Articles

Review: Patagonia Women's Island Hopper Shirt and Away From Home Pant

by Jesse R. Bussard - Friday, Aug 29th, 2014

Patagonia's Women's Island Hopper Shirt.

In the world of women's fishing apparel, the choices have long been too far and few between. Recently, many manufacturers have begun paying more attention to female anglers and have started to increase their women's offerings. To date, Patagonia has done a good job staying ahead of the game, by offering a much wider variety of options for female angling apparel than many of its competitors. While a pair of pants or a shirt alone do not likely warrant an extensive review, good gear is worth a mention, especially when the options are so limited for women anglers.

Patagonia's Away From Home Pant and Island Hopper Shirt arrived at my door in late spring, in preparation for the warm days I would spend wet wading in rivers in Southwest Montana during the coming summer. Over the course of the summer they have served me well, as I have worn them in a variety of rivers across the state, trekked into the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park to fish for wild cutthroat, and donned them on many hiking jaunts area surrounding my hometown of Bozeman, Montana.

Review: Simms Headwaters Day Pack and Chest Pack

by Paul Snyder - Tuesday, Aug 26th, 2014

In the past 12 months alone, my poor 2003 Accord has been broken into four times. Four times. It wasn’t until I started doing inventory for my 2014 trip to Montana and Idaho that I discovered those bastards got away with my five year old Simms Headwaters Chest Pack. That thing had three full fly boxes in it. Son. Of. A. Bitch.

When I discovered that the 2014 Simms Headwaters Chest Pack was not compatible with my ‘legacy’ Day Pack, I decided to cop for the whole package, though not without a side eye to innovations and our good friends at Simms.

Simms company line on the combo quips, "Skip river gridlock and make haste for upstream seclusion in Simms’ most technical backpack yet. The Headwaters™ Full Day has a chasmic 1,830 cubic inches of storage accessed via a large zippered compartment. Inside, stretch mesh dividers add intuitive organization for raingear, layering options, and all destination essentials. Break out the rods and elevate your angling thanks to Catch & Release modular convenience that allows you to dock or disembark with Simms’ Chest and Hip Pack options via rock-solid magnetic attachments. Packs ride comfortably thanks to a breathable mesh back and a plush strap system, while three hardworking levels of high Denier fabric enhance durability."

Adrift on the Elk

British Columbia in summer

by Mike Sepelak - Monday, Aug 25th, 2014

British Columbia's Elk River.

“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”

The wry, completely accurate observation comes from the man on the sticks behind me and I have to admit, after missing a half-dozen hooksets, that I do appear to be stubbornly equine.

IFTD 2014 Highlights: Packs and Bags

by Chad Shmukler - Friday, Aug 22nd, 2014

Scott Hunter demos the Vedavoo Tight Lines Beast Sling Pack.

Although the list of winners that emerge from each year's International Fly Tackle Dealer show helps highlight the crowd favorites in many a category of fly fishing gear, very notable products often don't get enough recognition. Recently, we highlighted some of the most intriguing fly fishing accessories from this year's show in Orlando, Florida, and now we're back to shed light on some of the standouts packs and bags.

Waist packs, chest packs and sling packs have become as essential a piece of fly fishing gear as the venerable vest, but are constantly evolving as they still relatively new. Manufacturers keep finding way to pack in more thoughtful features, make the packs wear better, hold up longer and so on. And much of the same can be said of waterproof storage and fly fishing luggage. Here are a few of this year's highlights.

Review: Simms Vapor Wading Boot

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Aug 21st, 2014

The Simms Vapor Boot.

There is a considerable amount of diversity in the world of wading boots. Simms alone has 10 different boot models for men, with other manufacturers also offering a mixed bag of options. And, although it might not seem like it at first glance, most of this diversity is meaningful. Rather than these models being differentiated by little more than purposeless bells and whistles or aesthetic differences, most of these boots have substantive differences in design that tailor them best to decidedly different purposes. As a result, most of these boots are tailored best to different anglers as well, dependent on what each angler seeks to accomplish with said boots.

None of this is to suggest that there aren't boots that can do it all. There most certainly are. In fact, most can. But some boots do some things better than others, as a result of how they've been designed. Some boots scream winter steelheading, with roomy foot boxes that will generously accept thick neoprene booties underlaid by a couple pairs of wool hiking socks. Others are built with guides in mind, where the durability demanded by what can sometimes be hundreds of days per year on the water trumps other design concerns such as shedding weight. Still others are built for the flats, where studdability, slip-protection and ankle support take a back seat to things like puncture resistance against shells and other hazards of the salt.