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Vest tailoring

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Blake Peterson

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I recently measured my Boykin for a vest and got the exact measurements for the small Avery vest which is what I ordered. I know all dogs are different so some tailoring is required... only problem is there is a good bit of room around her neck but her chest is the perfect fit (snug but not tight). Can you trim the neck area to make it smaller? I know they have a heavy duty fabric seam stitched inside so I'm not sure how it would hold if cut. Or should I order the XS and tailor the chest area to be looser?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Daren Galloway said:
Throw it in the trash and get a cabelas. They actually fit athletic dogs.
Click to expand...
I'm a Cabela's vest with Armor Flex fan, but I've never had one fit properly out of the box. You'll find how I go about tailoring them on this thread: http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=712673

It's easier than it probably sounds - if you follow my directions and use "neoprene cement" like Block/Surf or Seal Cement - and particularly important that you snug up the vest's neck so it doesn't act as a scoop.
 
#4 ·
I like the Avery Boater's vest and use Rick's tricks to get it to fit correctly. My 13 year old's Avery fit perfectly out of the pkg. The 3 year old is long and very chesty so his needs to be altered.
 
#5 ·
The only problem is most of the Cabela's vest are out. I went to the store in Gonzales and online and could not find one. I ended up going to Songy's in Houma and got my dog the Tanglefree vest they sell there.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thanks guys, Rig Magician I went to the same Cabelas a few weeks back and couldn't find one her size either. How did the Tanglefree fit?

Mr. Rick, the problem I was having was that if I did the triangle thing, I need to remove so much material that I would be cutting through that fabric seam. The triangle would go all the way to the Avery logo. Could I go across the bottom of the neckline and just cut out a bunch of smaller triangles?

Thanks
 
#8 ·
You can take 2 smaller darts on either side of the center seam, or if you take one larger one from the center the neoprene cement will hold it together. The cement actually 'melts' and fuses the material together versus gluing it together.
 
#9 ·
I'm not at all afraid of cutting seams or going beyond bar stitching that's just eyewash, neoprene cement has welded new seams just fine without stitching, but I still prefer two smaller darts on either side of the vest to a big one anywhere.
 
#10 ·
Rick Hall said:
I'm a Cabela's vest with Armor Flex fan, but I've never had one fit properly out of the box. You'll find how I go about tailoring them on this thread: http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=712673

It's easier than it probably sounds - if you follow my directions and use "neoprene cement" like Block/Surf or Seal Cement - and particularly important that you snug up the vest's neck so it doesn't act as a scoop.
Click to expand...
This is all you really need to know. Find a vest that fits as well as possible off the shelf, and then follow Rick's instructions. It works great and you will have a vest that fits. 9 times out of ten on the pictures I see all over FB and Instagram the dogs vest is ill fitting. I think it would be extremely rare to find one that fits right off the shelf.
 
#13 ·
Thats the stuff. I just went through trying to get a good fitting vest, the closest out of the box for me was a avery boaters in 2X. I think I bought 5 vests total before I settled. My dogs chest is 2X but his neck is more like M/L. I ended up cutting the stitching out around that avery label in the front chest, taking it off, then cutting a large triangle out of the front to get the neck fitted correctly. I also made the piece that runs between the legs thinner so it doesnt rub and opened up the leg holes. It fits him very well now.

It seems like cabelas stopped making their armor flex vests so I have a 2X and 3X in the closet for when my dog is done growing, they seem like a better vest in general than the avery. I also didnt want to screw up a good cabela vest on my first go around altering it.
 
#15 ·
Seal Cement is the right stuff to use (NOT AQUASEAL). I've found that ,for some reason, the black holds better than the clear.
 
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