The warm breath meets the crisp air with a fleeting cloud of mist. A shiver hits your spine and you can not tell if you are cold or you're anxious for the world to awake. The first sounds of life come from the song of an Eastern Whip-poor-will and echos through the dark hardwood bottoms. As the sun arises from its slumber the woods become deafening with the choir of songbirds, we try to drown out all this excess noise in search of an audible that drives the passion of a spring turkey hunter. The Gobble.
It's mornings like this that turkey hunters dream nine months out of the year about and in those dreams we fantasize sitting behind a tail fan in full camouflage with a content grin on our face. Fantasy and reality are different sadly and the only ones who will experience this satisfaction have invested time in this craft.
There are hundreds of vests on the market made by various companies designed for different purposes. I have been running the Alps Impact Turkey Vest for the last two seasons and feel I have enough experience to give a review over this product. If you have been following along with the Youtube channel, you would know I am in the pursuit of the Super Slam. I am currently sitting at seven out of forty nine states. During this pursuit, I need a vest that allows me to stay mobile, but also has the capability to carry calls, food, water, and camera equipment all while being comfortable.
Features
First, let's discuss the features of the Alps Impact. The Alps Impact has three zippered compartments, two zippered pockets, and a box call holster on the front of the vest. On the inside of the vest it has one pocket on each side. It also has a typical game bag on the back that is often times used to carry turkeys, decoys, blinds, and other various object you might need in the spring woods. It comes also equipped with a bladder pouch on the back. Lastly, it has its most notable feature which is the stadium style seat built into the vest.
The Size
As a run n' gun turkey hunter I like to focus on keeping my system light, and with this vest weighing in at 4.4 lbs it does a good job of lightening the load as opposed to its older cousin the Alps Grand Slam. Often times, in this vest I use the box call holster to carry my ThermaCell and the pocket directly above it to hold miscellaneous things such as pens, zip-ties, tags, lighter, cigars, and extra ThermaCell fuel. On the opposite side of the pack I tend to use one compartment for a pot call, a crow call, and a striker and the other compartment for my Sony and GoPro batteries. I would like to note that these compartments are not fully loaded simply because I do not need anything else. However, for the more comfortable hunter he or she has the option to add more items. In the zippered pockets I tend to use one to store my gloves and face mask and the other is where I put my dead batteries. On the inside of the vest I carry two containers of mouth call (approx. 6 calls). I started last year carrying a 3L Platypus water bladder and in the game bag I typically carry a Clif Bar, tripod, and toilet paper. In a future I will provide a full list of what I carry and why I carry it, but that is not the purpose of this article. The purpose of telling you about the objects in my vest was for you to get a grasp of the capacity of this vest. In my honest opinion, this vest has to much room for me, but the various compartments make this vest customizable.
The Seat
Previously, I had the Alps Grand Slam Turkey Vest and the reason I ultimately sold that vest was due to the weight of the vest and the seat design. Often times a Pine Tree would have a mound of dirt at the base of a tree that would infringe on the capabilities of the the kickstand to kick out which would allow me to sit comfortably. After the last two seasons I can honestly say that the Alps Impact does not suffer from this design flaw. You can sit on all types of terrain with this design which is important when facing multiple environments as you travel across the United States to chase these birds. This seat is also very comfortable which is needed when you have no other choice but to wait out a stubborn longbeard. There is a design flaw to this seat. In order for you to sit in the seat you have to unbuckle the vest first, then pull the seat down to sit in it. Most vest designs have the flip down seat on the outside which allows or a quicker deployment. This design flaw I do not see as that big of a deal due to the fact that I like to unbuckle my vest before I sit down anyways. The reason is if I need to slip out of the vest to take a weird shot angle I can do so. Many times the turkey does not follow the script that we want and the ability to shed my vest and move quickly is more important than have a seat that flips down quickly. I should note that when I say more quickly I am talking a couple of seconds difference.
The Downside
The only downside to this vest that I can think of is the way the vest rides on your body. In my experience virtually all vests on the market suffer from this. This vest design causes all the weight of the vest to ride on your shoulders. If you are spending twelve hours a day in a vest in late May in search of a lonesome longbeard your shoulders are going to be worn out. In mid to late May I am often traveling from state to state chasing the Super Slam which makes for long days of sunrise to sunset hunting and that is when this problem arises. With that being said I have yet to find a company that has fixed this problem, so it is a flaw that I just have to deal with for the time being. All in all I cannot really say there is any other problems with this vest.
Conclusion
The Alps Impact Turkey Vest is one of the best vest designs I have seen on the market today. The pockets and compartments gives ample room to fit all the items you need for the woods and allows for personal customization. The seat is truly phenomenal, I am sure there can be improvements made to it in the future, but as I see it there is no real need. In the spring, I can keep this vest in my truck and be confident that I have everything I need in one spot. The only true downside to this vest is that the weight of the vest rides on yours shoulders which can be a nuisance, but every vest seems to suffer from this problem so there is no real cure for this. If you are a run n' gun hunter, like me, I do not think you can go wrong with the Alps Impact Turkey Vest.