Gobbler Gear: Top Turkey Vests

• Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases.

---

Once upon a time, in turkey woods far, far away, maybe a turkey vest wasn’t that big of a deal. A spring gobbler hunter put on their overalls, grabbed their side-by-side shotgun, put a handful of shells in a pocket, fetched the box call and went out the back door to see what would sound off on the back 40.

But not anymore, not since getting a turkey tagged is getting a little tougher each spring and hunters are forced to roam a little more far and wide in their annual spring quest. And with long drives to public land open to hunting, an out-of-state junket with friends, or just because we’re gear junkies with the latest in gear, well, turkey hunting is a bit more complicated now.

For most spring hunters, a turkey vest to carry all of our gear as we run-and-gun through the woods is not really a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity. And if that’s you, well, you’re in luck because there are plenty of great turkey vest options for 2024:

ALPS OutdoorZ Impact Pro Turkey Vest

ALPS OutdoorZ continues to turn out great spring turkey hunting gear, one of those products being the innovative Impact Pro Turkey Vest, which does away with the bulky and floppy fold-up seats often found on turkey vests.

Instead, the Impact Pro utilizes a stadium-seat design that comes with high-density molded foam for the bottom cushion and backrest. This minimizes bulk, while ensuring comfort and protection from cold, wet ground. Add in the cut-out and breathable shoulder harness design, a sternum strap to help manage loads of turkey gear and molded front pockets for calls.

Add in a removable and adjustable pocket for both a box call and a ThermaCELL, not to mention adjustable strap-and-buckle closures, a large cargo pocket, an oversized game bag and MOLLE webbing in Mossy Oak's Original Bottomland camo and this vest will be hard to keep on the shelves!

Badlands Bino Mag 2

I like gear that can work for multiple disciplines in the outdoors. So if you’re familiar with the chest packs that fly anglers use when blue-lining small trout streams in the Rocky Mountain West and Appalachians, then you might understand the concept I’ve got in mind here. And that’s to take a great product—Badland’s Bino Mag 2 harness pack and system—and adapt it to a minimalist turkey-hunting approach. 

Featuring a stay-open magnetic closure design, the Bino Mag 2 in Badland's Approach FX or OG pattern, has enough room in it to stow away a few shotgun shells, a slate call, a striker, a few mouth diaphragm calls, your face mask and gloves and maybe a snack or two. What's more, with the modular approach enabling hunters to use molle attachment points to add a bottom storage pocket, a zippered storage pocket, and even an "Everything Pouch," you can add extra gear like a box call or a water bottle and be set for a lightweight approach to spring hunting.

Bass Pro Shops Redhead Classic / Cabela's Turkey Chest Pack

With a total of 21 different turkey hunting vest products being offered by Johnny Morris' vast Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's outdoor retail empire, it's a little bit tough for a new turkey hunting vest to find its way into the final catalog cut. Especially when there's a wealth of timeless products like the Bass Pro Shops Redhead Classic II Turkey Vest waiting to be found.

---

But this year, there is a new kid on the block, so to speak, in the two store's turkey vest world with the new Cabela's Turkey Chest Pack. Like some of the other products found in this year's list, this is a simpler approach with a magnetic-close compartment for binoculars, a zippered mesh pocket on the front of the chest pack and other pockets aimed at storing box calls, pot-calls, mouth diaphragm calls and strikers. 

There's even a removable blaze orange flag for when you carry a gobbler out of the woods, along with quick-release clasps on the back straps and an adjustable front strap for the ultimate smooth and comfortable cruise through the turkey woods.

Final Rise Summit Turkey System

Having made a name as a leader in the upland hunting space in recent years, Matt Davis has turned his attention to turkey hunters with the Final Rise Summit Turkey System, available in four different colors, including the new Mossy Oak Bottomland pattern.

Designed as a fully customizable experience for a hunter to get a vest tailored to their needs, this system weighs only three pounds, but features a structured game pouch with three built in storage pockets; a true weight-bearing padded waist belt, a no-slip grip shoulder harness with accessory webbing attachment points, two storage hip pouches, a super comfortable seat and lashes, and quick deployment straps. Other accessories from water bottle holders, a water bladder, a mouth call pouch, a striker sleeve, a box call pouch and a gunstock boot are not included but can be added to the final product.

Hunters Specialties HS Strut

Coming in Realtree Edge, this HS Strut Turkey Vest has two large zippered front pockets, extra interior mesh pockets for calls, two snapped front pockets for shells and accessories, and two mouth diaphragm calls on the front of the vest. 

Add in a large backside pocket and a game vest to carry a decoy or tagged tom on the way out, and this classic looking vest from Hunter Specialties' HS Strut brand is a great blend of economic value, timeless styling, and plenty of carrying capacity for the turkey hunter who plans on roast gobbler tonight.

Magellan Outdoors Deluxe Men's Turkey Vest

An Academy exclusive that comes in Realtree Timber and Mossy Oak Obsession NWTF, this Magellan Outdoors Men's Deluxe Turkey Vest  designed for men features a 100 percent polyester oxford woven fabric that is both comfortable and durable no matter how much greenbrier infested woods you have to trek through.

Add in adjustable buckle straps that give a secure and adjustable fit, along with two large outer storage pockets and inner calls pockets, and this is a no-frills turkey vest that will give you years of gobbler hunts at a price that won't break the bank or rob the kid's college fund.

