Fishing Tackle Vest - Zip Pockets, Breathable Mesh Back

Your tackle box, worn on your chest.

You park at the top of the bank, load up, and by the time you have walked down to the water you are carrying a rod, a net and a plastic tub with a dodgy latch. Ten minutes later the tub is sitting in the mud somewhere behind you, and the lure you want is in it.

Same story in a tinny. The box lives under the seat, it slides across the floor every time you move, and you end up changing rigs on your knees instead of fishing. The failure is not the box breaking — it is the box not being where your hands are.

This vest puts the gear on your body instead. Zipped pockets across the chest and front, mesh pockets down both hips, a zipped compartment across the lower back, and webbing ladders and loops for the tools you reach for most. The back panel and the shoulder padding are open air-mesh, so it breathes instead of sitting on you like a wet jumper.

It is one size, adjusted on webbing at both shoulders and both sides, so it goes over a shirt in summer or a jacket in the cold. It carries no buoyancy of any kind and it is not a life jacket — there is more on that under Limits.

What It Does

• Keeps both hands free: everything moves when you move, so there is nothing to put down on the bank and nothing to walk away from.
• Zips the tackle shut: the chest, front and back pockets all close with zips, so bending over a fish or slipping in the mud does not tip a fly box into the water.
• Breathes through the back: the whole back panel is open mesh rather than solid fabric, which is the difference between a long summer session and a soaked shirt.
• Adjusts at four points: both shoulder straps and both side straps run on webbing, so the same vest fits over a singlet or a heavy jacket.
• Hangs your tools: stitched webbing ladders, accessory loops and two rod loops for pliers, forceps, nippers and a rod while you re-rig.
• Shows up in a torch beam: reflective strips across both sides of the chest and one wide strip across the back, for early starts and walking out after dark.

Key Features

• Two large front pockets: one each side, each with a smaller zipped pocket layered on its face.
• Zipped chest pockets: one each side, sitting above the front pockets and angled for a one-handed reach.
• Side mesh pockets: a zipped, mesh-faced pocket on each hip that drains rather than holding water.
• Zipped back compartment: a full-width compartment across the lower back, plus an inside mesh pocket for bulk.
• Concealed zips: the supplier's own feature panel calls them ultra-smooth concealed zips; each one carries a cord pull you can work with cold or wet hands.
• Air-mesh back and shoulders: open mesh through the back panel and inside the shoulder padding.
• Webbing attachment ladders: rows of stitched webbing across the chest for clipping accessories where you can see them.
• Reflective strips: two across the chest and one wide strip across the back. Strips only — this is not a rated hi-vis garment.
• Flat size as supplied: 550 mm high and 640 mm wide, measured on the supplier's own dimension drawing.
• Four colourways: grey, blue, red and army green.

Limits

It will not float you. It is not a life jacket and it is not a PFD.

There is no foam, no inflatable bladder and no head-supporting collar anywhere in this vest. The back panel is open mesh — you can see straight through it in the photos. It carries no AS 4758, no ISO 12402 and no other buoyancy approval, and we have sighted no certificate for one. It cannot turn an unconscious wearer face-up, because it cannot hold anyone up at all. Loading the pockets with tools, lead and a full fly box makes you heavier in the water, not lighter. If you are on or near water where you need flotation, wear a proper certified PFD and treat this as storage.

It is not rated hi-vis. The reflective strips do what reflective strips do — they bounce a torch or a headlight back at whoever is holding it. The vest carries no high-visibility rating of any kind, no certificate has been sighted, and there is no daytime fluorescent panel on it, so do not plan on it as roadside or worksite visibility gear.

It is not waterproof. The shell is a light woven fabric that sheds spray and dries quickly. It is not a rain jacket, it carries no water-resistance rating, and the back is open mesh, so rain goes straight through. Anything in the pockets that has to stay dry needs its own dry bag or case.

We will not quote you a pocket count. This listing used to say 18 pockets with 14 zips, and the web address still carries that number. The supplier's own feature panels name the pocket types — chest, front, side mesh, back compartment, inside mesh — but state no total anywhere across any of the product images, so we have stopped publishing one. What is in the photographs is described above and nothing more has been added.

One size only, and no size chart. There is no small, medium or large. It is a single adjustable size, and the supplier publishes no body measurements or fitting chart — only the flat dimensions of the garment itself. If you are at either end of the range, that adjustment is all you have to work with.

It carries no warmth and no armour. It is an unlined carrier for tackle. It is not insulation, not a wading jacket and not cut protection.

Q & A

If I go in wearing it, will it hold me up?

No. Not for a second. There is nothing buoyant in it and it is not certified to any flotation standard. Loaded with gear it works against you. Wear a certified PFD if there is any chance of ending up in the water.

Can I wear it in a kayak or a tinny?

Plenty of people do, as a tackle carrier. It is not a substitute for the life jacket your state requires you to wear or carry, and the rules differ between states and between waters — check the ones that apply where you launch. Worn over a slim inflatable PFD it sits fine; over a bulky foam jacket the side straps get tight.

Will it fit over a jacket in winter?

That is what the four adjustment points are for. Both shoulder straps and both side straps run on webbing, and the shoulders are cut open rather than closed, so there is real range in it. The supplier states one size and publishes no chest measurement, so we cannot give you a number to check yourself against.

Will a standard fly box fit the front pockets?

The front pockets are the large ones and are clearly built for boxes rather than odds and ends. We have not measured the internal pocket dimensions and the supplier does not publish them, so if you run oversized boxes, measure yours against the 550 mm by 640 mm flat size before you count on it.

Is it any good for anything other than fishing?

It is a chest-mounted pocket rig, so it does the same job for anyone who needs small tools on them and their hands empty — birdwatching, photography, survey work, running a stall. Nothing about it is fishing-specific except the rod loops.

What is it actually made of?

The supplier does not state the fabric composition anywhere, so we have left that row of the spec table blank rather than guessing at it. What we can tell you from the images is that the shell is a light woven fabric with a ripstop grid, the back panel and pocket faces are open mesh, and the straps are woven webbing with plastic side-release buckles.

Specs