Kifaru Steelhead Chest Pack

I like waterfowl, upland, elk and deer hunting, and I totally appreciate gear made specifically for hunting. I also like applying hunting gear to my fishing pursuits, because I think if it’s good enough to hunt in, it’s usually good enough to fish with.

That said, there’s a very clear difference between the hunting world and the fishing world when it comes to product design, and generally, when a hunt brand decides to go fishing, it’s a flop. They usually win on durability, but fail miserably on functionality and design.

So I was skeptical, although I had heard good things about the American-made Kifaru (which means rhinoceros in Swahili, for what that’s worth) hunting packs, backpacks, tents and accessories.

When you call a product line “steelhead,” you enter the fishing world, and it better be ready to fish. Such is the case with this versatile chest pack. Full kudos to Kifaru–the designers, and especially “Mary” in Wyoming, who sewed this pack together (the tag inside proudly says so, which is a nice personal touch).

The pack is functional, versatile, comfortable and works. Moreover, it’s tough as nails. It’s designed as a component system, where you clip the back to the front, and where the front compartment rides high on the chest. It’s not bulky or intrusive, so no problem making casts and managing fly line as you work upstream.  

The back compartment is large enough to stuff a hydration pack inside, or rain jacket, extra fly boxes, or lunch for yourself or even a couple extra sports, if you are a guide.  

The front pack has two compartments with two distinct zippers, one with inside pockets to handle things like gink, weights, spare spools of tippet, leaders and essential tools like hemostats and such, and this is where I’d stash a small fly box or two.

The other section is billed by Kifaru as a good place to store a pistol, which is totally irrelevant for most anglers in most situations, unless you fish in bear country. For the sake of testing, I still took a compact automatic in that compartment, just to see how heavy and cumbersome that might be, and it was fine. But I soon ditched the gun, and used that second zippered space as a “staging table” as I fished, and it was like a mini workbench, thankfully with a black backdrop, which made things like picking and tying on tiny flies all that much easier. Instead of a pistol, you might stick an extra fly box in here.

At the end of the day, I care about two things when I fish in the backcountry: how heavy and uncomfortable the yoke might be, and how fishable/functional the pack is as I’m making casts.  

This pack works. But everyone has their own system, and all bodies are different. I’ll still stick with my simple Filson vest (or shirt pockets) when I fish close to home, or only for a few hours. But when I’m planning on hoofing it to find good fish, and when I’m guiding others, this is what I’ll use.

The Steelhead from Kifaru is a well designed and durable chest pack solution for hiking/wading anglers, as well as guides. It’s not cheap, but it’s handmade in the U.S.A. and highly durable. You get what you pay for.