Best Running Hydration Vests of 2024

Women's Salomon Adv Skin 12

More than any other pack, we saw the Salomon Adv Skin 12L on the backs runners of many different body types on our local trails than any other. This is testament to the ease of adjustability of fit of the vest. Photo by Justin Walker. — More than any other pack, we saw the Salomon Adv Skin 12L on the backs runners of many different body types on our local trails than any other. This is testament to the ease of adjustability of fit of the vest. *Photo by Justin Walker.*

Fabric

Another advantage of this mesh is evident in the shoulder straps. The fabric has enough stretch to accommodate heavier water carries and other heavy gear while not being quite as stretchy as our other top pack, the Nathan Pinnacle 12L. Having that balance of static and stretch works for comfort on the Adv Skin. It also means the Salomon hydration pack will have more longevity than packs with other designs. Unlike other packs, it won't permanently stretch out quite as fast.

Another fit detail we liked is the bungee “Quicklink” style of adjusting the hydration pack up front. Found in all Salomon running vests, this criss-cross bungee allows for excellent stretch and better conforms to various body types compared to many vests—which tend to use the more common dual sternum strap.

Pushing a rain jacket into the right side of the tunnel-style pocket on the Salomon Adv Skin 12. Pushing this jacket into the right arm side would push existing items like gloves in the pocket towards the accessible left arm side instead of burying them under the jacket. *Photo by Justin Walker*

Pockets

Another highlight of the Adv Skin 12 is the pocket design. While some of the layerings of the pockets upfront can take some getting used to, we saw an advantage to the system. With the layered pockets, you can still access all the pockets, and a large item won't overlay other pockets or leave them inaccessible.

The mesh on the pockets is transparent, which also aids in finding stuff. The ability to find items is a common complaint we have when fishing around for stuff in packs — especially when they’re stuffed to capacity. Best of all, the Salomon has two outer zipper pockets on the front that are true phone-sized pockets, another rarity in trail running packs.

Hydration

For hydration, the Adv Skin comes with two 500ml soft flasks, equating to about a $40 value. We found that to help offset the initial sticker shock on this vest, which isn’t the most affordable on the list (but we do think it is a great value). Although it doesn’t come with a bladder, we dropped the included bladder from our Nathan Pinnacle 12L Vest into the Adv Skin bladder pocket. With a 1.5L bladder in the back, there was some room to spare. We’re confident that you could carry a 2L bladder in the back and 1L in the soft bottles up front if you really want to. There’d still be plenty of room for layers in the rear tunnel pocket, and food and electronics up front.

The latest version of the Adv Skin 12, released in 2022, is on the left, with our well-loved older model on the right. Photo by Trey French — **The latest version of the Adv Skin 12, released in 2022, is on the left, with our well-loved older model on the right.** Photo by Trey French

Comfort And Fit

The front adjustment Quicklink system is the most adaptable to different body types of the vests we tested. It allows some comfortable stretch, but adjusting the placements of the contact points can be tedious.

**Front view of the updated Salomon Adv Skin 12 running pack. The front and most of the pack remain mostly unchanged in the newest update. However, the top pocket is the big change on the newer version.**

Adjustment

Salomon uses small hardware plastic pieces that are difficult to unclip and move up and down the hydration pack. Our advice is to be patient with it because once you find where you want the hardware, you won't have to adjust it again. Also, with all the small plastic pieces, there’s more opportunity for something to break. But it hasn’t happened to us yet, and our reviewer has owned this pack for two years, with runs ranging from 1 ½ hours to long runs of 6+ hours.

Updates In The Newest Version

The updated top pocket on the Salomon Adv Skin 12 is isolated in the top one-third of the back of the vest. This makes it easy to pack and repack a wind shell or running jacket—whatever is your layer of choice. This is especially true if you are the type of runner who chooses to size up on your jacket so that it fits over your pack (so that you keep moving without removing it.)

With this update, we’re really digging to find a complaint on the newer version of this pack.

Option#1 for storing a compact jacket, which may be more suitable for those with limited shoulder mobility. Photo by Trey French — While there are several pockets and areas to store jackets, one feature we liked on the newest version of the Salomon Adv Skin 12 is the ability to store a compact jacket on the top pocket. This may be more suitable for those with limited shoulder mobility. Photo by Trey French

In addition, Salomon added places to lash a pair of collapsible trekking poles in the newest version. Thankfully, They’ve also made an updated women’s specific version of this hydration pack to be more ergonomic.

