FAQ Vests and Accessories
Q. Are WingWorks vests available in any nearby retail stores?
A. Other than several stores here in Idaho, the vests are only available online or by phone. They are currently available online from Pheasants Forever in St Paul, MN. It’s getting harder to offer a US made sewn product at a reasonable price going through typical distribution.
Q. Are WingWorks vests available in womens or youth sizes?
A. Currently Medium is the smallest size available, as we get more interest this may change in the future. Mediums will fit many average sized women.
Q. Are WingWorks vests “bloodproof?”
A. The most critical area to bloodproof is where the gamebag hits the user’s back to avoid clothing stains. That’s where we put Aqualon, a long lasting boat cover material. The rest of the bag is surrounded by a panel of coated 420 denier pack cloth and a panel of coated 1000 denier Cordura.
Q. Can I change the size of a vest simply by replacing the belt/shell bag component or harness with a smaller or larger size?
A. Going up between L and XL is no problem. The new XXL requires much longer belt web, so this may be a problem. Going down is size is never a problem. If you want to be flexible between XL and XXL, please let us know and we’ll make sure you get the longer belt on the game bag. If you need a longer or shorter belt, let us know.
Q. Are you still building vests in Nightime Desert Camo? Can I still get components made in this style?
A. We’re not currently building in this pattern, but may again in the future. We do have belt/shell bags in L and XL from past years production, and the new sternum harnesses will fit all prior production vests, in all colors and patterns, though they are only available in khaki.
Q. Why are the shell pocket flaps so long?
A. Several reasons. The rectangular opening on the pocket top needs a long flap to reach over it and stay in place. In order to accomodate a large spring water bottle it needs to go over and down to the velcro patch to secure the bottle. Initially we often carried extra water in one shell pocket to offset the weight of a box and half of shells in the other. The length also allows the flap to be pushed inside the pocket deep enough where it’s velcroed and difficult to pull out when grabbing shells from the open pocket.
Q. Is the game bag big enough?
A. Design-wise we held the gamebag from wrapping forward so we could have room for shell bags on the hunter’s side, out of the way of climbing and walking leg movements. We were all tired of bumping loaded shell bags every step up a hill, but we needed decent shell capacity. We were also careful not to leverage the gamebag away from the hunter’s back too much to avoid pulling back on the shoulder straps instead of sitting on the belt. More straps can be added to pull here and there to compensate, but we try to keep it simple.
With the zippered rear pocket full of extra stuff and nothing in the water pouch, we have no trouble with 8 chukars and a few extra huns, or 4 roosters. Dove and quail aren’t even an issue. We recommend if lots of water is needed, use the 54 oz water pouch bottle first, then strap it on the rear pad eye to free up more space for birds. I have a Badlands Diablo pack with our shell bags sewn on the sides, with a 6 liter Camelback military bladder for the very occasional long exploratory, but it makes up 1% of my hunting. When returning, I’ll use a regular vest and focus on the best parts of the hunt and go light.
Q. How many square inches of hunter orange is on the vests?
A. WW vests have just over 165 square inches of hunter orange in the form of Tenmile Cloth. Adding a blaze orange shoulder harness will push a vest to 200 square inches.
