Gear Review: Nathan VaporAiress Race Vest

Over my years of running, I've tried different hydration solutions, starting with very basic ones; at the beginning of my running career, I would just put a water bottle on my route and make loops around the same area.  While this works to a certain degree, doing four mile loops for a 20 mile run gets old really quick (and of course, you have to refill the water bottle somehow), so I started looking for a better solution to the hydration issue.  For awhile, I tried running with a Camelbak hiking pack with built-in hydration, but since it wasn't designed for all of the bouncing that comes with running, it wasn't comfortable.

I then moved to this - the Nathan Intensity Race Vest, and it worked great for years:

Behold the glory

It worked great - Nathan makes some solid products - but over the years, due to its heavy use (and my need to wash it in the washing machine - that thing SMELLED after a long run), it gave up the ghost and the mesh around the shoulders started ripping.  Knowing that my old faithful was getting close to the end of its useful life, this Christmas, Chris upgraded me to a newer model with all sorts of fancy features - the Nathan VaporAiress Women's Ultra-Light Race Vest.

I don't know if they call this color

"Screaming Pink,"

but they should.

I've been using it for around two months now, and it's a great pack.  I've done several long runs with it, including the recent Surf City half marathon, and it seems to be a keeper.

Because this picture is so amazing,

I had to share it again.

The fluid capacity of the vest is a bit bigger than my old pouch - 2 full liters - which is nice, as I'd often run dry at the very end of marathons and spend the last 2-3 miles hoping to find a non-crowded water station (also, I can now fit a full 2 liter soda bottle in the pack!  That should go really well for me!).  Also, I really appreciate that Nathan obviously listens to its customers and improves future generations of products.  For example, the older pack lines didn't have detachable hoses (well, you could take them off the bladder, but then there was no hope for getting them reattached), so they were hard to clean.

Viola!  The hose comes off easy peasy,

and the locking mechanism inhibits spills.

Also, in the older packs, there was a loop for attaching your water pouch (so it hung vertically in the pack), but the pouch always slipped out due to lacking a true closure (the pouch had a small black hook on it, but since it was open on one side, it wouldn't stay on the loop with all the jostling that comes with running).  

Viola times two!

Velcro!

Quick and effective!

The new vest is super light, and it has so.many.pockets.  Like for real.  Check it:

Looking down at the vest how I'd see it while it's on me,

there's a Chapstick pocket,

a rape whistle (it is a lady pack, after all, right?),

and two other pockets, which are both

lined with material so you store

gooey stuff in them - 

opened, used gu packs and the like - 

without them bleeding all over you.

The other side of the pack

(the left of this shot) has a velcro-closure key pocket,

and two larger pockets with mesh,

so whatever's in them can breathe.

I call these my "tiny bird/bunny rescue pockets."

Also, those orange, cross-body clippy threads are stretchy,

so they have much more give than the older pack.

Also also, you can slide the top one up and down a bit,

to perfect your fit.

And then there's the back...

two larger pockets where the water goes

(one for water and one for whatever)

and a larger outer zipper pocket.

As you can see, there's also tension cabling

for storage of trekking poles/outer layers.

I'm good at this selfie thing, non?

Each side has an expandable zippered pocket,

which, as you can see, I use for Huma gels.

Cameo by the cool shirt Toni bought me for Christmas!

Getting used to this pack took a few days, as it sits higher around the chest than the previous one did; however, overall, it's a huge upgrade, and I'm digging it.  It's pricey - around $130 or so - but if you're going to use it as much as I am, it's worth it.  The label says to hand wash it, and I'm sure that's best, but mere hand washing does not eliminate the stink that I generate on long runs, so it's been through the washing machine at our house a handful of times now, and it seems okay so far (I always hang it up to dry).  Also, the label says not to put it in the microwave, so there's that (which leads me to pondering why you would need to microwave a hydration pack...)

Later!

Amy