By: The Grit Staff
We strive to evaluate a product on its own merits. The Grit isn’t likely to give you our top five whatever or bring you a head-to-head competition between two products. This review is an exception. For the past several seasons, we have been hunting the heck out of the Final Rise Summit strap vest. We are now approaching several hundred cumulative days in the field with the Summit, so it is safe to say we like them. Nevertheless, when Final Rise dropped the new Summit XT, we wondered, “Is it better?”.
Matt Davis and his team at Final Rise have taken the upland gear market by storm in just a few short years. Matt brought his experience from his family commercial sewing business and applied it to the increasing demand for upland strap vests. His streamlined but quality product designs have put him at the forefront of the market. It also doesn’t hurt that Matt is an exceptionally kind human who lives the upland adventure lifestyle that most bird hunters aspire to.
A game bag and a few other pouches rigged on straps might not seem terribly complex, but when it comes to maximizing comfort and functionality in the field, the devil is in the details. For the Final Rise vests, those details start with a well-thought out harness system.
Super thin shoulder straps provide a clean gun mount, whether you're hunting September sharpies in a t-shirt or January chukar in a puffy jacket. The shoulder straps are also lightly textured, making them neither too tacky nor too slick when you pull up on a flushing bird. While the straps are thin they are wide, which helps to evenly distribute the weight of the pack. We’ve loaded ours down with a gallon of water, a box of shells, and a professional camera- plus whatever birds we shoot.
All this stuff gets heavy by the end of a long day, but the Final Rise vests are as comfortable as any option for weighty loads. Just like any good backpack, the strap system allows you to fine-tune the distribution of the weight across your shoulders, chest, and hips. The padded waist belt feels luxurious and anchors well to your body to prevent unwanted shifting. The mesh panel at the back lets your sweat vent when you are jogging up on running scalies or busting cattails for pheasants.
The game bag on the Summit XT is ample- we have loaded it with a limit of sage grouse and sharptails without issue. While the game bag doesn’t perfectly contour the body, we actually prefer its semi-rigid rectangular shape, as it’s easier to find that extra water bottle or camera when reaching into the pouch. There’s a few secret zipper pockets on the pouch interior and inside the triangle of fabric above. These can accommodate a water filter, keys, or a snare cutter, but not much else.
The outside of the ‘triangle’ has shock cord webbing to secure a jacket, but we have never used this feature on our vests. Unlike the Summit, the Summit XT comes standard rigged with quick release jacket loops at the lower back. These are very handy when layering during fluctuating temperatures.
While the Summit XT is easy to reach into, we think there is a bit of a lost storage opportunity behind the ‘triangle’. Between the mesh and the back panel there is plenty of room to store a jacket or other accessories, which would then ride closer to the body than either of the more external jacket attachments.
The Summit XT comes standard with two bottle holders (and bottles!). We love how you can choose either the more narrow ‘Gatorade’ bottle width, or a wider sizer that fits a Nalgene perfectly. The shell pouches on the XT are one of the primary upgrades from the Summit. They feature magnetic top flaps, which provide faster access to your Kit-Kats and shells in the heat of the moment.
Notably, these magnetic flaps will also send your GPS compass haywire, which is not so great if you like to slip your handheld into a shell pouch. Immediately next to the shell pouch is a D-ring for your handheld, and you have other attachment options, including one of Final Rise’s custom sized GPS pouches. These and numerous other add-on accessories (even including a sidearm holster!) can be easily shifted around on the waist belt or body of the pack with simple MOLLE tabs.
Our older Summit vests have very tough 500 and 1000 denier Cordura fabric that holds up to everything from dirty pickup beds to plum thickets. The upgraded Summit XT is completely 1000 denier fabric, which makes it a little lighter weight, stiffer, and tougher. For us, the weight factor is the big standout there, with the Summit XT coming in a touch lighter than its direct competitors like the Hunt Redi Deviate 2.0.
The Summit XT isn’t made in quite as many colors as the Summit, but four is plenty. More importantly, both vests come in five different belt sizes and two torso lengths, which means they will fit anyone who is old enough to carry a shotgun.
Are we going to sell our Summits to upgrade to the Summit XT? Probably not. The key attributes of both vests are similar enough that we are happy with the originals. However, if we were buying our first Final Rise, or picking one up for someone else, we would certainly opt for the Summit XT. It retails for 350.00, only 35 bucks more than the Summit. That makes it a no-brainer to gain the benefits of the magnetic shell pouches, the integrated jacket straps, and the lighter construction.
A majority of wingshooters in our circle of friends run a Final Rise vest, and we can’t think of anyone that dislikes them. If you get your hands on one, you’ll see why the Final Rise Summit XT has become the benchmark strap vest for many upland diehards.
Not only is it comfortable and tough as nails, but it’s built in America by some really awesome folks. While the market is getting a bit crowded with strap vest options, it’s safe to say that the Summit XT will stay at the top with its clean, intuitive design features, competitive price point, and broad appeal.
*The Grit was supplied with a testing sample but was not otherwise compensated for this review.
