To the vast majority of anglers, waist pouches or packs are indistinguishable. To them, waist packs are all the same. as long as they hold what they need.
They are all waist packs. There are big waist packs and small waist packs and cheap waist packs. There are American waist packs, Japanese waist packs and Pakistan waist packs. But they’re all waist packs.
I’ve gone through truckloads of waist packs and currently have a couple still in use for different fishing situations. There you have it, confession of a waist pack junkie!
Of all the waist packs that I use, I’ve never had one that is waterproof. So the Sage Typhoon Large Waist Pack caught my attention as I needed to get into the water with it and have a lot of stuff to carry.
What I did not expect however, was part failure to happen the first time i use it.
Not sure what they are called exactly but the end part of the zipper of the Sage Typhoon waist pack pulled out after only the first time I took it out fishing. This trip was to the Maldives for a week but the thing failed after just the first few pulls.
Sage Advise?
I’ve heard a lot of good about Sage’s great products and warranty so I was quite taken aback by the reply received from Sage after I wrote to them about the problem I have with their top of the range waist pack.
Below is the reply I received from a David Bowes of Sage and really, I am so flabbergasted that I don’t know how to respond to it!
“Hello Juan,
I am sorry you had this part fail. I checked and we do not stock these parts, but can order them from our supplier in Asia, but that will be a very long wait. REI and online retailers sell packs of these (even glow in the dark!) ones and years ago I bought about 20. A very good investment.
David”
WTH? It’s like saying *”Hello Juan, I am sorry, but shit happens. You’re on your own. Good luck!”*
What would you have said? If you have any suggestion, leave a comment below.
And this thing is not cheap. The Sage Typhoon waist pack is like the LV of fishing waist pouches retailing for US$200. That’s right, a 200 dollar pack.
I made a DIY solution after the last failure but the cord broke on the recent trip to Sabah Borneo. So I came out with another solution attaching a big snap swivel to it. Should have done that from the beginning. Now I can attach a lure to it, a jig or a zinger to it. Very practical, I think.
Lots of Carrying Space
The Sage Typhoon waist pack does its job of holding lots of stuff which is what I needed. Besides the usual stuff like leaders, pliers, and other essentials, I have at least two cameras with me. The water resistant compartment in front helps keep some of my contents fairly dry and I get to keep essential items in the second waterproof compartment.
*Fasteners under the bag to hold other gears such as raincoat*
The pack has other tricks up its sleeve but is it worth 200 dollars and is it the best waist pack out there? Not withstanding the failed part, I’d opine it is not worth the price and there are better made and better valued waist pack out there, but not many.
I’ve had the Sage Typhoon waist pack since March 2012 (for about a year when writing this). It is good, but not great. I am still happy to own one (I’m stuck with it, so I better be!).
*The pockets uses strong magnets allowing quick, easy access.*
*The front of the waist pack consist of two small pockets, followed by another quick access larger pocket with Velcro closing. Then comes the largest zipped, water resistant compartment and lastly the rather narrow waterproof compartment (with the black zipper).*
Inside the largest compartment, there are pockets sewn onto both the sides.
*Water bottle holder on both sides of the waist pack. A zipper pocket and a plier holster is available on each sides of the waist belt, which is detachable from the waist pack proper.*
