I got the scale out today. My old Woods Edge saf-t-bak made proudly in the USA has 1 pot call, 1 box call and 1 shell pocket. 2 Inside slash pockets and a thin seat= 1 7/8 lbs. Sits high, not the most comfortable seat but I toted many a bird out.
My Cabelas tire vest will carry 2 pot plus strikers, 4 box calls. pockets galore, water bottles even has a sleeve for decoy stks. Very comfortable but bulky= 4 3/4 lbs.
I still use the saf-t-bak for fall hunting.
I found this interesting in my eyes because all these years I never weighed them.
Im presently looking for a durable comfortable light weight vest. The search goes on!
Probably 3lbs or less? I have an RNG 200, think it is under 2lbs, perfect, nope, but it works well for me! My older vests were like 4lbs empty and I hated wearing them and often didn't.
The Sitka vest weighs 44 ounces. You get a lot of vest for this weight. Most of the weight in vests is the seat cushion. Sitka addressed that by making the cushion thinner, but denser. It seems comfortable, and the vest has the best, easiest adjustability from Small to 2XL that I've seen yet. You can wear it high, or lower it. Personally, I like a vest to ride lower, just my opinion. Field testing this season will let me know if this is it!
My modified Ol Tom vest is down to 38 oz (2 lbs 6ozs) empty. It has a fat seat cushion and at least two pockets for every type of call imaginable. I bought it because it was the lightest at the time with the most features. It's made out of lightweight fabric that some don't like. I like the thinner lightweight fabric because it's easy for me to sew onto and modify. I have tried on many "better made" vest in the years since purchasing it, but have found most feel substantially heavier.