I often check in on gear makers and talked to Chris Freeman of Emerger Fly Fishing a few months ago where he told me about several changes that he had made to the Cameron Side Bag. As he was telling me, I couldn't believe that an inch in depth could make such a difference. He offered to send one to demo on a late summer trip to the Driftless (See those posts HERE, HERE, and HERE) and am now a firm believer.
Chris took the last generation Cameron Side Bag, that was just a little too small for me to carry all the necessary gear and a DSLR camera, and created a bag that will hold all of that an more. A second lens? No problem. More fly boxes or fly wallets? Also, no problem. The new leather shoulder pad is also a step forward in comfort to carry this bag all day on the water.
I asked Chris if he'd send an update to the three-part series of posts that we did in 2018, which highlighted all the steps in building one of these timeless waxed canvas side bags and this post talks about refining an already wonderful piece of kit to make it that much better. You should re-visit the build posts HERE, HERE, and HERE as those posts really show the workmanship that goes into everything that leave's the Emerger Fly Fishing shop.
Chris wrote... "Practically, Emerger Fly Fishing tends to be design-centric and not product-centric. I would rather have a few products that I believe hold up to our rigorous standards of form and function than have a lot of products. This means we constantly test our products to the limits, find out what works and what doesn’t, and then adjust accordingly. It also means listening to our customers. I love hearing from the guides who have our bags, those who put their gear through the paces on a daily basis — some easily logging 150 days on the water each year. They’re feedback is incredibly valuable to us.
When we first released the Cameron in 2016, I felt pretty good about it — better than I had about any product we had released up to that point. Over time, we heard from a few guides that they felt like they needed just a bit more room in their bags.
So we made it slightly bigger — I mean an inch overall in the depth of the bag. As it turns out, that made a huge difference. We also reworked the internal pockets of our main compartment in order for fly boxes to sit better in the bag and maintain good organization. We also added a big shoulder pad to our straps to help the bag sit more comfortably on the shoulder when spending long days on the water.
We also made some less obvious changes that we think have made a big difference, like moving to YKK #10 brass zippers because they are smoother and tougher than the smaller size we were using.
The end result is a bag that is bigger, tougher, and yet slightly lighter than the first generation Cameron. As a craftsman, it energizes me to focus more on making things better than just making more things. That doesn’t mean we won’t have new products (and there are some coming), but it does mean that the products we make will be thought out, purposeful and crafted to our extremely high standards with customers in mind.
As with honing any craft, it’s a journey — one that I am grateful to be on, with the folks who have chosen to travel along with us."
Chris took the last generation Cameron Side Bag, that was just a little too small for me to carry all the necessary gear and a DSLR camera, and created a bag that will hold all of that an more. A second lens? No problem. More fly boxes or fly wallets? Also, no problem. The new leather shoulder pad is also a step forward in comfort to carry this bag all day on the water.
I asked Chris if he'd send an update to the three-part series of posts that we did in 2018, which highlighted all the steps in building one of these timeless waxed canvas side bags and this post talks about refining an already wonderful piece of kit to make it that much better. You should re-visit the build posts HERE, HERE, and HERE as those posts really show the workmanship that goes into everything that leave's the Emerger Fly Fishing shop.
Chris wrote... "Practically, Emerger Fly Fishing tends to be design-centric and not product-centric. I would rather have a few products that I believe hold up to our rigorous standards of form and function than have a lot of products. This means we constantly test our products to the limits, find out what works and what doesn’t, and then adjust accordingly. It also means listening to our customers. I love hearing from the guides who have our bags, those who put their gear through the paces on a daily basis — some easily logging 150 days on the water each year. They’re feedback is incredibly valuable to us.
When we first released the Cameron in 2016, I felt pretty good about it — better than I had about any product we had released up to that point. Over time, we heard from a few guides that they felt like they needed just a bit more room in their bags.
So we made it slightly bigger — I mean an inch overall in the depth of the bag. As it turns out, that made a huge difference. We also reworked the internal pockets of our main compartment in order for fly boxes to sit better in the bag and maintain good organization. We also added a big shoulder pad to our straps to help the bag sit more comfortably on the shoulder when spending long days on the water.
We also made some less obvious changes that we think have made a big difference, like moving to YKK #10 brass zippers because they are smoother and tougher than the smaller size we were using.
The end result is a bag that is bigger, tougher, and yet slightly lighter than the first generation Cameron. As a craftsman, it energizes me to focus more on making things better than just making more things. That doesn’t mean we won’t have new products (and there are some coming), but it does mean that the products we make will be thought out, purposeful and crafted to our extremely high standards with customers in mind.
As with honing any craft, it’s a journey — one that I am grateful to be on, with the folks who have chosen to travel along with us."
.jpg)
If you need a Cameron Side Bag, or anything else on the Emerger Fly Fishing website, place your order by December 16th, it'll make it in time for Christmas. Use code "HOLIDAY2024" for 15% off.
P.S. If you order a bag, a wallet or several are essential. I am especially fond of the Hybrid Wallet.
No comments:
Post a Comment