I have run with a UD Scott Jurek vest for a year now and it is a superb bit of kit, I would not run a long training run or race with anything else unless I needed a lot of kit or was running with no Kit at all.
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| New v2.0 |
It fits well and is forgettable when you are wearing it and you can carry enough food and water for a really long run.
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| Old vest v 1.0 |
It has a good 9ltr capacity will take a bladder and two bottles at the front with more than enough pouches and pockets for and bits and pieces you want to eat or need on a race with all your food and gels being up front on your chest. It leaves your lower back free to sweat and cool and stays very still and moves with you. An absolutely fantastic bit of kit. Although not cheap its well worth the money.
My original red one has just been starting to show the signs of wear and tear and there are a few minor complaints out a few features that could be improved.
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| Elastic band around the gel pockets was a bit weak and now and again a gel could pop out whilst running, especially when only one was in there. |
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| Mesh on some of the pockets is starting to develop holes, usually from sharp gel/bar wrappers slowly cutting though. |
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| Again Mesh pocket on the shoulder strap wearing through due to used wrappers slowly making a hole. |
Also I was between sizes with my vest being a large size it felt a bit loose in a thin t shirt but a medium was too snug and there was no adjustment apart from at the front. Although the large was very comfy I needed to pull it tight at the front.
These were all minor issues that did not me thinking this was the best bit of running kit I had bought ever……..
So when they announced they were bringing out version 2.0 I decided to have a look, It looked like they had fixed pretty much all the issues with the vest so I went to Ultramarathonrunningstore.com
and got a new one sent over. As always the vest arrived the next day and the service and delivery was as quick as it could possibly be. Seriously if you don’t already use them give it a go and see, great kit great prices and service no one can match.
Even though I did not really need another vest I really wanted the new version and told myself I can use one for training and one for racing.
The 2.0 is a really cool bright blue colour and looks great on.
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| From the rear |
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| Front view – bottles included with vest |
The vest is a tiny bit heavier as they have swapped out the super light Cuban Fibre with a slightly heavier synthetic fabric that stitches better to the seams so when the pack is full there is more flexibility and its less likely to tear along a seam edge which is great if you are packing it full.
The vest comes with all the same features plus a few new ones that really improve the versatility and comfort of the vest there is a video by Scott Jurek here describing the new features of the vest but here are some of the improvements.
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| Additional zip access to bladder pocket to allow easier filling at Checkpoints without chucking everything out – including more bungy cords inside to keep kit still. |
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| Tighter mesh and thicker elastic on the gel pockets so nothing can fall out and sharp corners are less likely to cause holes. |
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| Tighter mesh to prevent holes forming from sharp corners and a larger piece of Velcro to hold kit in. |
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| Again tighter mesh plus behind the pocket is a larger piece of Velcro holding the inner pocket shut and hidden inside is a adjustment strap so now I can wear a medium and let it out or tighten it to suit so I am not between sizes as there is more adjustment. |
This is a great piece of kit and the improvements have really cured the very few niggles that I experienced, I have been using it all weekend in France and absolutely love it. I would recommend it to anyone. Obviously fit and function are personal but anyone I know who has one loves it.
A big thank you to Ultramarathonrunningstore.com for supplying the vest and continually supporting the Challenge Running Events.