of room for shells, collar controller, and birds get pushed in through side vents. I also carry a small water bottle for the pup. I also carry a med kit in the rear zippered pocket.

gordyandsons.com

Filson Guide Strap Vest- Regular- Tan/Blaze34699

As the finest store for hunting and fly-fishing gear, hunting clothing, ammo, sporting art, and travel supplies, we have what you need to get you to where you are going and ensure success in the field.
gordyandsons.com gordyandsons.com
 

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Another vote for Final Rise.

I've tried many strap vests that are hard to load and had impossible to reach water bottle pockets. The must frustrating on others I have used are the buckles and adjustment hardware that are garbage.

- Final Rise are extremely well built IN AMERICA!!!
- I had questions on which size as I am on the edge of medium and large. I emailed and got a reply from Matt Davis the founder immediately. He is a great guy that developed the system from personal experience and knowledge.
- The buckles and adjustment hardware stay where you set them and do not slip at all. I really like the waist belt adjustment that you can loosen and tighten quickly depending on your clothes.
- As others have said the waist belt will carry a heavy load of water, birds and shells without hurting your shoulders. Honestly you don't even realize how much weight you are carrying until you take it off.

I bought mine at the beginning of last year and it doesn't have a cut, rip or tear of any kind. It is definitely the last bird vest I will have to buy.
 
I'm in the market for a final rise vest, which model do you recommend? I'm thinking the Summit.

I have a browning bird and lite, but carrying 2 - 32oz water bottles and a couple of pheasants feels heavy towards my back. And the water bottle holders seem alittle far back to reach. Or perhaps at 64 my flexibility is no longer there.

Recommendatios?
 
I run the Tenzing TZ BV16 vest. I'm on year 4 with it, it has held up great. It has adjustable shoulder straps and weight bearing straps. You can also adjust the game load straps to carry more cargo in the two rear pockets. It has a built in water bladder pouch and padded back support. The two open side pouches hold 7 shells each. There are also two covered pouches as well. Side zippers allow for expanding the vest open to load birds. It has two waist straps for adjustment of load bearing as well, and a chest strap. The game pouch is zippered, with zipper covered by velcro closure for easy opening to unload or turn inside out to clean.
I carry alot of gear in the two back pockets as well as two bicycle water bottles for the dog. They slide in nice on each side and stay put, even though there are no designated water bottle holders. I have contemplated sewing a Molle attachment system on to hold the bottles, buy honestly I haven't needed to thus far.
It has served me well and is easy to load.
 
rangerman said:
I'm in the market for a final rise vest, which model do you recommend? I'm thinking the Summit.

I have a browning bird and lite, but carrying 2 - 32oz water bottles and a couple of pheasants feels heavy towards my back. And the water bottle holders seem alittle far back to reach. Or perhaps at 64 my flexibility is no longer there.

Recommendatios?
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I have the Summit
 
rangerman said:
I'm in the market for a final rise vest, which model do you recommend? I'm thinking the Summit.

I have a browning bird and lite, but carrying 2 - 32oz water bottles and a couple of pheasants feels heavy towards my back. And the water bottle holders seem alittle far back to reach. Or perhaps at 64 my flexibility is no longer there.

Recommendatios?
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Summit is what I have and recommended. I used to use the same vest you have, the water bottle pouches on the Summit are much easier to reach, unload and load with the bottles they supply with the vest. You'll enjoy the Summit MUCH more than the bird n lite vest. Alot more room for birds and various stuff. The shell pockets are much bigger, I always felt like I couldn't fit my hand in the pockets very well on the Browning vest and I don't have huge hands.

After hunting with it all fall, I think I finally have everything situated to my liking. I have all my shells on my right side pocket (I'm a lefty), I bought a detachable, stretchy lanyard for my Alpha 300, I have that clipped to one of the rings on the vest and plop it into the shell pockets on my left side to prevent it from swinging around and bugging me while walking. And the 2 front zippered pockets on the shell pouch, I have my phone in one and my keys in the other. And a whole assortment of random things in the other pockets. I feel a lot more organized with that vest than I did with the Browning vest.

Another tip for any First Lite users, buy yourself a pack of zipper pulls from Amazon for 8 bucks and add them to all the zippers. I had a hard time using the zipper wearing gloves or just trying to reach it in general, added some zipper pulls and makes it alot easier to open.
 
My buddy that lives in KS bought a new Pyke vest & he liked it so well, he gave me his 2 year old wing works. The Pyke is designed by a bird hunter in Michigan, and made in the USA.
 
I have a Pyke too. Just got mine in Oct. It is easy to put birds in with the xl gamebag. Only complaint is it doesnt come with bottle holders or a pouch to hold one. 40 dollars is a bit steep for theirs. Other than that feels good, distributes weight well.
 
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