Welcome to my product review of the Fishpond Summit Sling pack.
Personally having been fly fishing for many years, I have switched back and forth between using a vest or a pack to carry my gear. A lot of it will depend on the weather.. But because I know the pros and cons of both, this is a comprehensive review of the Summit Sling pack.
Fishpond Summit Sling Pack Review
The Fishpond Summit Sling pack is one of the best fly fishing packs for pure comfort and carrying a decent amount of gear to the river. The material is very comfortable and as a whole, it’s quite cool during the Summer months. And it all comes for a super reasonable price.
Pros:
- Comfortable for all day use
- Durable
- Medium sized bag (not too bulky, can still carry plenty of gear)
- Easy access to favorite flies with drop down bench
- Good for the environment (uses recycled fish nets)
- Integrated net sleeve
- Hypalon and tool attachments
- Water bottle holder
- Lightweight (6.1 oz)
- Reasonable price
Cons:
- Some Fishpond accessories aren’t compatible with it
- Can take some getting used to
The Summit Sling pack is an efficient way to carry your fly fishing gear to the river.
Overall
The Summit Sling Pack in our opinion is one of the better fly fishing packs that you can get for the river. It isn’t to large where it feels very bulky or heavy, but still has a decent amount of storage space for your gear.
The best part is, you don’t have to open the pocketbook up too much for this one either.
There are a lot of fly fishing pack options on the market today, but the Summit Sling is surely one of the top.
Comfort
One of the biggest reasons that many fly angler use packs over vests, is because they’re usually a lot more comfortable. A pack doesn’t cover the entire body upper body, rather only a portion of it. This allows for your body to be much cooler during the Summer months, and all of your gear is one spot.
Fishpond designed the Summit Sling with comfort in mind.
Nobody wants to go the river with a strap chaffing into the shoulder all day… This one doesn’t have that problem. The strap is very comfortable and actually has a little work station on it, to store smaller accessories.
Related: Orvis Safe Passage Review
Design
The Summit Sling is made of recycled fish nets, that are turned into durable material for a fly fishing pack. The Summit Sling is a well crafted bag that has the capability of lasting a long time on the river, as it should. And if for some reason that this sling pack does have issues, Fishpond does offer warranties on their gear.
The overall pack only weighs 6.1 oz, so it’s very lightweight. The internal storage features four compartments. Two larger, two smaller. The zippers are water resistant, but the pack as a whole isn’t water proof.
The shoulder strap does have a work bench for easy access to accessories such as your nippers or floatant. It allows for super easy access to stuff that otherwise might be a pain to reach into the pack to grab.
“My absolute favorite feature on the summit sling pack is the shoulder work area.”
– Brendin Hawkens (MyFlyOutdoors)
Some potential issues
For some, the net holder on the back works very well, for others it is worthless. It will depend on your body really. It’s placed in a convenient location if you are able to reach it, but if you can’t reach it – well again, it’s worthless.
It also isn’t waterproof. So if you have a phone or other important equipment with you on the river, you’ll want to have it in a water proof pouch of some sort.
Most people tend to find sling packs very comfortable. Others very much dislike them because the pack gets in the way, in some situations. I personally am a fan of packs, just because I can carry a lot of gear onto the river with them. I also find them very comfortable myself, but again, it’s definitely a personal opinion.
Another concern with this pack is that some Fishpond accessories do not work on this pack. Which is unfortunate, but not a huge deal.
Overall though the positives of this pack greatly outweigh the negatives. This pack is one of the most comfortable packs on the market.
The Summit Sling pack is an efficient way to carry your fly fishing gear to the river.
Related: How To Choose a Chest Pack
Conclusion: Is the Summit Sling Pack worth it?
I believe for the money you pay for the Summit Sling Pack makes it very worth it. It’s less than a hundred dollars and is overall high quality fly fishing sling pack. It isn’t super large so it doesn’t feel clunky, but it also isn’t so small that it can’t fit any gear in it. It’s a perfect median that a lot of fly fishermen look for.
The pack is also made of recycled fish nets, which is super cool. The material is strong and durable, that will last you a long time.
The biggest problem that fly anglers have had with this vest is that it isn’t waterproof. Now it’s not ideal, but it also isn’t that expensive.
