UMPQUA LEDGES 500
-Jackson Dockery
Umpqua’s ledges 500 has been on the market for a few years now, but it wasn’t until now I felt I had put it under its paces enough to post a good review. The ledges was the flagship pack of Umpqua’s line of fly fishing packs, and rightly so. This pack is absolutely loaded with great features! There are tons of fishing packs on the market today, and manufactures struggle to make their product stand out. Umpqua released this pack after lots of studying of current products, and added some great fly fishing friendly features.
The ledges 500 consists of 2 main pockets with a stretchable
mesh shove pocket on the outside, as well as one “Dry pocket” on the side. It
also has a “tool sheath” – one of my favorite features in between the two main pockets. I put my hemostats in
this pocket without a zinger or retainer of any kind, and it stays put, I have
yet to looses a pair yet. And although it holds my tool securely, it has
extremely easy acess. Perhaps it is the simple design of this pack, or mayby
just my extended use has given me this ability but I find it extremely easy to
use the pack, and find any items while the pack is still behind me, out of my
sight.
The “DRY POCKET”
What can I say, this was a failure. Too small for anything worth bringing, not even waterproof. After a wading misshap I was pleased to find the inside of this pocket soaked, like the rest of the pack. (pack was not held under water. Only bottom couple inches where subjected to water)
What can I say, this was a failure. Too small for anything worth bringing, not even waterproof. After a wading misshap I was pleased to find the inside of this pocket soaked, like the rest of the pack. (pack was not held under water. Only bottom couple inches where subjected to water)
This packs other features include an amazing suspension system, although I feel the same effects could have been achieved without such an obtrusive frame. However its rigidity helps enourmously in by not allowing the top of the pack to “Flop” away from your body. The frame also gives it excellent breathablilty, but at the cost of the frame being obtrusive into the main pocket.
The packs waistbelt in itself is nothing extremely special,
however I felt that it could have done with some of the waistbelt pockets its big brother
the ledges 650 has. The tabs on the waistbelt make for another good place to
put tools, however I don’t use them. The pack also sports a loop on each side
to aid in tightening the waistbelt. These are extremely helpful, until one of
them gave way a couple months back, rendering it useless, so I cut it off.
The pack also has a compression strap on each side, which can also be used to secure a waterbottle in conjunction with the water bottle pocket. (one on each side)
The pack also has a compression strap on each side, which can also be used to secure a waterbottle in conjunction with the water bottle pocket. (one on each side)
One feature often overlooked in waist packs is a pair of lash straps on the bottom of the pack. These are great for stapping a jacket to, or an extra layer or two.
The pack also has some elastic loops on the sides to put
tools and what not, I usually put my nippers and floatant here.
Pros-
Well thought out design
Plenty of pockets and organizational features
High quality construction for the most part
Plenty of places to store tools
Spacious layout
rigid frame
Cons-
No hipbelt pockets
No place to put flies to dry (foam patch, Velcro, Etc.)
No "real" dry pocket
Needs reinforced stitching on synch loops
All in all the Umpqua ledges 500 is a well made, well
thought out pack, perfect for any fly fisherman looking to replace their vest
or current pack. The ledges has some unique features that clearly put it ahead
of its competition. Like any product, your use and preferences may differ from
mine.
