Product Review: Umpqua Ledges 500 Waist Pack

Up until this spring I have had the same fishpond Waterdance Guide Waistpack for close to five years without a single complaint. My waist pack was the only exception to my constantly changing fly fishing gear that I use on a regular basis. So when I was told one of the Umpqua Ledges 500 packs was going to show up here at the shop for me to use, I was skeptical.

My intentions were to load the pack up and use it once to learn about and then let the other employees at the shop here use it to learn about the product.  I was less skeptical after I had emptied my much larger fishpond pack into this pack completely. After fishing the pack on the day trip that I planned to be its only trip out with me, I quickly made the decision that I was selfishly keeping this pack for myself.

I wouldn’t venture to say that the Umpqua Ledges 500 is a better product that the fishpond Waterdance, However I would say it is a better fit for me. The reason is that the Ledges 500 is a smaller pack that forces me simplify what I bring with me, but for a medium sized waist pack it holds a serious amount of gear though. It comfortably holds 4 fly boxes in the main compartment along with a sandwich and granola bar, two water bottles, and a flat pocket for leaders etc.

Likes

• Well planned medium size
• Internal frame for support and ventilation
• large main compartment

Dislikes

• Shoulder strap slides requiring frequent adjusting
• Mesh material on bottle holders gets flies stuck in it easily

If you are on the fence about medium sized waist packs and have thought about carrying less or wanting a smaller pack the Ledges 500 is definitely worth looking at.