For an in-depth review, see our long-term review of the Salomon Adv Skin 12.

Interested in running? Check out the Running Gear section:

BEST AFFORDABLE RUNNING HYDRATION VEST: Deuter Traik 9

(Men's AND Women's)

Capacity: 9 L
Other capacities available:
Included hydration: No
Women's-specific fit available:
Weight: 6 oz (men’s), 5.5 oz (women’s)
What we liked: comfort, value, adjustability, pockets
What we didn't like: not as featured as more expensive packs, sizing can be tricky due to stretchiness

The Deuter Traick 9 is a remarkably comfortable running vest with some of the best adjustability and stretch of any running vest we’ve worn. It also has great pockets on the shoulder straps and a pass-through pocket across the back of the vest. These pockets make it easy to access just about anything you’d need on a long run and the comfort makes it so you don’t feel like you need to take it off either. This vest is less expensive than the Salomon Adv Skin, but has most of the features we love about the Adv Skin.

Men's Deuter Traik 9

view at deuter

Women's Deuter Traik 9

view at deuter

**Treeline Review writer Sam Schild running in the Deuter Traick running vest in Colorado.**

Material and Comfort

It’s made of some of the softest and stretchiest material we’ve felt on a running vest—even stretchier than the Salomon Adv Skin (our overall winner, see review above). The stretch material is very soft as well. The interior mesh is softer than the Salomon Adv Skin, which is the other softest mesh material on a pack we tested.

Also like the Salomon Adv Skin, it has a zig-zag stretch cord attachment system, but the hooks are on the sternum strap stretch cord segments rather than on the shoulder straps, as they are on the Advanced Skin. Placing the hooks on the cross-chest cords makes it easier to hook and unhook them. More importantly, though, it makes it easier to adjust where the hooks attach to the shoulder straps. Since there is a simple daisy chain cord sewn into the inside edge of the shoulder strap, you can attach the zig-zag sternum strap cord wherever you want to. We love how easy this makes it to adjust the fit and spent probably too long trying to fine-tune what was already comfortable.

**The rear pass through pocket on the Deuter Traick running vest makes it easy to stash gear you need without taking off the vest.**

Pockets and Features

It has awesome front pockets – four per shoulder strap, including one zipper pocket that fits a smartphone. The shoulder straps pockets are all layers on top of each other so you can use each one individually, even when the others are stuffed full.

Each shoulder strap has a zippered pocket, and the right zippered pocket has a key clip. Both of the zipper pockets fit a smartphone for when you want to keep it very secure, but we often keep our phone in the front pocket that sits just below the soft-flask pockets so we can grab it quickly.

It also has a rear pass-through pocket underneath the main back pocket. This pocket is perfect for stashing a jacket you might need on your run, and makes it easy to grab that jacket without taking off the vest.

In the back of the vest there is a large drop-in pocket large enough for a 2L water bladder and extra layers. Since the entire vest is made of stretch material, the rear pocket can fit a lot more than you’d expect. There is also a secure zipper pocket on the rear of the vest, which is great for storing items you don’t want to lose when you’re digging around in the main back pocket.

Hydration

**The Deuter Traick running vest comes with two soft flasks. Each shoulder strap has a zippered pocket, including one with a key clip.**

The vest comes with two 500 mL soft flasks with a twist-lock closure so you don’t accidentally squirt water on yourself when you’re digging in the pockets or lashing your trekking poles onto the vest. We found it easy to drop the included soft water bottles into the pockets and didn’t have to wrestle with them as much as we do with some running vests.

Conclusion

Our only complaint about this vest is that it’s maybe a little too stretchy. This isn’t an issue if you size down, but we were between sizes and got the larger of the two. As a result, when the rear pocket isn’t stuffed full, the front of the vest bounces and sags down as we run with a full liter of water in the front pockets. If the rear pocket is full this isn’t an issue. But, when the rear pocket is empty and the front pockets are full of water, a phone, and other goodies, the stretch material feels too stretchy.

If you’re looking for an ultra-comfortable running vest with great pockets that’s surprisingly affordable, this is a great option.

Best hydration vest for using bladder reservoirs: Nathan Pinnacle 12L

(Men's and Women's)

Capacity: 12L
Included hydration: 1.5L Insulated bladder
Women's-specific fit available: Yes
Weight: 12.5 oz (with bladder)/6.5 oz (without bladder)
What we liked: Ships with an insulated bladder. Bladder design.
What we didn’t like: The most expensive vest on our list.

