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[Kenwee]

Vedder Vest on sale at Fred's for $69.95

[coho killer]

The vedder vest is garbage. My buddy had 3 before upgrading. All the zippers busted off within a week. I had a pioneer vest it was very durable until my cat peed on it  I think the pioneer was about $79

[chromer]

I've got and old Complete Angler Thomson River vest and a pin tail model I gave to my kid, they don't make them anymore I think it was around $150 way back then. I picked up a Fern Hill in camo a coupe of years ago from Berry's. Its a copy of the Complete Angler but made of nicer heavier material. Fred's used to sell them, I think an old asian lady made them out in Maple Ridge but I heard she passed away. A guy I know has one of her's made out of denim. I think it was also around a $buck50. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for. The only ones I see lately are the Pioneer, the brown one looks good.

[skaha]

--the Compleat Angler vest has been knocked off by several companies.. so they look similar some almost exact copy of the style but not the material and double stitching.
--Canvas vests unless dried out after each trip would rot and often only lasted one or two seasons as fishermen we just patched the thing.
--last batch of vests made by Compleat Angler were Cordura and last model used a buckle rather than a zipper or combo buckle and snaps.. I think mine is as at least 15 yrs old.. use it for fishing and also good for hunting birds as bird fits in pack and extra shells in the pockets. They were Black, Green and maybe a few in brown.  3Vets was one of the last to carry the original after Rick shut down his retail outlet on Frazer.

--I don't have the stealheader I have the compleat angler strap shoulder version which has same rap around back pocket, inside and outside pockets for pliers etc.

[Dave]

The original Vedder Vest was made by Ernie McDuff, a local and still active Chilliwack angler and a man gifted in canvas craftmanship.  Seems like all of us old time Vedder anglers had one at some time (I did) but they have fallen out of favour for the new lighter materials.  My only complaint with the original was the shoulder straps were too narrow - sore shoulders after a long day fishing.  But yeah, you could pack a big fish in that back pocket.

[speycaster]

I have one of Rick's original vests that I bought in the late 1960's, it is still in one piece after many hundreds of fish being packed in it. Had to have it re sewn a few times but the canvas is still reasonably good for the age. Had many washings to get the fish slime out before i started using plastic fish bags.

[Fish Assassin]

I have one of Rick's originals that I use to this day. Still in excellent shape despite many washings and dunkings; the velcro needs replacing. That's about it. It's indestructable.

[skaha]

--If I could talk Rick into a limited edition, would you want original classic or modern material, breathable gortex,  stormtech or Cordura..buckles and Velcro.. fishouflage rather than green, black or brown.
--Or just to many alternatives now to bother.. Problem is the price of production in Vancouver now.. my guess is most retail stores wouldn't want the vest because they couldn't make usual mark up and keep it at a reasonable retail price.

--I was thinking maybe he would go for a limited edition as a fundraiser with profit to one or more of the river fishing organizations. Last one I had I put in an interior fly fishing charity auction and only got a bid of $25 as no one there knew what it was. I got a lot of complaints... its too long for wading, to heavy, not breathable and whats the big pouch for!

[c-pin]

I really like the "Fernhill" vest. It is tough and durable, with excellent workmanship. As mentioned previously, the lady who made them passed away a couple of years ago. Once I found out she passed away, I went to the local tackle shop and grabbed the last 2 off the shelf.

I must say that, as an "Old School" vest goes, I take out the pin tail style vest I got from Highwater Tackle about 5 years ago. It's made from canvas, and it was a small (I'n a Large / XLarge). I took it to a talented seamstress with some lightweight canvas; and she made it bigger and put two extra pockets in it. The thing is bulletproof, but gets very heavy when wet.

I have not tried out the "Vedder" vest, but if you go to Berry's, they have vests that are similar style, but better quality components and workmanship. They may have them in stock. They are not Pioneer or Trophy XL brand. I don't know what brand they are.

It seems that a lot of the commercial vests are fly fishing oriented. It's too bad as we are not all fly fishers (all of the time).

Merry Christmas,  John

[ribolovac02]

My experiance with a Vest is not good at all,when stealheading especially,walking and casting for a the whole day with alot of weight on your shoulders over a long period of time,will have a bad impact on your body.
My lower back would be sour every time i fished.
Now that i switched to a pouch around my weist things are way better,more relaxing and enjoyable to fish.