Gear review - multi-pocket vests

I'm frequently asked about the gear I wear and why I wear it. I buy all my gear so I can give a truly honest, unbiased appraisal of the gear I choose and what makes me part with my money.

I'm a bit of a gear freak and I used to regularly review stuff (clothing, tripods, binoculars, scopes, books, etc) for Bird Watching magazine for many years. I've also been involved in birding kit innovation and development for over 20 years, primarily with Leica, but also with Cragoppers (pre-Risol buy-out and and attempted global nomination) and latterly with Minox. So, apart from being a user I also know a wee bit about product development.

When it comes to clothing I'm a long-time fan of several brands and my birding wardrobe is dominated in particular by Rohan and Páramo.

Multi-pocket Gear Vests

My use of multi-pocket vests (sleeveless jackets) has blown hot and cold over the years. This is almost certainly due to not yet finding the perfect one. I’ve tried several over the years (Panoramic, Regatta, Country Innovation) but the closest I’ve come to a usable vest is the old Rohan Cargo Vest. I’ve had mine for a few years and seem to fall in and out of love with. Why? Well, to be honest, this might be the best, but its still some way from being the perfect field vest. To be honest its nearly perfect. It has oodles of pockets that are bellowed cargo pockets and fits great. But the front zip is only a ¾ length and the collar is lousy. I cant wear my binocular strap over the slightly padded short collar, but have to wear the strap below it which just doesn’t work as well.

Two recent arrivals to the market, from my two fave brands Rohan and Páramo potentially offered me something better. Or did they?

Right: the old Rohan Cargo Vest. Nearly perfect with Velcro fastened bellow pockets and huge back pocket, but let down by zip and collar. I can carry up to 8kg of gear in this vest!

Rohan Freight Vest

£115

Rohan website

Photo © Rohan | www.rohan.co.uk

Fabric: 100% polyamide with 100% polyester lining.
Pockets: 9 plus two pen slots (2 front chest pockets with Velcro fastener, 2 front waist pockets with
Velcro and popper fasteners; 2 hand pockets; 3 zipped internal security pockets; 2 pen slots)
Zip: Full-length single-way zip with chin guard sat behind stud fastened storm flap
Other features: high collar (unlined)
Weight: 415g

WHAT ROHAN SAY
Rugged, durable and extremely versatile, our Freight Vest is ideal for the travelling professional or adventurous world traveller.It’s made from a lightweight, but very tough, polyamide in a rip-stop construction. It’s highly wind resistant but also very breathable so it’s perfect for both warm-weather and temperate use.It features four external cargo pockets and two hand pockets together with a selection of three internal security pockets and a couple of handy pen slots.The full-length front zip features a stud-secured protective flap.It’s very easy to wash – both in the machine or by hand – and will comfortably dry overnight. Needless to say, it requires no special treatment or ironing.

WHAT I SAY
This vest looks and feels great. A real quality feel as you’d expect from Rohan. I take a medium in Rohan, and this fits like a glove over a couple of other layers.


Front pockets

The four front pockets are not cargo pockets! They are flat stitched against the jacket – no bellows or expansion for when you want to store stuff in them. This is fine for maps, slip books, etc. but it makes them feel tight when being used and once you’ve loaded the vest with gear, it feels lumpy and bulky. For instance, I have no problem in using one of the chest pockets on my old Rohan Cargo Vest for my sunglasses. I wouldn't dream of using the chest pocket on this vest for fear of squashing them because the pocket is so tight when I slip my glasses inside.

But why the stud fasteners? Gear vests like this are about quick and easy access to your stuff in the field. Velcro is great as it needs less unfastening and re-fastening than stud poppers. Leave these stud fasteners unfastened and the pocket flap loose and they clatter, which is just irritating. I know Velcro makes a noise when you undo it, but that’s a trade-off for easier access and closing and no noise when moving around and you haven’t snapped a pocket shut. And I for one very rarely need to access a pocket in a situation where noise is such an issue.