The Nathan Pinnacle 12L has the best bladder design and hydration system of the running vests we tested. It ships with a 1.5L Hydrapak insulated bladder, insulated to help keep water cold on the hottest summer days. The shape of the actual bladder is tapered in the middle, creating an hourglass shape, which we found helped with the sloshing problem inherent with many running vest bladders.

The hose, like many, is meant to be cut to length, and we found this especially important on this vest, as Nathan incorporates a magnetic hose clip that keeps the hose out of the way, and secure against the right shoulder strap. With Nathan's system, we experienced no flopping and it’s always in place for you to take a drink. We can’t emphasize how much we like this magnetic feature for the hose.

Men's Nathan Pinnacle 12L

Women's Nathan Pinnacle 12L

Hydration

Using the bladder does seem to be the focus of this pack, as the soft flask bottle holders are looser than the other packs we tested, but not to the total detriment of function. The soft flasks are easier to get into place on this pack than a lot of vests, but also can tend to sink down, or flop over depending on the bottle you’re using.

One easy fix is to add a bungee cord attachment yourself, similar to what’s found on all of our other hydration packs to hold the soft flask tops. There’s a tab sewn onto the bottle pockets to make this easy enough. For the price, it’d be nice if Nathan could include these with the vest as an optional attachment.

The Nathan Pinnacle has a magnetic clip on the top sternum strap to keep the hose secure on the runner’s chest. It kept the hose in place and was easy to use. Photo by Justin Walker — **The Nathan Pinnacle has a magnetic clip on the top sternum strap to keep the hose secure on the runner’s chest. It kept the hose in place and was easy to use**. *Photo by Justin Walker*

Pockets

Apart from the water storage design, Nathan also takes a different approach to the rear pockets. Instead of making a full tunnel rear pocket from one end to the other, Nathan keeps the dual access points, one entry on the left and right, but routes the pockets upward towards the top of the hydration pack, making them two separate pockets.

By separating the pockets, Nathan eliminates the possibility of pushing one item out of the left side of the pack when reaching into the right side and vice versa. They’ve even added small velcro tabs on each of the closures, and while they aren’t the most robust closures, it’s one more step to ensure the security of your items on the trail.

Another pocket feature we like is that there are two zipper pockets, one on each shoulder strap, that’s big enough for a phone, just like the Salomon Adv Skin 12L. You can keep less frequently accessed items that need security in the right one, under the hydration hose.

Weight And Durability

For downsides, we don’t have any major gripes with the Nathan Pinnacle 12L. It’s built with seemingly the thinnest materials out of all of the vests we tested and does raise some durability concerns. There were a couple of reviews highlighting some tears, but we’re unsure of the context that these users were using it in, as overloading a vest is always possible. The material is also the most stretchy, so there could be some premature wear in creating a permanently stretchy material. So far, none of these concerns have been validated during our testing.

Best Plus-Size Hydration Vest: NATHAN VAPORAIR AND VAPORAIRESS 3.0 7L

(Men's and Women's)

Capacity: 7L
Included hydration: 2L bladder
Women's-specific fit available: Yes
Weight: 13 oz (8.8 oz without bladder)
What we liked: Size inclusive, comfortable fit, breathable
What we didn’t like: Bladder can be difficult to open

What makes the Nathan VaporAir and VaporAiress stand out is its evident, comfortable body mapping and its inclusive sizing options. This is the only vest we tested that comes in plus sizes. Not only are plus sizes available, but our plus-size tester, Treeline Review writer Gabi Reyes-Acosta, appreciated the comfort of the fit.

The body mapping design of a hydration vests refers to the release of heat from areas where heat retention is common into other areas. Body mapping of a vest like the VaporAir/VaporAiress results in a wearing experience that is breathable where it needs to be on the body.

Men's Nathan Vaporair

Women's Nathan Vaporairess

**Treeline Review writer Gabi Reyes-Acosta running with their dog while wearing the Nathan VaporAiress.**

The pockets of this vest easily accommodate a phone, wet wipes, chapstick, two gels, and other things you may need. The external front pockets fit our tester’s Hydrapak 1L Stow Bottle and could fit gloves or other small items.

**The backside of the VaporAiress running vest on a runner.**

The back of the VaporAir features a 2 L bladder that can be difficult to open at first, but gets easier after practice.

