If you’re a turkey hunter that appreciates being organized and having quick access to their gear, then you probably have or are in the market for a turkey vest. Not all turkey vests are created equal though. Some vests have a ton of pockets while others only have one or two. A few turkey vests even have integrated seats so you don’t have to worry about carrying one while you’re on the run. Like any other piece of hunting equipment, these vests can get as fancy as you want them to.
The best turkey vests are lightweight, durable, and modular. These vests are almost unnoticeable when worn, yet everything you need is right at your fingertips. Throughout the rest of this article, I show why I think turkey vests are a great tool to have, and show you a few of my favorite vests for you to pick from. Hopefully, this article will help you find the perfect turkey vest for your setup.
Why You Need a Lightweight Turkey Vest
If you’re like me, you are almost consistently on the move while turkey hunting. You also probably have multiple turkey calls, decoys, a seat, extra layers, a water bottle, a GPS, a headlamp, and maybe a snack or two as well. All of this gear can add up and be a pain to jam into a standard backpack. Almost certainly, the item you need in the moment will end up at the bottom of that bag. This is where a turkey vest comes in.
Turkey vests are designed to be big enough to carry everything you need for a day in the field while keeping it organized and easily accessible. No more dumping out a pack to find your headlamp or a particular call you feel is right in the moment. Turkey vests allow hunters to be more organized, efficient, and quiet. You just don’t want a vest that is overly heavy or has way more features than you really need. A run and gun turkey hunter needs a lightweight vest!
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How I Chose These Turkey Vests
While I have used a few turkey vests in the field, I obviously haven’t tried every vest out there. So I had to lean a little on public opinion to find out which vests were really the best. So I did a deep dive across retailers and cross-referenced different sources to find what I believe to be the five best lightweight turkey vests currently on the market.
First, I focused on brands with good track records that are known to produce high-quality products relative to their price point. Next, I searched for the lightest turkey vests on the market that are still fully functional. Then, I included vests in multiple categories including adult, women-specific, and even a vest that will work for youth hunters. I also included vests across a wide price range. No matter what kind of hunter you are or what your turkey hunting budget is, there will be a vest for you on this list!
Below are what I believe to be the five best lightweight turkey vests on the market today. We will examine five categories: best overall, most affordable, best modular, best youth, and best for women. I also included another lightweight option for those who aren’t sold on a vest but prefer a lumbar bag. Before we get started, here are the five bags we will go over, each with a link to their respective sections if you already know what you like.
- Highest Quality: Sitka Equinox (44.5oz)
- Lightest & Most Affordable: Slumberjack Pursuit (19oz)
- Most Modular: ALPS Outdoorz Long Spur Turkey Vest (~68oz)
- Best Fit: Knight and Hale Run-N-Gun (~24oz)
- Best For Women: PROIS Turkey Vest (49.6oz)
Highest Quality: Sitka Equinox Turkey Vest
If you believe in the “buy once cry once” philosophy, then this is the vest for you. If you’ve been in the hunting world for very long you’ve probably already heard of Sitka Gear. This company makes fantastic hunting gear and apparel that thousands of hunters swear by. It is made of high quality material, and it is sure to last a lifetime. However, the only downside, it’s pricey. The same can be said for this vest.
The Equinox Vest is lightweight, adjustable, and has everything you need and nothing you don’t. It has a minimalist, simple, and easy-to-use design. It sports magnetic closing pockets that will help you stay stealthy in the woods yet allow you to easily access your calls and other gear. The vest itself is made of 75-denier brushed-face polyester woven fabric which is tough as nails and comes with a weather resistant DWR (durable water repellent) finish.
One of the nicest features of this vest is that it has a drop-down seat that can be easily cinched up and down. No more forgetting your seat or having to unpack and repack it every time you move spots. Plus, a lot of users say the seat is super comfortable thanks to its dual density technology. The pack also has fully adjustable straps to create a secure fit for sizes XS-XXL, meaning just about any hunter can wear it comfortably.
Once you shoot a bird, you can secure it to your vest with the four interconnecting compression straps on the back. I also like to use these for shed hunting earlier in the year. Along with its many other pockets, the Sitka Equinox has a water-resistant box call storage pocket that provides a snug fit to eliminate unwanted noise for the run and gun hunter. Sitka has a great warranty system. If you buy this vest you can be sure that Sitka will take care of you if anything is faulty, or if you somehow manage to break it.