Nomad Pursuit Convertible Turkey Vest and Killin’ Time Vest

It looks like turkey gear companies have been paying attention to the trends in upland bird hunting vests, giving spring hunters options that resemble the more modular, minimalist look that most of today's bird hunting vests have. That seems especially true when you add the Nomad Pursuit Convertible Vest an innovative piece of hunting gear that does a little double duty in the turkey woods. 

How is that? Well, if the springtime gobbler getter likes the idea, this vest in Mossy Oak’s Shadow Leaf camo pattern can be worn more like a traditional vest on a turkey hunt. Or, if a lesser equals more approach is wanted, the vest can be converted into a hybrid fanny pack that knocks out weight and size without sacrificing gear hauling potential.

With two friction call pockets, a zippered cargo pocket with striker and shotshell loops, a box call pocket, a ThermaCELL pocket, a double-padded high-density foam seat and magnetic closure, a water bottle pocket, a stowable game bag, and pockets for a range finder and mouth diaphragm calls too, this vest/pack option might look like a minimal option in a catalog or store, but get it out in the turkey woods and it goes bigtime.

If you’re a veteran hunter who might want more of a traditional looking and functioning spring turkey vest, then give the Nomad Killin' Time Turkey Vest some consideration. Why? Because this is a workhorse product that offers a strong frame for carrying potential, along with a huge storage capacity thanks to 28 total general and specialized storage pockets.

Primos’ Will Primos Turkey Vest

If there's a turkey hunter's Mount Rushmore for modern days, odds are, Wilbur Primos is on that short list to make the carved mountain dedicated to gobbler getters.

So it goes without saying that any vest that Will Primos has designed and given the stamp of approval to is a serious contender to ride in the back of a turkey hunter's pick-up truck this spring. With a lightweight, comfortable polyester construction, this Primos Will Primos Turkey Vest has plenty of comfort thanks to a padded back cushion, as well as a customizable pocket system to store a wide array of Primos turkey calls, shotshells, and other accessories and necessities needed to come out heavy from the turkey woods. Coming in Mossy Oak Bottomland, this vest from the head man of the Primos Calls outdoors empire even features textured shoulder straps to help grip your shotgun better as you carry it, along with adjustable straps that help give a customizable fit.

In short, just as Game & Fish's  Drew Warden recently noted, it's well designed and ultimately approved by Will Primos, so it's undoubtedly a winner in the springtime woods. And just like Wilbur says with a big smile, "That's the Truth!"

Sitka Gear Equinox Vest and Turkey Tool Belt

Last year, Sitka Gear unveiled its Equinox Turkey Vest to rave reviews and sell-out performance online and in stores. Built on a small hunting pack approach, the lightweight and efficiency based vest centered around the minimalist idea, using magnetic-closing pockets, adjustable straps, and three color options (Optifade Subalpine, Optifade Waterfowl Timber, and Earth) to create a stir in the market.

This year, the Bozeman, Mont., company is back with the new Turkey Tool Belt, an even more minimalist approach that plays right into the bag of tricks that run-and-gun mobile turkey hunters demand. Like a hip pack used by fly anglers chasing trout or saltwater bonefish, this storage system comes in the three color options noted above; has a molded front call pocket for pot calls, strikers, and diaphragm calls; a side-entry box call pocket with a snug fit and magnetic closure to keep things church mouse quiet in the woods; and a pocket for shock calls to locate gobblers.

In something that is lighter and cooler than a traditional vest, the Turkey Tool Belt has a top zippered compartment and internal mesh compartments; a removable water bottle holder; and a built-in waterproof rain fly. Plus, straps are built in on the underside to hold a rain jacket or insulating layer and the adjustable hip belt fits a wide range of hunters. There's even a lightly padded seat that is removable and two hip pockets for shotgun shells, rangefinders and such, enabling hunters to stay light, quiet and nimble in the spring woods.

Slumberjack Pursuit Kryptek Highlander Vest

Offering a low profile look to a turkey vest that again caters to a minimalist hunter's approach in the springtime gobbler getting game, the Slumberjack Pursuit Kryptek Highlander Vest is a run-and-gun system that is hardly noticeable as a hunter comfortably navigates about thanks in part to an adjustable 8-point fit system. In simple terms, that means that no matter the terrain or the heat you're facing, you can adjust this Slumberjack vest to fit almost any body size, giving a custom-like fit in a vest that barely weighs 1.3-pounds.

With a total storage volume of 468 cubic inches thanks to four chest pockets that feature internal organization options along with the vest's hydration capabilities, and this vest allows turkey hunters to carry water and the essentials as they take off across the country to give chase to Mr. Johnny Longbeard. Add in ventilated mesh materials to aid in evaporative cooling and warm weather temperature control, along with the Kryptek Highlander camo pattern, and this is a mobile turkey hunter's dream.

TideWe Turkey Hunting Vest

Coming in Truetimber HTC Green or Truetimber Strata, this TideWe Turkey Vest does a little bit of everything for the hunter, offering durable and quiet camo material, plenty of multifunctional pockets that give a wide array of storage capacity, fully adjustable straps for a comfortable fit from everyone from XS to XXL, and a streamlined deployment ability to sit easily and get up and get moving again with ease.

For a company with several turkey vest options, this is a traditional approach at a competitive price point, also coming with a drop down seat, hydration bladder compartment, ergonomic padded back, and an inside pocket for a face mask or other accessories.

All in all, expect to see plenty of TideWe turkey vests in the woods this spring, and maybe a few turkey tail feathers sticking out of this vest’s game pouch too!