**Pocket and hydration hose system on the Vapor Airess.**

Our complaints with the Nathan VaporAir and VaporAiress are few, and overall we appreciate the size, inclusivity, comfort, and thoughtful design.

It strikes a balance between a running vest and a minimalist backpacker vest, or as some call it, fastpacking, where you incorporate running into overnight trips.

Best minimalist running hydration vest: Camelbak Circuit run vest

(Men's and Women's)

Capacity: 5L
Included hydration: Y
Women's-specific fit available: Y
Weight: 12.7 oz (includes reservoir)/6 oz (without reservoir)
What we liked: Light, vents among the best of any vest, intuitive to use, made with recycled silver for a more sustainable silver anti-odor treatment, trekking pole attachment
What we didn’t like: Bladder somewhat difficult to remove, and sizing not the most inclusive

We were especially excited to use the CamelBak Circuit hydration vest due to its simple design, lightweight construction, and big, easy-to-access pockets. Its straightforward yet useful design makes it the Best Minimalist Running Hydration Vest.

We found the CamelBak Circuit vest in its element on hotter days in the front country when water is the premium, and there aren’t any refills along the way. With a 1.5L bladder, it’s enough for most runners to go for 1 ½ to 2 hours. The newest version uses repurposed recycled silver as an anti-odor treatment, among the first brands we’ve seen to take on sustainability in silver.

Men's Camelbak Circuit

VIEW AT AMAZON

Women's Camelbak Circuit

The Circuit 5L has large, cinch closure front shoulder strap pockets. Photo by Trey French — **The Circuit has a large cinch closure front shoulder strap pockets.** *Photo by Trey French*

Hydration System

While you could technically supplement the front of the vest with additional water, none of the soft flasks fit the CamelBak pack. The tall, slender flasks we own were too tall. The shorter, wider half-liter flasks fit securely but sat too low to use without loosening a cinch cord to remove the flasks.

Similar to the magnetic hose clip on the Nathan vest, the CamelBak uses a plastic clip to connect the hose to the front right shoulder strap. The hose isn’t as easily removed from the clip as on the Nathan. But we didn’t find this to be an issue, as we simply left the hose uncut, and had enough excess to pull it to our mouth without the hose getting in the way from being too long.

The main issue we had was with the bladder. While not painfully slow, the bladder can be a little tougher to remove and insert than other top-loading bladder vests on our list due to it being a flap closure.

Ventilation And Performance In Hot Weather

Being that the CamelBak Circuit has less surface area on the sides, it uses 3D Micro Mesh to allow heat to escape. 3D Micro Mesh is similar to spacer mesh that you might find on a seat in your car. It breathes just as well as any vest on our list, if not the best. This vest especially shines for runs in hot weather.

Pockets And Capacity

There are five total pockets on the CamelBak Circuit 5 L vest, including the large rear pocket. Since we prefer to use the bladder on the CamelBak, all of our other gear goes up front. Our reviewers iPhone SE in a Lifeproof case fit in the secure zipper pocket up front, but with not much room to spare. If you have a larger phone, it likely won't fit in the up-front pocket, but it should fit with no issue in the lower front cinch closure pockets. We found those pockets to be secure as well.

There’s a stated 3.5L of capacity up front on this vest and slightly more in the women’s version. We found that to be plenty of room for our phone, keys, chafe balm, sunblock, and snacks. We didn’t carry much else in the CamelBak Circuit, but if you wanted to stash a wind shell and gloves, and other small items, there’s room for those, too.

A wind shell in a front large pocket, a snack bar in a stretchy front pocket, and an iPhone SE in a Lifeproof case in the left zipper pocket. The plastic hose clip is shown just to the left of the top stretchy sternum strap. Photo by Justin Walker — A wind shell in a large front pocket, a snack bar in a stretchy front pocket, and an iPhone SE in a Lifeproof case in the left zipper pocket. The plastic hose clip is shown just to the left of the top stretchy sternum strap. *Photo by Justin Walker*

Fit

Reviewers speak highly of the Circuit, both about the men’s and women’s versions. One female tester found the men’s version to be a better fit, as she found the longer torso of the men’s version more suitable for her torso.

A few downsides to the Circuit vest are that it's a one-size-fits-most. While the men’s sizing accommodates chests from 28-50”, which may not cover some larger chested runners. The women’s size accommodates chests down to 24”.

Versatility

Some testers found the Circuit not only to make a great running vest, but to be a useful tool for mountain biking and walking, too.