Key Features:
- Weighs 44.5 Ounces
- Attached Seat
- Plenty of Pockets
- Magnet Closing Pockets
- Supports a Hydration Bladder
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Made to Last Fits XS to XXL Hunters A Fan Favorite Vest | Runs Around $250 |
Lightest & Most Affordable: Slumberjack Pursuit Vest
The Slumberjack Pursuit Vest is perfect for the turkey hunter on a budget, you can pick it up for $60 to $80 depending on the sale. You can usually find the best price here on Amazon. The Pursuit Vest wasn’t designed only for turkey hunting but it definitely fits the bill and only weighs a meager 19 ounces. If you are here to find the absolute lightest vest you can, this vest is an awesome choice, especially for the price.
The Slumberjack Pursuit has a hydration-compatible back compartment, and four high-quality zippered (YKK) chest pockets. The vest’s back compartment can fit up to a 70 oz / 2 liter water reservoir or you could use that space for extra layers or gear that doesn’t fit in the front pockets. This pack is made to be small and slender, but if there isn’t enough storage for you, there is molle webbing on each hip that you can easily add a pouch to. Additionally, it’s constructed from breathable materials that will help you stay cool on the hunt.
The Slumberjack Pursuit is designed to fit close to the body so that it is comfortable to wear, doesn’t sag, and won’t get caught as you’re silently slipping through the timber after a big tom. To make sure it fits you just right, Slumberjack included 10 different points of adjustment so you can make it just how you want it.
I couldn’t find much that I didn’t like about this vest, it does the job that turkey hunters need it to do, and it doesn’t try to do anything extra. Overall this pack has fantastic reviews rating an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 80 reviews online. I think this is a great high-quality vest for hunters that don’t want to spend a lot of money but want something lightweight that will carry all of their essentials.
Key Features:
- Weighs 19 Ounces
- 468 Cubic Inches of Storage
- Plenty of Pockets
- YKK Zippers
- Supports a Hydration Bladder
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very Affordable Easy to Fit & Adjust Super Lightweight & Slender | Does Not Include a Seat |
Most Modular: ALPS Outdoorz Long Spur Turkey Vest
If you are a minimalist turkey hunter or like being able to customize our gear, then the ALPS Outdoorz Long Spur Turkey Vest is the vest for you! What’s neat about this vest is how versatile it is. The Long Spur vest has a removable shoulder harness, a large game bag, a removable padded waist belt, and a removable lumbar pack. Additionally, the vest is completely adjustable so it can fit almost any turkey hunter; man or woman.
The included and removable pockets can hold a wide variety of calls including box calls, slate calls, mouth calls, locator calls, and shotgun shells. The downside of all that storage space is the weight. This vest weighs 4.25 pounds, or 68 ounces. Although a lot of the weight can be shed by leaving the removable lumbar bag or seat behind when it isn’t needed. One thing I don’t like about this bag is that the seat only comes with the “Deluxe” version of this vest, and it adds $20 to the price tag.
What I like about this vest is that it doesn’t have anything that you don’t need. All the material is absolutely necessary, either making up the frame of the vest, or being a pocket. You can adjust it and remove or move pockets as you see fit, and it should have more than enough space for most hunters. The ALPS Outdoorz Long Spur vest has over 60 reviews online and they are overwhelmingly good. On Amazon, the pack scores 4.4 out of 5 stars. I couldn’t find any negative reviews that really held water, so this vest is a real contender in my eyes.
Overall, this is a great pack for the individual that likes to keep things simple and modular. The vest may also allow you to be more efficient allowing you to only take the pockets and accessories that you need for a day in the woods. Although if you are like me and you want to have all the pockets and all the gear, but in a semi organized way, then this might be the best turkey vest for you.
Key Features:
- Weighs 68 Ounces
- 500 Cubic Inches of Storage
- Highly Modular
- Included Game Bag
- Modular Design
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Modular Design Plenty of Storage Space Seat Included Game Bag Included | Not as Light As Other Vests |
Best Fit: Knight and Hale Run-N-Gun 200 Turkey Vest
The Knight and Hale Run-N-Gun 200 turkey vest is extremely adjustable with a 10-point adjustment system. With adjustment from shoulders to chest and belly to lumbar, the Run N’ Gun is designed to offer a custom fit for man, woman, or child. This vest is designed to fit tight to your body so it doesn’t catch when crossing fences or pushing through thick brush. Additionally, it has a breathable construction that doesn’t have much material to get in the way so that you don’t overheat on those warm spring days. Of course, this also makes the vest super light, weighing in at just over one and a half pounds.
The Run-N-Gun 200 is capable of holding a water bladder, multiple calls, and anything else you can fit in the 198 cubic inches worth of storage space. It is also outfitted with molle webbing so you can add even more pouches if you need them. Although this vest comes with four large zippered pockets, and three more fast-access non-zippered pockets, I am sure you are going to be able to hold all of your turkey gear and then some in this vest.
