Ok, speaking of vests, time for my vest rant. Why is it that I can't find any lightweight bird vests with lots of pockets for water bottles, snacks, phone, keys etc.? No mesh (gets tangled in brush), no blaze orange (don't need or want it in the desert), no hand warmers (same), no shoulder pads (adds bulk and weight), no camo (khaki is just fine and reflects heat better than camo), yadda, yadda, yadda. My favorite vest was an old Cabela's cotton/nylon item in light sand color, with a couple of water bottle pockets, internal zip and velcro pockets, outside chest pocket, big bird bag in back plus a couple of zippered compartments for jackets and lunch, and cinch straps across the shoulders to carry rolled up stuff on longer treks. Weighed next to nothing and dried quickly when soaked with sweat. Ideal vest, so of course discontinued long ago.
Everything I find now is either very heavy or covered in blaze orange, or usually both, and none come with all the features of that old Cabela's vest. I have old vests from Columbia (decent but discontinued), Pella (nice but bulky and heavy), and a selection of stuff from Cabela's, Gamehide, etc.
Who still sells a lightweight tan vest with lots of pockets? I hate strap vests.