We think this may be because the Circuit has an intuitive, easy-to-use design. Every pocket is simple, nothing gets lost, and it houses the basics.

Best high-capacity running hydration vest: Black Diamond Distance 15

Capacity: 15L
Included hydration: None
Women's-specific fit available: No
Weight: 14.25oz
What we liked: Comfort when full!
What we didn’t like: The front bottle pocket design. The pack needs to be full.

Despite having running vest-style straps up front, the Black Diamond Distance 15L pack is a total departure from the other hydration vests we tested. It uses static fabric for the rear pack body and a backpack-style top-loading pocket with a cinch and snap closure at the top.

It strikes a balance between a running vest and a minimalist backpacker vest, or as some call it, fastpacking, where you incorporate running into overnight trips. That's why you'll find it as a winner here our best running vest guide but also in our Best Running Backpacks and Fastpacks guide.

Late afternoon into evening run. Paired with a Naked running belt, the Black Diamond Distance 15 accommodated a minimal overnight kit. Photo by Trey French — **Late afternoon into evening run. Paired with a Naked running belt, the Black Diamond Distance 15 accommodated a minimal overnight kit.** *Photo by Trey French*

Volume And Capacity

Our reviewer is a little on the fringe side when it comes to backpacking gear, sometimes taking around 6 lbs on fair-weathered summer overnight trips. He was able to stuff his entire kit into the main compartment of the Distance 15. This included a quilt-style Katabatic Palisade 30° sleeping bag, a tarp, stakes, lightweight bivy, rain shell, inflatable pillow, headlamp and electronics, first aid kit, trowel, and a little bit of food. He could fit all of the water up front, with some energy gels/snacks.

To make overnighting a little more feasible, we found that wearing a running belt like the Naked running belt helps to hold things like your phone, more water, and more food. The nights were still too cold during testing to take this minimal kit into the mountains, but we’re confident that it’ll do the job, whether it’s scouting big running routes where the approach is long enough that it makes more sense to sleep out there instead of running back to the car, or just for the sake of trying to backpack with so little.

Comfort

What impressed us the most is how comfortable the Distance 15 carried all that stuff. We expected a lot of sway from side to side, but the vest holds everything firmly against the back. It seemed that the more tightly we stuffed it, the better it carried.

Bounce

To that end, we also found that since it’s a top loading, single compartment type of pack — with the addition of pole pockets on the side (or for tent stakes and a small layer) — the few items that you might take on most runs bounce around a lot if the pack is only partially full. So, it’s not going to be the best everyday run pack but serves a niche purpose.

**Walking is always allowed in running, especially when you’re carrying 15L of gear!** *Photo by Justin Walker*

Hydration System

One complaint that we had about this pack was the front soft flask bottle pockets. They’re simply too narrow. None of the bottles that we had would fit in there empty, much less when we had other items in the surrounding pocket. We worked around this by loading short and wide soft flasks into the lower front snack pockets.

This solution isn’t ideal, as it hinders any use of the bottle pockets by covering them up, and reduces the overall volume of an already minimalist pack for its use case. We hope to see Black Diamond address this issue for future iterations of the pack.

Other than that, we were impressed by this high-capacity running pack.

Best hiking/running hybrid vest: Osprey Duro 15L/Osprey Dyna 15

(Men's and Women's)

Capacity: 15L
Other capacities available: 1.5 L, 6L, Belt
Included hydration: Bladder
Women's-specific fit available: Dyna
Weight: 12 oz (men’s), 15.5 oz (15 L) (women’s)
What we liked: It’s a versatile, tough, workhorse, lifetime warranty
What we didn’t like: It’s not a running-specific design, runs hot

The Osprey Duro 15L and Osprey Dyna 15 L is what some might call a “bomber” pack. It’s a durable vest built with static and tough fabrics. Compared with other running vests we tested, it has heavier-duty zippers and hardware. It even incorporates a hipbelt.

Some runners may say it is overbuilt for a purely running vest, trail or not. But we think that design serves the needs of a certain group of users: outdoors people who want one pack for hiking, running, or alpine ascents. That's why we award the Osprey Duro the Best Hiking/Running Hybrid vest.