It comes with a comfortable six-layer seat cushion that is attached to the vest so that you never have to worry about carrying it in or accidentally leaving it behind. The seat also cinches up so you don’t have to worry about it flopping around everywhere while you are on the move. Plus, a ton of users reported that the seat was very comfortable and that it holds up to wear and tear.
This vest has well over 600 reviews online and it averages 4.8 out of 5 stars. That’s quite the rating. Knight and Hale is a great company that is known for its calls, so it is no surprise that they made an ideal vest for carrying those calls. Overall this vest is highly rated and regularly gets good feedback from hunters.
Key Features:
- Weighs 24 Ounces
- 198 Cubic Inches of Storage
- Includes Molle Webbing
- Attached Seat
- Breathable Design
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very Lightweight Plenty of Storage Space Comfortable Seat Included | You Need a Bladder, Doesn’t Fit a Bottle |
Best for Women: Prois Turkey Vest
There aren’t many companies that design hunting gear for women, luckily Prois does. If you’re a woman looking for a turkey vest specifically designed for female hunters by hunters, then this is probably the best setup for you! If you have already gone through the hassle of ordering a vest and it is not fitting quite right, this vest might do a bit better for female hunters. To make sure it fits right, it is highly adjustable, and is specifically cut to fit women, including a specifically placed shoulder strap, chest strap, and hip belt.
The Prois Turkey Vest is exceptionally durable, it is made of 420 Denier Nylon Ripstop fiber that stands the test of time. Which you can be sure of since Prois themselves states on their website that “we believe the cornerstone to the best outdoor gear lies in its fabrics”. Plus it will be comfortable to wear with its padded shoulder straps, and padded sections on the back of the vest.
The bag sports an expandable game bag to carry turkey decoys or a turkey when you inevitably get one, and a removable and water-resistant seat that is very comfortable according to user reports. The seat is also made with tough fiber to make sure the abrasive ground isn’t an issue, and it clips to the top of the bag to secure anything in the game bag, and make sure the seat doesn’t get in the way.
The Prois Turkey Vest includes two deep pouches on the front of the waistband for turkey calls, shells, and anything else you can fit in them. It also has a pocket specifically designed to fit a box call, and strikers for pot calls. All and all, this vest is perfect for the female hunter and will keep any hunter organized who likes to carry multiple calls and other gear items.
Key Features:
- Weighs 49.6 Ounces
- Made Specifically for Women
- Large Pockets
- Attached Seat
- Breathable Design
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Made to Fit Women Quality Quick Access Pockets Comfortable Seat Included Has Space for Larger Items | Some Reviews State it’s Too Large |
Bonus Kit: Tenzing Flex Lumbar Pack
If you aren’t quite sold on a vest and want something lightweight and simple to carry a few items, then this lumbar pack from Tenzing may be the perfect fit. This pack contains an optics pocket, knife/tool pocket, mesh pocket for water bottles or calls, a large main compartment, and a face compartment for extra gear.
The Tenzing Flex Lumbar Pack is also extremely adjustable and will fit most hunters. Unlike the vests we discussed above, this pack doesn’t have a seat. For some individuals, that may not be a big deal but for others that might be a deal breaker. If you want a seat you should consider an inflatable hunting seat or you could even cut a piece from an old Thermarest Z Lite or similar style sleeping pad and stuff it into the main compartment. I’ve personally used both of the seat options above and they work great and are lightweight.
Like the vests recommended above, this lumbar pack has great reviews on Amazon and out of over 200 reviews, is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars. Overall, customers were extremely happy with this pack. Additionally, this pack isn’t specifically designed for turkey hunting which means it isn’t so specialized that it’s not useful for other types of hunting like big game or even small game hunts.
My Last Cluck
I hope you found this article useful and that it helped you decide on a turkey vest. Turkey vests are great for keeping your gear organized, especially when you are run-n-gun hunting. I’ve lost plenty of items chasing turkeys through the woods before I figured out an organizational system that works for me. I’m sure the vests above will work for you and will help make you a more efficient and successful turkey hunter.
Sister Post | 10 Optimal Saddle Hunting Backpacks [Any Price Range]
A sister post is another post that I have written that follows along with the same topic as the one you just read. After reading this article, you will probably like this next one even more! Here is a little teaser…
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1 | The Best All-Around Deal: Tidewe Hunting Backpack
Tidewe has come on strong in the last few years with affordable prices on various gear. Their hunting backpack is no exception and comes with all the features you need to manage your saddle equipment…Keep Reading
2 | The Most Storage and Stability: Eberlestock X2
The Eberlestock X2 is one of the most talked about packs for anything hunting-related, but especially saddle hunting…Keep Reading
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