Now that the prototype has dried out I can claim that it runs in the family. Idiocy mostly, but occasionally us Singlebarbed menfolk come out of the kitchen clutching some napkin-based idea that’s been done seventeen times before yet lacks military epaulets or bondage belt buckles popularized by the late King of Pop.

My steady whining about “too damn hot” is only drowned out by Igneous Rock’s louder lament of the same issue. He has to transition from San Francisco’s steady 65° to my summertime 105° within a 45 minute drive. Despite my living here for the last decade, the combination of humidity near the water and the forced march through the Scorching Sands of Death – has the both of us looking for something better.

… cooler, actually.

I pried the “concept” vest out of his hands as soon as I laid eyes on it. I claimed “eminent domain” as the waters nearby were all mine, he countered with “blood-rite-of-Firstborn”, but I rattled a boxful of experimental flies he hadn’t seen and won temporary custody.

This is merely a concept to test construction and fabrics, but the lack of fabric sets it apart from traditional fare and diminishes the heat burden significantly. Especially the back – where the large rear pocket on a vest means a double layer of fabric – complimented by the hydration pack to make a third layer of stifling warmth.

A lot of our fishing is single-purpose. All that’s needed is a couple boxes of flies, a couple spools of tippet, and a set of nippers. Shad comes to mind – hot temperatures, wading up to your navel and only one box of flies needed. Ditto for Carp and most Bass fishing.

The complexity of fishing technology is not always in our best interest. Many products are spat out like computer software, where vendors try to find some whiz-bang gadget that sets the 2010 model apart from the 2009 version, hoping you buy both. I own one and am quite pleased with it, yet have no need for half the pockets and during shad season the bottom four inches are underwater.

All the super-secret components of the next prototype are absent so older brother doesn’t mind revealing what may become a hot-weather-shorty vest. I figure I can trade flies for a neck-level cell phone pocket – I’m always on a short tether during fire season and carry one on my local trips. It’ll double as an iPod harness for the younger crowd, many of whom prefer to drown out the tinkle of the brook with the sounds of molten metal.

… and no, the lower pocket “camouflage” pattern is entirely my doing – compliments of a tunneling muskrat and opaque water. It’ll cost me some flies when Older Bro sees his “Mona Lisa” defaced, but we’ve determined it drains quickly enough – under duress.

If I could turn it into a set of “Miami Vice” shoulder holsters it’d set the Florida flats afire …

Tinkering with these products are usually a fusion of what you do for a living with what you do for a hobby. It’s that “outside the box” thinking that births the revolutionary idea versus the evolutionary. If only a couple of the ideas planned for this harness work out  – the boys at SIMM’s are going to kick themselves …

Tags: shorty wading vest, Igneous Rock, iPod, hydration pack, hot weather vest, muskrat, SIMM’s