The two hand pockets are also oddly placed behind the lower waist pockets. Your arms aren’t naturally positioned when your hands are in the pockets, and the pockets are internally Velcro fastened which just rubs against your hands and wrists as you put your hands in and out of the pockets. Also, try stuffing your hands in the pockets when the front waist pockets hold anything bulky – not comfortable. Not well thought out. 

Other features

The collar is very good. It sits up and around the neck well but is not lined. The top of the zip is protected and kept hidden from your chin/beard. But what’s with the single-way zip? Can any serious field jacket not have a two-way zip? I don’t think so. I do love the 'vine' green colour though - best colour I've seen on any of these jackets.

Verdict - 6/10 as a gear vest | 8/10 as a traveller vest

Compared to my old Rohan Cargo Vest this vest has two obvious advantages: the full length zip and collar. But the rest is actually quite disappointing functionally. Stud fasteners on pockets are a no-no for me, and the cargo pockets are not bellowed/formed in any way and simply don’t work for anything that isn’t flat – fine for maps, slim books, Kindle and mobile phones, but lousy for photo equipments, speakers, thick books (like some field or site guides), etc. that I carry in the field. The name 'freight' suggests a serious gear jacket which is misleading. But in Rohan's own blurb (above - what Rohan say) they refer to it themselves as a 'traveller' jacket and not a gear carrier. As good a travel jacket it is, a gear jacket it ain't.

I own the Rohan Field Jacket (which I rate 9/10 as a travel jacket) - which effectively the long-sleeved version of this jacket with a few differences. It seems to me that just as the Field Jacket is a great travel jacket (its not a gear jacket in my opinion as it too lacks bellows pockets to carry serious amounts of gear) this vest is also a good travel jacket, just not geared up for cargoing gear.

As a very long-standing (20+ years) Rohan customer I do worry about who designs and test some of their recent items. They sure as hell wear and use things very differently to me thats for sure, as I find fewer and fewer of their garments fitting my needs as a travelling birder-cum-photographer. A test is more than just sticking on a jacket to see if it fits. I often turn up to shops with a bag full of gear to try with garments I buy - its the only way to truly see what you're getting before you purchase. 

Páramo Halcon Vest

£100

Paramo website

Photo (right) © Paramo | www.paramo.co.uk

Fabric: Parameta A® Cotton+ (polycotton)
Pockets: 14 (4 front chest cargo pockets with stud fasteners, 2 front waist cargo pockets with stud fasteners; 2 waist hand pockets (behind waist cargo pockets), 2 large zipped pockets (behind chest cargo pockets); 2 zipped internal security pockets; 2 internal ‘drop’ cargo pockets with elasticated tops)
Zip: Full-length two-way zip with chin guard, no storm flap
Other features: cushioned shoulders; high collar with fleece lining; stud fastened side slits; draw cord waist
Weight: 420g

WHAT PARAMO SAY
The Halcon Waistcoat can be worn over a baselayer or outer layer for comfortable load-carrying for all outdoor activities. The Parameta® A Cotton+ fabric is rugged but quick drying, quiet and lightweight. The 14 pockets/ compartments allow a range of equipment to be organised, transported and easily accessible – ideal for wildlife watchers, photographers, fieldworkers and overseas travellers.

WHAT I SAY
Like the Rohan, this vest looks and feels great and is clearly a quality product. The medium was very tight on me but the large fitted brilliantly over a couple of layers.

Front pockets
The four main front pockets are true cargo pockets. They are bellowed and can easily take relatively bulky items such as camera lens extender, a bulky book, hats, scarves, etc - brilliant! Load up the vest and it performs brilliantly. The lumps and bumps are forward pointing and not digging in to you and feeling tight and lumpy like the Rohan. And, compare them to the Rohan pockets and these are cavernous.

But more stud poppers? Yep, not a fan of these front cargo pockets being poppered – Velcro works so much better in the field.

