Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Fishpond Thunderhead Padded Inserts

Fishpond Thunderhead bags and packs are one of the best fishing product lines. Due to being very durable, waterproof, use of recycled material and a great lineup of fishpond accessories to customize your pack. One feature that the Thunderhead line doesn’t do great, is offer much for pockets/ organizing inside of their packs. One accessory that will help fix that problem is by adding a padded insert. All three backpack, lumbar and sling inserts greatly improve your ability to organize your pack and give fragile items some great protection. Fishpond states that the inserts only are compatible with their thunderhead line, but I was curious if the inserts would work with other manufactured packs. I’ll go through each insert and list what packs would benefit from adding an insert.

First up is the Thunderhead Backpack Insert

This was the most compatible out of the three inserts with external dimensions 11” x 11” x 8”.

Thunderhead Backpack Padded Insert

Simms Dry Creek Z Backpack

There was very little wasted space and was almost a perfect fit, just a little room at the corners. The Dry

Creek has a more square bottom where the Thunderhead is more rounded/ tapered bottom.

Fishpond Wind River Roll-Top Backpack

Another great fit, very little wasted space in the corners and on the side.

Grundens Wayward Roll Top Backpack 38L

This one was a little tricky to install but once in the fit was really nice with little wasted space.

Simms Dry Creek Rolltop Backpack

This wasn’t the best fit but would work. I believe once loaded up with goods it would fill in the gaps

between the bag and the insert.

Simms G3 Guide Backpack

Since this bag is 50L vs the rest of the backpacks are 38L, I was skeptical on how it would fit. It doesn’t fill the bottom like the rest but the gap is big enough to give you usable space.

Backpacks that didn’t work are Fishpond's Firehole, Fishpond's Ridgeline, Grundens Bootlegger 30L,

and Simms Freestone. Here's what the Bootlegger looked like.

Second up is the Thunderhead Lumbar Padded Insert

There was only one pack beside Fishpond's Thunderhead Lumbar pack that worked. The external dimensions of 14” x 5” x 4”.

Simms Dry Creek Z Sling

The Z Sling wasn’t big enough for the Thunderhead Sling insert, but the Thunder Lumbar fit really well. The insert is big enough to fill the width of the pack, but is a little short in length. There's enough room that you could move the insert one way and have enough room on the side of the insert and the pack.

Third up is Thunderhead Sling Padded Insert

I could not find another pack in our shop that would fit/work, but would be a great addition to your

Thunderhead Sling. The external dimensions are 17” x 6”x 6”.

In Conclusion, the Thunderhead Padded Inserts are a great addition to any pack that will fit the inserts.

The Backpack insert was the most compatible by fitting in Simms Dry Creek Z Backpack, Fishpond Wind River Rolltop Backpack, Grundens Wayward Roll Top Backpack 38L,Simms Dry Creek Roll Top Backpack and Simms G3 Guide backpack. The Lumbar Insert works great in Simms Dry Creek Z Sling and the Sling Insert only will only work with the Thunderhead Sling. I hope this helps you get out on the water and enjoy yourself.

Callum