Medium weight cotton vest, pockets lined with polyester, which is nice, and its well made. Used for a photo vest, to use in hot weather or cold with a wool sweater under it and a light nylon poncho over it all in winter. Use outdoors in the wild not at the zoo. Its cotton, not waterproof, it will sweat up, but anything will. Vented back, lots of pockets, washed it, came out rumpled but fine. I prefer rumpled. Its not a concealed carry vest, which is good, since those look like you are carrying which in my opinion is stupid unless you are law enforcement or in a dangerous job, then it looks right. Everyone feels threatened from birth, by nearly anything, carry a gun wear a common CWP vest, you might as well have a bill board and make someone else who is carrying feel threatened. Some CWP vests are nice in build quality, for an urban hiking vest light. This more bulky vest has enough pockets for small cameras, snack, little bit of water, knife, phone, DSLR is around the neck on a neoprene strap, light extra lens, pad for GPS and navigation, but bear in mind, more weight on the shoulders of a vest, you might like a backpack better, you can sit that on the ground. Camera vests have a weight limit, in reality. Its not a suitcase but in an airport lightly loaded, its dropped in the security tray with all the metal gear and a bag. Your pants pockets are empty. Back vest pocket good for folded water proof light weight poncho. Got a hat with some brim out of Mexican Palm straw water proofed a bit, you can put zip locks in a few pockets left open. You can get by ok in the rain with time to get out a mylar space blanket. Rain can last a while but often it can be better to sit than risk slipping down something with water running under your feet. Most of the time in the swampy wild, I tend to prefer my eyes as best protection. Learn to use those, they are a number one double barreled gun. Alone, you do not have a gun behind you in someone else's hand. Any pistol is going to be in a shoulder bag, with a belly strap, not in a vest. I think this is a good wilderness vest if packed right, with the minimum gear, a light nylon pancho, space blanket and cord, whistle, fire gear and whatever cell is covered in the area and a spare battery.
Alone, communication is key and even a locator device is ok if its extreme. Even a six hour hike alone can be sketchy. Vest can have enough light primary gear plus cellular to get it done. Again, its not waterproof and hike in the rain in tropical areas, it will soak the sweat, waterproof the camera pockets and electrical gear and put that very light poncho in the back. If the vest stinks and you got some experience with your eyes, and have to rinse it out, and let it dry on your back the next day, you wore it right. I wear an extra large in this vest if its over a T shirt, with the side snaps loose, but over a sweater in winter, and long sleeve shirt, a XX in this vest is ok because I bulk up, one size up, and the vest runs large. If its just for looks buy the size you are, its large enough. If you got a pot belly, go big bubba. You can put an extra snap on the side or some Velcro and cinch up as well.

Update: after 6 months of daily ware I have several small tears that I have repaired, but it won't be long before I will have to replace it. I'm kind of disappointed that it's not holding up. Like I hoped. And unfortunately the price has gone up by 33%.

I'm 6'2" and 250lbs. The 2xl fits great with room for a sweatshirt or light jacket underneath. If I'm wearing a T-shirt it has snap gathers to adjust the fit light weight with mesh panels on the back, it will be perfect for the hot weather here in Phoenix. There are more pockets then I know what to do with. I bought this vest to hide my shoulder holster and it does that perfectly. When I go hiking with my dogs there is plenty of pockets to carry all the gear I want to take with us.

I would have given it a perfect 5 but for sizing. I was warned by previous reviewers. So I chose Medium. I generally choose Large. The Medium is still a bit loose for me. I had ordered another T shirt - Large size and that fitted just right. So as everyone else has commented sizing on this product is bit off. I am afraid if S would be too small for me. The other snag - I would have like the front side zipper to ride up a bit further than what it does. As a result the front seems to be very open. Rest of the features - pockets, sizes of pockets are OK. You cannot carry large lenses. A 70-200 f2.8 would not fit.

Dec 20, 2014: I had replied in the negative to a question posed whether the zippers allow the front of the vest to be opened fully. Today I examined the zippers carefully and figured out that the zippers are designed to allow one to separate the two front halves. It is just that the zippers are hard. So pulling out one (the left) side from the sliding zip takes a bit of effort. If you pull hard enough then the two front halves of the vest can be separated. What a relief to realise this.

I was able to get the Medium size beige for $20, which may have been some mix-up, but if I had to pay $40 or more - as priced today - I wouldn't have purchased it. I use it as a photographer's vest. It is a decent product, it fits nicely and has many pockets to fit all my photography accessories. However, the fabric is very light and feels like it would rip easily, if pushed, and it also folds and creases too easily, making it harder to access the pockets. Also, it seems like you never have the right size pocket, but that is subjective. On the other hand, if it were made of thicker fabric, it would have been way too hot to wear. As for sizing, It must be sized to be worn on top of other clothing because I am size L to XL and the medium I ordered fits me just fine, when worn over just a T-shirt. Finally, the main front zipper was not working - had to file it and it will still only open when the pull tab is pulled straight up, away from the chain.
So far I've worn it 8-9 times over 5 months and it has been holding fine. I will update this review it wears out prematurely.

I just love this vest! I use it for my photography adventures. I am able to equal out the weight of my equipment (lenses mainly) with the pockets available. I like not only the amount of room but also the location of the pockets. What I mean is that you don't have to twist and turn to get to one thing or another. The smaller pockets are easily accessible without needing to get past or around the larger items. That is more helpful than one might realize. To be able to access everything with ease, will make your next excursion much more comfortable if your not having to fight to get something you need, fast. The pockets can be close meaning when you need to bend over or reach down to pick up something, you don't have to worry much about those expensive lenses falling out. Some pockets have zippers, some have velcro, and some are buttons.

It is a bit long, but that was good for me. I am 5' 7" and I weigh about 110lbs. So weight distribution is an absolute must! I ordered a medium and the shoulders are a perfect size so I never feel like it might slide off. It's the oversized length that gives room to make those deep pockets. And because it hangs low, the heavier items don't feel like they are pulling your head and chest over.

The material feels very well made. The inside, on your back anyway, has a mesh layer. And on the outside, the solid vest material has a couple of vertical slits from the top ALMOST all the way down, which exposes the mesh and allows for airflow, very nice! I say 'almost' all the way down because spanning the waist area, from one side to the other, is yet another pocket!

So, overall, this gets the highest grade from me. I recommend it to anyone who needs a comfortable, sturdy, and a very versatile way to make it much easier to go on any kind of excursion.