The two hand pockets are perfectly positioned behind the waist cargo pockets, and because the cargo pockets aren’t tight, your hands actually fit behind them. The draw cord for the wasit sits in the top of the pocket entrance and can be a little irritating, especially when its pulled tight so there is more cord end hanging down in to the pocket.

The two large zipped chest pockets are huge – great for maps and travel documents.

Internal pockets: I love the two ‘drop’ pockets. These allow you to have the bottom of the jacket open (thanks to a two-way zip) and access gear instantly. Great when switching between camera lenses, or extenders.

Other features
The collar is excellent. A perfect fit and that fleece lining just makes it so much more comfortable. The top of the zip is well protected and kept hidden from your chin/beard. Draw wasit cord is a nice feature to help improve fit, especially when the vest is loaded with gear.

Verdict - 9/10
Like my old Rohan Cargo Vest this vest is nearly there. If it wasn’t for the poppered front cargo pockets I’d say this would be my perfect field jacket. 

I'm also a long-standing Páramo user (15+ years). Over the last ten years I think they've cemented themselves as the number one choice for many birders and quite a few photographers. Their Pajaro and Halcon waterproof jackets and Taiga fleece are all seriously great bits of kit. I don't get on with their shirts/tops (I'm, not a fan of the Parameta A and S fabrics they use for these items). So you could say I have a marmite relationship with them as a brand. This Halcon Vest adds to their range of very usable items for birders and photographers.

Postscript
I'm just back from a three-week birding trip in Peru and the Páramo Halcon vest was worn daily. It performed brilliantly! The only problem, as predicted, was those poppered pockets. They're fiddly and a hassle in the field and on a couple of occasions I didn't popper shut pockets securely only to have things tumbling out when I leaned over. But the cargo-capacity of the pockets, especially the external waist pockets and the inner drop pockets, is seriously good. 

A DVD Guide to Birdwatching in Europe

Filmed & Narrated by Paul Doherty
Bird Images
£17.95


Available from Bird Images - click here




Running time 3 hrs 15 mins

Bird species covered: 255 plus numerous landscapes, insects, etc.

Featuring

The Netherlands – February

Eilat, Israel – March

Extramadura, Spain - April 

Pyrenees, Spain - April

Lesvos, Greece – April

Central Finland – June

North Norway – June

Eastern Poland - May

Falsterbo, Sweden – October

Northern Israel - October

This is the latest in Paul Doherty's 'Birdwatching Guides'. His promotional blurb states 'Rather than put out a succession of DVDs (Birdwatching in Poland, Lesvos etc) we felt that people would appreciate the much lower cost of having footage from some of the very best European sites condensed onto one DVD.'

Lesvos, quite rightly, features on this DVD as one of Europe's premier birding destinations and it receives 33 minutes (10% of the running time). In this time you get to see footage for a total of 68 species (and some species you see more than once) filmed at seven (although I would break this down to 12 individual sites) of the main sites across the centre and west of the island. There is also footage of other wildlife.

As you would expect, the footage of birds is variable. There is nothing of poor quality with quality ranging from good to excellent. Some of my personal faves being a singing and displaying rufous Bush-robin, Glossy Ibis and marsh terns - these epitomise Lesvos in spring for me - and the footage of a singing Olive-tree Warbler is fantastic. But its really being picky since so much of the footage is simply brilliant in terms of clarity or showing behaviour (the displaying Goshawk is not crystal clear but is great to see). Some footage is brief, but some sections provide lengthy studies of the bird and some of the simple narration includes very good identification pointers (e.g. female Collared Flycatcher) and is provided over the 'natural' soundtrack of birdsong and other surrounding noises (some natural, some not). You can even watch the whole thing without narration and simply sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of Lesvos in spring.