Men's Osprey Duro 15L

Women's Osprey Dyna 15

The Osprey is a high-volume pack that uses a hipbelt and heavy-duty zippers. Photo by Justin Walker — **The Osprey is a high-volume pack that uses a hipbelt and heavy-duty zippers.** *Photo by Justin Walker*

Best For

We found the Osprey Duro a suitable vest for someone who’s into day hiking on trails, and who might be running-curious. It's also a good option for someone looking for a trustworthy, comfortable, durable summit pack, especially if more technical scrambling is needed.

Volume

This vest is what we would consider high volume for the type of gear it is, carrying 2.5L in the rear bladder with enough space left for carrying the standard day hiking essentials.

Ventilation

It runs a little too hot with all of the surface area and thicker fabric for sustained running. But that thicker fabric makes it a good option for adventurers whose trip involves a mix of running, climbing, and hiking. It does a good job of reducing bounce, so it rides comfortably during the run sections of your trip.

Some customer reviewers suggest other use cases like using it for bike commuting, or run commuting (yep, that’s a thing), where they used it to carry a pair of shoes!

The Osprey has one of the biggest phone pockets of all of our vests. Photo by Justin Walker — **The Osprey has one of the biggest phone pockets of all of our vests.** *Photo by Justin Walker*

Adjustability

Some reviewers found the Osprey Dura vest to lack adjustability. But for us, we had no issue getting the fit dialed in.

Similar to traditional Osprey backpacking packs or day packs, it has a hipbelt adjustment and adjustments at the back of the hips. Plus the dual sternum strap on an adjustable height rail helped everything get dialed in. The rear hip adjustment is awkward to adjust at first. But once we got the sweet spot set, we could leave it alone and rely on the chest strap to deal with weight fluctuations in the pack.

Hydration System

We found the front soft bottle pockets to be on the narrow side. While we were able to store our skinnier bottles in there, they stood a little tall out of the top of the pocket.

Like some of the other vests we tested, the Osprey Duro has elastic clips that go around the top to secure the bottle. Osprey mentions that the pockets are designed for Osprey Hydraulics 500ml soft flask, which fits more naturally in the pocket than the soft bottle we had lying around.

Durability

Osprey says it’s built to last, and we don’t doubt them. Best yet, it comes with Osprey's Lifetime Warranty, which is good for repairs and returns.

Our Verdict

While the Osprey Duro 15L isn’t the pack we reach for when going out for a trail run, it undeniably has its merits for the right person and adventure. If you’d like an alternative to a standard backpack for hiking, need some supplemental storage on your bike, or want to explore a little bit of trail running on your hiking days, then we highly suggest the pack.

Honorable mentions

Best affordable running hydration vest: REI Swiftland TT

(Men's and Women's)

Capacity: 7L
Other capacities available: 5 L
Included hydration: 2 x Hydrapak soft flasks
Women's-specific fit available: Yes
Weight: 10.5 ounces
What we liked: No frills, intuitive vest. Ships with bottles.
What we didn’t like: Sits high, with a hard-to-reach tunnel pocket. Not the most dialed-in fit for some.

The REI Swiftland TT is the least expensive vest in our line-up and was our former winner for best affordable running hydration vest. It retails for $120.00 and ships with 2 x Hydrapak 500ml soft flasks, valued at around $40-45.

Given the lower price, smaller stated carrying capacity, and a fit system that departs from the other hydration packs on our list, we were curious about the bounce and general comfort of the pack. The results were that we seriously recommend this hydration pack–if you can find it.

REI appears to be discontinuing this pack and supply is limited.

Men's REI Swiftland TT

Women's REI Swiftland TT

The REI TT had the most simple pocket design. Though not the most accessible rear pockets, while wearing. It’s easy to find items once you remove the pack. Photo by Justin Walker. — **The REI TT had the most simple pocket design, though not the most accessible rear pockets, while wearing. It’s easy to find items once you remove the pack**. *Photo by Justin Walker.*

Volume And Capacity

After many shorter runs in the 1 hour to 90 minutes range, we took it up a steep climb, accumulating about 4,200 feet of gain over 13 miles round trip. For that run, it was stuffed with a sandwich, some chews, a waffle, chips, and 1.5L of water. We wore the two soft flasks up front, and a single Befree .6L filter mostly full in the back. We also brought a phone, warm hat, gloves, wind shell, sunblock, and chafing balm. Even with all that gear, there was still room to spare.

Fit And Adjustability

For adjustability, the Swiftland TT uses a stretchy velcro strap along with sides around the ribs to cinch the vest down to accommodate varying body sizes. We found it easy to cinch down during a run as needed.

