Our crew at Urban Anglers was looking for a good pack to carry when fishing around town this past summer season and tried out the Simms Headwaters Hip Pack. Simms makes a variety of packs and vests that work well in various conditions but we were looking for one that was minimal in bulk and could carry the essentials when fishing a variety of urban waters.
It is a great time to buy gear since the new 2016 fishing products are being released and this pack can be found on sale through many dealers from $75 to $100. We felt that this pack gets the job done well and is a great purchase!
It has internal pockets that keep small/medium fly boxes, leaders, and other accessories handy. The drink holders can hold water, beer, and we even used them to secure light camera equipment. The outside Velcro patch allows you to place the Simms floatant and Tippet-spool holders on the front pocket for quick access or they can be stored on the inside. We felt the pack was comfortable but the shoulder strap at times became cumbersome and required some readjusting to keep the pack fitting comfortably. The padding on the strap also moved too easily down the strap and had to be readjusted often so there is some room for improvement. It could have been just us but the pack rides a tad low on the hip when fully loaded which was ok with waders. However, when cruising the local city ponds with just some shorts on and a tee, the pack’s waist belt sometimes would push down on your shorts causing a little bit of a nuisance but not an overall huge deterrent from using the pack.
This pack has plenty of key features to carry your essentials but gave us the ability to remain light and not overburdened with unnecessary gear. The main compartment can be used to hold anything a little bulkier like a rain coat.
Overall we recommend this pack if you are trying to find an alternative to a backpack or larger gear bag and want to keep everything close at hand when fishing your local water. As a plus, you can sling larger nets like FishpondUSA’s nomad net through the waist belt and it worked well.
The Headwaters Hip Pack in Action:
