I was looking for a chest pack and by chance came upon the new Overlook 500 from Umpqua, who has always specialized in flies and has now expanded to provide a full line of packs for fly fishing. I am a self taught fly fisherman, and fish at an amateur level in warm freshwater mostly, although I prefer cold freshwater and I try to fish saltwater as well if I'm on vacation on a beach.About the pack in general: I found craftmanship/quality to be top of the line. This is a well built, sturdy pack with rugged construction that looks like it will last a lifetime out on the water.
Back side: The mesh which comes on the back is quite dense for mesh (I've often found in outdoor gear that meshes are especially prone to tangling, wearing, pinching with velcro, etc). The mesh in this case is not your average thin nylon hair-thin mesh: it will take good abuse, and then some, but still can be called a mesh (and as such, will be breathable). The pocket in this back mesh is probably big enough to hold a cap or even a small jacket (which would make it bulky). There is a little plastic attachment so as to hang a catch-and-release net, but it looks like it would match a custom attachment (sold by Umpqua?). In any case, it is sturdy enough to clamp on any standard carabiner, keyring, etc.
Straps and Support: The shoulder straps are excellently padded, yet light. Inside they have something like a light EVA with punctured holes evenly spaced throughout. The shoulder straps are covered with a finer (yet still very sturdy) mesh that is stuck to the padding inside (not loose over it) so you won't feel any slack there, nor risk any hook entanglement. There are straps with 'clickies' both at the top and bottom of the straps, so as to adjust how far up or down you want the pack to rest on your chest. To put the vest on you need to un-click one of the bottom straps and then secure it (I found they end up a little further back than would be 100% comfortable to click back on, but no big deal... probably would be the same with any other pack). The nylon straps are sewn on the ends so that they can not come out of the clickies.
Top of the pack: on the top, on both sides, there is some gray dense foam (it feels more like dense EVA or almost rubber) which is intended to hold barbless flies. Not too much space there, and I am not sure I would risk hooking my flies there just to have them drop and lose them by mistake, but for hooking the flies while tying your leader, tippet, fly, it could serve the purpose.
Storage: There are then three main zippered compartments. All interiors are tan-colored, producing good contrast with most stuff you would want to keep inside. About the pockets/pouches, one is the large one: it has double zippers which are huge and their purpose is to be able to unzip comfortably with one hand. There is no way this zipper would ever get jammed or stuck with fabric or anything. The zipper come with a handy big loop so you can quickly pull open with a finger. In that big pouch there is room for 2 large fly boxes and a litte more maybe an extra spool, pliers/hemostat, etc. This pretty much depends on how big of a pack you are comfortable with carrying on your chest. The next zipper towards the front is the middle pouch. This is really small, but supposedly water-tight. This might hold a cellphone and wallet, at the most (but probably as much non-waterproof stuff as I'd wish to carry anyways). This middle one has one zipper alone. The last pouch, on the very front of the pack, is another double-zipper pouch, and medium sized. Plenty of sleeves and sub-compartments in it (one of them a zippered mesh pocket). I keep my tippet spools, clips, split-shots and dry-fly goo in there.
Front: Even then, on the front of the pouch, there are two thin elastic meshes to put tippet or hold any light stuff you want to carry handy (a small fly box will fit).
Sides: To the left and right of the pack are 4 red tabs (2 on each side) which you can use to hang on pretty much anything (extender cords, for instance). Immediately below these are sewn-in horizontal elastic straps (about 1.5 in in length), so that, for example, you can secure your hemostats in them, pointing down. The pack is very comfortable and even if you keep it full and make it bulky, I don't think it will get too much in the way of my casting.
Color: One thing to point out is that the picture on Amazon's website makes this pack appear much darker than it actually is (at least for the gray version, which is the one I got). It is still a dark gray, but it is not charcoal or even near it. That said, I like the color a lot, and the red tabs and rings on the zippers create a nice contrast.
Cons: Not much, that I can tell. I might have liked a few more places to tie things onto, especially at the bottom of the pack (which is basically all flush fabric... nice and neat look, though). I've carried tippet spools on a lanyard hanging below my packs, in the past. No way I can do that on this one (although I am storing my tippets inside). Other than that (which is just personal preference) I don't see anything negative worthy of mention.
Conclusion: I would definitely choose this pack again, if I had to. Time will tell how good it really is, but by the looks, this is built like a tank, seems to be pretty practical, is well designed (Umpqua's experience on the water probably had something to do here) so that many factors a fly fisherman would want to see have been adequately considered. I would definitely recommend to a friend.
Update: Went fishing out in Hill country (Texas) with the pack. Very comfortable. Probably had it a little over-packed, but it was not too bulky. There are definitely smaller options out there, and based on your needs and taste, you may find this slightly big. I am keeping the 5-star rating because I purchase it precisely because my smaller chest packs were too small for my gear (albeit being more comfortable), and this ones gives me the extra room I need without sacrificing too much comfort (in terms of being bulkier). I also found you can detach the shoulder harnesses through a set of hidden clickies. Not sure if this is to provide compatibility with Umpqua's backpacks or what, but they seem practical. I probably won't use them, but say you wanted to take your pack on a canoe, kayak or boat, you could always detach the shoulder straps and turn this into a handy small fishing pack
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