Jon discusses several important factors to keep in mind when selecting your first or next turkey vest. He delves into the various features that can enhance your hunting experience and by considering these aspects, you can make a well-informed decision that suits your needs and preferences.
Jake and I just had a successful hunt this morning, and we wanted to take a minute and talk to everybody about a few different options for turkey vests if you're in the market for a new one. We have three different types of vests here, and I'm just going to go over the pros and cons to each of them and probably how they'll fit the best hunting style.
The one I have on right now is the Knight and Hale Running Gun Turkey vest. This is about as minimalist as you can get. It's easy, and accessible for your pot calls/your mouth calls, but it doesn't have a lot of storage. You don't have a bird bag. You have a water bladder spot in the back, and then you just basically have a bungee. If you fill that back pocket with your water bladder, there ain't a whole lot of storage so this is kind of just like the name, a good running gun vest.
It's not super comfortable to sit in for a long period of time, if you've got a bird roosted, you're tight on the roost. You can sit still, but it's definitely not the most comfortable vest that I've worn. It's super light too. So if you're running through the hills, putting on a lot of miles, I know a pound or two doesn't sound like a lot but when you're really running through the woods, it does make a difference over the course of the day. This is a great option for somebody who's a running gun turkey hunter not sitting up against a tree super long.
Now this is another vest that I have. This is the Alps. I'm not sure which one it is, but this is probably the most comfortable vest that I've worn for sitting for a long periods of time. It's got a stadium seat. It's definitely a little heavier. And the biggest downfall to this vest is if you are a mobile hunter and trying to sneak around and move through stuff with that stadium seat, you got a real wide stance and it gets caught up in a lot of stuff. Like I said, it's a little bit heavier, but you got lots of options for storage, thermacell, calls, you know, plenty of stuff, and then you also have your bird bag in the back for after you harvest a bird.
This is a good choice for somebody who's roosting birds sitting up nice and tight to them in the morning. You want to stay comfortable and not move a lot. If you're sitting stationary for a long period of time, this is a great vest to go with. It's also got a spot for your water bladder in the back, so you got plenty of space for storage. Carry your bird, carry all your calls, and stay comfortable for long periods of time. This vest works great for somebody that's sitting for long periods of time and doesn't want to move.
The next vest we have is a Bass Pro Cabellas vest. This is actually the one Jake's been wearing. Right off the bat, it's very light, and this one's kind of a middle of the road vest. It doesn't have the structure of the stadium seat in the back. It's got a semi decent seat cushion. Still got your bird bag. It's got your water bladder compartment, which is good. And it's got a decent amount of storage for all your calls and everything like that. I'd say if you're kind of an in-between guy, you're going to sit still for a while. You still want the ability to store a lot of stuff, maybe put a decoy in the back here, and pack your bird out in a bird bag this is a great option for you.
There's a pile of different turkey vests on the market. This is just the three that we have available. There's a lot of different brands, a lot of different options. Some have more comfortable seats, some don't have any padding and then you have super minimalist vests like the one I'm wearing today. So depending on the style of turkey hunter you're going to be or you are, that's just a quick little rundown of a few different styles of vests to hopefully make your choice easier for this spring.