We try a 2-in-1 backpack with an internal hip pack for easy gear access.
If you’re like me, you have a different bag, vest, pack or sling for a variety of fishing situations and styles. Sometimes you're rock-hopping up a tiny spring creek during an evening rise and require not much more than a handful of dries and a spool of tippet in your pocket. Other times, you're hiking into the remote western wilderness lakes of Tasmania for three days of trophy hunting, with back muscles aching from the amount of gear in your 80L hiking pack.
Whatever the fishing situation, it always pays to have the right pack for the trip. The latest addition to Simms ever-growing variety, is the G4 Pro Shift Pack. This 35L full day pack is hands down one of the most exciting pieces of gear I’ve added to my arsenal in a long time.
As with all Simms products, this bag has an array of features rivalling state-of-the-art professional equipment.
For me, the most notable feature of this pack is its pure functionality. On day trips, one of the biggest decisions used to be whether to take my usual backpack full of gear and my vest; or just my vest? I like to carry a rain jacket, lunch and a jet boil for that mid-morning coffee break, so it was a constant juggle to fit everything in yet still be lightweight and functional.
With this pack's built-in 180-degree rotation hip pack, I can keep my fishing gear separate to my general gear and get instant access to my fly boxes etc. - without having to take the pack off and rummage through everything... only to watch the tail of a big brown wave goodbye.
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Fishing a remote Tasmanian lake recently, the level was lower than months earlier, allowing the majority of the water to be waded. The highlight was standing waist-deep and casting to decent browns leaping for damsels. Even though I was 30 metres offshore, the rotating hip pack allowing me easy access to my fishing bits and pieces, without ever taking my pack off or getting anything wet. Perfect!
Weighing only 3.6lb, this bag is at the top of the game and will help you catch more fish - or at least make the process a whole lot easier!
$599.95. Available now at The Flyfisher. BUY NOW
