*Almost* PERFECT
Okay, so the Summit vest is absolutely worth every penny, a huge quality of life upgrade for me as a hunter and dog handler, and full of the kinds of small *and* large improvements on the competition that make you wonder how no one thought of them before. The quality of materials is beyond phenomenal, the flexibility of the design makes it a cinch to personalize, and, not for nothing, the look is slick. FWIW, I use it 60-90 minutes *daily*, longer on hunts, but otherwise literally daily for off-leash hiking and training with my 2 bird dogs in New Jersey weather (below zero to over 90F).
But. The pouches / accessories are a weird place where the competition beats Final Rise. The water bottle holders are great, but the bulky, open, thin, velcro pouches that come standard are too deep and to flimsy-feeling to be much use for the things I normally need right to hand (shells, phone, back-up whistle, training treats, etc.). Heck, my old Pa'tridge Strap Vest from L. L. Bean (R.I.P.) had better-designed front-of-body storage. For me, it was worth buying two of the magnetic-closure pouches from Chief Upland, MOLLE-ing them on (as pictured) and tossing the Final Rise pouches to the back to hold first aid and other less-essential items.
The fact that this was such an easy fix is testament to the extremely high quality of thought, skill, materials, and testing on display here. I was more than happy to pay a little extra to another company to get this from 4 to 5 stars for me personally, but I bet when I need another vest from Final Rise (in, I assume, 30 years, based on how hardy this thing has been) that won't even be necessary.