Overall this presents a very good feel for a spring week on Lesvos. It introduces not only some of the more typical, likely-to-be-seen species (I'd say only several species are difficult to see) but also some of the many differing landscapes. It also shows you that its not all blue skies and wall to wall sun - just look at the Squacco Heron and Flamingo footage to see the reality of a Lesvos spring squal! All should help you plan for the trip not only in terms knowledge, but also giving you an indication of terrain and weather to help you pack the right clothing! What guides (be they DVDs, books, or internet sites) can't accurately provide is the 'buzz' of migration, the rush of a fall of migrants with birds in every bush, but this DVD should whet the would-be-visitors appetite very nicely.

Species included (in order of appearance) - the few species in ( ) are 'background' to other species: Common Nightingale, Black-headed Bunting, Cetti's Warbler, Olivaceous Warbler, Black Stork, Purple Heron, Red-backed Shrike, Red-footed Falcon, Corn Bunting, Black-headed (Yellow) Wagtail, Red-throated Pipit, Rufous Bush-robin, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, (Grey Heron), Ruddy Shelduck, Garganey, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Spoonbill, Marsh Harrier, Glossy Ibis, Whiskered Tern, White-winged (Black) Tern, Common Tern, Squacco Heron, Greater Flamingo, (Moorhen), Little Bittern, Little Crake, Baillon's Crake, Scops Owl, Subalpine Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Cirl Bunting, Ruppell's Warbler, Kruper's Nuthatch, Masked Shrike, Short-toed Treecreeper, Spotted Flycatcher, Short-toed Eagle, Goshawk, Honey-buzzard, Hen Harrier, Citrine Wagtail, Roller, Golden Oriole, Pied Flycatcher, Collared Flycatcher, Lesser Kestrel, Long-legged Buzzard, Little Stint, Scopoli's (Cory's) Shearwater, Yelkouan Shearwater, Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear, Cretzschmar's Bunting, Cinereous Bunting, Black-eared Wheatear, Lesser Grey Shrike, Little Owl, Olive-tree Warbler, Jay, Orphean Warbler, Sombre Tit, Western Rock Nuthatch.

Sites covered: Skala Kallonis, Tskinias River, Alykes Wetlands, Kalloni Saltpans, Metochi Lake, Soumouria ('Scops Copse'), Kavaki, Achladeri, Faneromeni, Meladia (river ford, fig grove and chapel), Ipsilou and Platania.

Other wildlife includes Starred Agama (Lizard), Levant Marsh Frog, butterflies inc. Persian Meadow Brown and Eastern Festoon, Owl-fly, Thread (-winged) Lacewing, Southern Emerald Damselfly.


And don't be put off by the other areas covered! There's more stunning birds, wildlife and scenery on the other 90% of the DVD which will soon have you wanting to go to all these places too! Just go once you've been to Lesvos.

The Dragonflies of Lesbos - a review

The Dragonflies of Lesvos
by John Bowers
Published 2008
ISBN 978-960-930703-1
The Friends of Lesbos / http://www.greenlesbos.com/
£19.99 from UK retailers (or €15 from Green Lesbos in Skala Polichnitou when on the island).
Available from Friends of Lesbos. All profits are donated to Friends of Lesbos.


Dragonflies are a much loved group of birdwatchers, myself included. They occur in many of the habitats birdwatchers visit so get noticed. In recent years there has been an avalanche of new dragonfly books covering both Britain (including my own Watching British Dragonflies) and Europe (including the excellent Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe, Dijkstra, K-D B & Lewington, R. 2006).

As a dragonfly enthusiast I have found dragonfly watching on Lesvos somewhat frustrating. This is mostly my own fault as my trips tend to be focussed on guiding birdwatchers around the island at times not ideal for observing dragonflies (i.e. before many species are on the wing!) and there is only limited scope on a birding week to spend watching other wildlife!

What is surprising about Lesvos dragonflies is that so many species occur on what is essentially a pretty dry island. Many of the species present are true dry area species which have developed to take advantage of seasonal freshwater areas. As most dragonfly watchers know, water is needed largely to oviposit eggs, with most of an adult dragonfly’s life spent away from water feeding and roosting. Few species rely on water bodies for food.