Up front, the hydration pack uses two fixed, static sternum straps, non-adjustable in height. We didn’t experience any fitting issues with this, though we could understand if someone would prefer the more adjustable strap systems on other vests that allow changing the placement of the sternum straps along the chest, or the elastic bungee style found on Salomon hydration packs.

Pockets

The REI vest shares similar pockets to other vests on our lineup. In fact, we find the pockets more intuitive than many vests that we tested. Not to say that the pockets are superior, but they’re easy to use, and there’s not a lot of pocket overlapping to create confusion.

A couple of standout pockets on this vest are the zippered pocket on the left shoulder strap that actually accommodates a phone and a pocket up high on the chest for storing a Personal Locator Beacon like a Garmin inreach mini.

The adjustable velcro strap on the REI Swiftland TT helps get a dialed fit. Photo by Justin Walker. — **The adjustable velcro strap on the REI Swiftland TT helps get a dialed fit**. *Photo by Justin Walker.*

Breathability

There are a few downsides to the REI Swiftland TT, namely in breathability. The fabrics used on the hydration pack are on the heavier side and seem to trap heat a little more than the other packs we tested. Still, with that heavier fabric, the pack could outlast some other packs in terms of durability and avoiding tears, but the verdict is still out.

Ride And Mobility

Some reviewers note that the pack sits on the high side. We also found this pack to sit higher on the back than all of the hydration packs that we tested. However, this helped counter the heavier fabric by allowing better venting on the mid-back. The downside is we also found that the rear tunnel pocket was really tough to reach with the pack on. Our reviewer has less mobility in the left arm and shoulder from an early-life injury, and couldn’t reach it at all with that arm.

Lastly, the velcro straps are pretty thick. While this Velcro will last and is quite durable, it also creates a place that traps heat, and we tended to sweat a lot on the side body area when we took it out on a long run.

Our Verdict

While it doesn’t have the most sophisticated and nuanced design out of the vests we tested, for the price, the Swiftland TT checks all our boxes for what we look for in a pack regarding carrying comfort, pockets, and ventilation. It’s a great value, and worth considering. REI customers, by and large, review it positively and we recommend it as well for folks looking to spend less than $150 for a running pack set-up.

Ultimate Direction Mountain Vest/A

(Men's AND Women's)

Capacity: 13.4L
Included hydration: Y- 2 x 500ml soft flasks
Women's-specific fit available: N
Weight: 9.8 oz

We haven’t gotten to test the Ultimate Direction Mountain Vest 5.0 yet, but it has a lot going for it. Ultimate Direction takes a simple approach to their front pockets that accommodates your standard soft flasks, which come with the vest, and layers a second top-loading pocket below them.

Unlike any of the other vests, the Ultimate Direction Mountain Vest 5.0 has a large zip pocket down around the rib cage area on both sides that seems perfect for phones and other items that need security, as well as being in a place out of the way.

Men's Ultimate Direction Mountain Vest

Women's Ultimate Direction Mountain Vesta

We’re also attracted to the Ultimate Direction for its large zipper on the rear pocket. Zippers can fail over time when overstrained by carrying too much stuff in the pocket, but used within its capacity, having a large zipper might make items easier to access than some other vests. Still, it’s worth carrying a couple of safety pins in case it blows out, just to get you home. The outer bungee on the rear pocket is a nice touch.

One other factor to consider is that the big rear pocket on the Ultimate Direction takes up all the space back there, and there’s no rear tunnel style or similar pocket found on the Salomon vests on our list. That means no rear storage without removing the vest.

Lastly, one factor of the Ultimate Direction vest that piques our interest is the front trekking pole attachments. These are unlike the quivers available for the Salomon vests, and seem like they might keep collapsible poles more secure and less bouncy.

Camelbak Hydrobak Light 50 oz

(Men's AND Women's)

Capacity: 1L
Included hydration: 1.5L reservoir
Women's-specific fit available: Yes
Weight: 6 oz

This is a good option if you only want to carry water on a hike, bike ride, or casual run. Besides the main back compartment for the included 50 oz (1.5 L) water bladder, it only has one rear zipper pocket. This second zipper pocket is large enough for a phone and some snacks, and the main zippered water pocket can also fit a light jacket. However, this pack definitely bounces when you run with it, so it’s not the best for running. It’s great for biking or hiking, though.

Men's Camelbak Hydrobak Light 50 oz

Women's Camelbak Hydrobak Light 50 oz