Flylow Scotty Comp Vest

This vest is my favorite new accessory for the resort and the side country. I recommend it for skinning up the resort trails or mellow, low risk, side country excursions.

I am a six foot, 185 pound skiing male with broad shoulders and a 34 X 32 pant size.

I ski 100 days a year between resort, backcountry, and Nordic. I picked up the Scotty Comp Vest to try to solve the backpack problem... let me explain:

My routine on Tuesdays and Thursdays is to get to my local mountain early in the AM. I step into my touring skis and head up the trail. For the longest time I wore a traditional +/-30 Liter pack containing water, layers, my helmet, etc. When I skied down, now wearing layers, helmet, and having consumed most of my snacks, I still had my pack on, containing only my skins. With the lifts running and my daily calories already burned, I like to take five or six groomer laps before clocking in. But the backpack was a bit of a burden.

The Scotty Comp Vest is the solution.

Wearing a vest is just so damn comfortable. Having all the necessary pockets for my personal items and necessary gear simplifies my routine. The backpack pocket built into the back of the vest is perfectly sized to tote helmet, jacket, gloves, and in a pinch, shovel, probe, and water. What makes the Scotty Comp Vest superior to the backpack during my midweek adventures is the ability to empty the integrated backpack pocket, enjoy the comfort of a regular old vest, and ride the lifts contentedly.

Conversely, if I'm at a resort for a day of tourist-skiing, and I meet up with some folks doing some side country excursions, or there happens to be an uphill event in the evening, I can grab my skins and a layer from my truck, and deploy the Scotty Comp Vest for a post groomer day of human powered, uphill adventure. The Scotty Comp adaptability is awesome!

The vest has straps built right into it that provide easy, and fairly comfortable diagonal carry for skis. While my pack carries my skis very comfortably, the Flylow vest does a good enough job over moderate distances--an option I appreciate having. Even toting skis on the back of the vest during powder seeking traverses makes the built in straps one more reason to love the Scotty Comp Vest.

Additional brilliant built-ins include interior pockets, molle straps for a radio, beacon, or whatever, and a large haul loop at the collar that makes for easy hanging of the vest on any hook or branch, thereby providing full access to all the pockets while taking a break or cooling off.

With the four adjustment straps along the sides of the vest, I am able to comfortably--and fashionably--wear the Scotty Comp Vest over a thin fleece or over a parka AND down insulation layer. Every pocket on the Scotty Comp vest is accessible and user friendly.

I have seen every style of front pack, backpack, fanny pack, and cross body bag represented at various resorts and trails across New England, each of them have arguable merit. However, the Scotty Comp Vest is the most versatile, best designed for combination, Resort/Uphill use, and even lends itself to the apres scene, around the fire, at the end of the day.

Background

I am a PSIA instructor and a member of the National Ski Patrol. I lead trips into the White Mountains twelve months a year and ski 100+ days every year.