The Dragonflies of Lesbos is a much needed guide to the species found on the island. It is essentially a privately published work and the sole project of the author. The 92-page guide is slim in format (220mm x 112mm) and is made up of six chapters: what are dragonflies; dragonfly habitats; some dragonfly sites; identification of dragonflies; a guide to identifying dragonflies on Lesvos; and the conservation of dragonflies [on Lesvos]. A single appendix lists the species recorded on Lesvos. In addition there are 26 photographic plates including 17 depicting 45 species.

The author has visited the island on numerous occasions and has also drawn heavily on Wolfgang Lopau’s (German biologist) knowledge of the island’s odonata as well as his excellent “Die Libellenfauna der Insel Lesbos” (The dragonfly fauna of the island of Lesbos) (Lopau, W. 1995. Naturkundliche Reiseberichte (Heft 3). Gnarrenburg 1995) from which the list of species for the island in the books appendix is produced.

Odalisque, Achladeri, Lesvos, Apr 2002 © Steve Dudley

The most useful aspect of this guide will be to point observers in the right direction to see individual species on the island. Some species are easily seen when wandering around, but for others, specific site information is a real bonus. The site guide section (14 pages) is excellent. No detailed maps are provided but there is enough in the text to help you get by and locate many of the sites (and latitude and longitude coordinates will assist those with a GPS or you can enter them into Google Earth to produce your own maps before you travel – note that the available maps for the island lack coordinates so will be of no use in this respect). The one map produced I presume is meant to have the site numbers detailed on it, but these are missing so it is rendered useless. Species for each site are also given. There is a useful table listing each site and what species occur in late May and late September. Whilst useful, most birdwatchers visit in the first half of May so many species may not be on the wing during their stay. The details on habitats and flight periods within the individual species accounts is also very useful as both of these can vary for insects on small islands from information given in more mainstream or general European guides.

The photographic plates should in no way be used as a sole means of reference for field identification. This should be achieved using the Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. The photographs are useful in depicting different species but vary in overall quality (in both the taken image and reproduction). Some photos are excellent but others are very poor and would have been better omitted.

Whilst this is a very useful book, it is however a hugely frustrating one to access and read. This is due largely to the fact that the book has been produced by a single individual who’s primary interest appears to be dragonflies (I’d say an odonatist more than simply a dragonfly watcher) and a small society with no or little publishing experience (I speak here as publisher).

Firstly the layout is rather amateurish and could have been significantly improved by a good designer (critical for a successful field guide in my opinion). Secondly there is no index, no page numbers listed in the contents page and little use of page references used throughout the book. Plate references are often given in the text, but fail to give page numbers so you have to leaf back and forth searching.

The biggest failure however is the lack of English species name. Only scientific names are used throughout (including in the only list of species for the island) and I find this totally perplexing in this day and age. How does the author/publisher expect to engage the reader/user by only using scientific names which are alien to all but biologically trained individuals? There is no excuse since the Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe established very usable English names for all the species covered by this title. As an experienced dragonfly observer I know many scientific species names, but not all those covered by this book. I’ve long stopped using scientific names in Britain and since the publication of the Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe have adopted the English names used in this title. I will go as far as to say that within the British birdwatching community there is a long standing impression of insect watchers being elitist and exclusionist to other groups of observers. English names are simply more accessible to the masses, they are better understood and remembered. It is easy to recall a small damselfly with a blue abdomen tip as a Blue-tailed damselfly rather than it is to remember Ischnura elegans. No, the lack of English species names means this title will remain the preserve of the few used to using scientific names. Birdwatchers and the general public will be seriously put off using it which is a real shame when this could have so easily been avoided.

If you can handle scientific names, or be prepared to muddle by (you can always write all the English names in from the Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe) and want to know more about the dragonflies of Lesvos, then this is the only book available. At £19.99 it will put some people off, but it can be purchased on the island for €15 (from Green Lesbos in Skala Polichnitou).

Steve Dudley