Simms Sling Pack

It's not easy finding a sling pack that fits an angler's preferences in view of how he likes to fly fish. And, it's not possible to demo a pack in a fishing environment. The fly shops don't have demo packs for you to try out while fishing and confirm if its design is a good match for you...at least not in my town. So, you buy one on a crap shoot and hope it meets your needs and preferences.

A few years ago I purchased a Simms Freestone Sling Pack and after two days on the stream, put it away in the storage room. The first models of this pack didn't have an external bottle holder, and that didn't work out very well for me...I discovered putting water bottles inside would sometimes leak and get everything soaked. Not acceptable. Everything else on the pack were pretty nice features, however.

Well, the other day I found a tactical bottle holder, on the cheap, that looked like it would be able to attach securely to this Simms pack. The pack had an external strap on the bottom that seemed as though it could accommodate  accessories. Sure enough, the bottle holder attached to the strap like it was meant to be there. So, this pack may have new life on my trout streams this next year.

The sling pack features are listed below:

• 330D Nylon Ripstop fabric with polyurethane backside coating is lightweight yet durable.
• Semi-structured main compartment with two-way zipper enables access to large pocket.
• Zippered secure stash pocket with key clip for phone/key storage; secondary stash pocket at top of pack holds lunch or extra layer.
• Strap for utility leash attachment
• Fully functional and ergonomically shaped shoulder strap with tool attachment port and adjustable sternum strap
• Accessory attachments include Tippet Caddy and Floatant Holster, internal keyclip

This Freestone Pack is roomy enough for all my usual gear like fly boxes, snacks, rain jacket/hat, and miscellaneous accessories. It has a nice secondary pocket that can be used for a firearm when I'm hiking and fishing in bear and mountain lion country. And, I like the orange straps and lining (OSU grad).

I'm hoping with the addition of the new bottle holder I can finally use this pack after a few years of it being shelved and almost forgotten...I'll only know for sure once I've fished with it.