The Fusion Vest

By William Joseph Company

William Joseph, with their new “Fusion” vest, has taken the fishing vest to a new level of function and technology. The name stems from the approach they took designing it—fusing new fabrics, manufacturing techniques, and function into one complete package. It worked! And because of it, the vest was recently given the coveted Fly Fishing Retailers Best Product of the year award. The event was sponsored by American Angler Magazine. The winners were decided on by both retailers and buyers who were asked to examine over 125 products and vote on the one they thought represented the best of the best.

According to William Joseph President Bill Crawley, “the fusion vest is such a huge step forward in vest design because of its utilization of several key concepts. First it is made of a new material called ‘Soft Shell,’ which is waterproof stretchable and very breathable which makes it  the coolest most comfortable vest available, period. Next, it was our goal to eliminate as much sewing as possible, we instead opted for a technique called fabric welding, which allows us a produce the Fusion with 40% less stitching than traditional manufacturing techniques, while also enhancing the water resistance of each pocket.”

William Joseph also incorporated a built-in workstation which is exposed by simply un-zipping a designated pocket, thus “fusing the best features of a chest pack and a vest together”.

The vest also includes hydration capability, built in stainless steel retractors and over 17 pockets. The Fusion retails for $159.00 and will be available soon at your local fly shop.