I must admit, when I was asked to test the HPL #020 Race Vest by Nathan, my gratitude was mixed with disdain. After all, unless you’re on a bike or in the army, Hydration Packs are dorky. There’s a good reason why, when one appeared in The Office, it adorned the socially inept Dwight K. Schrute.

Sorry, couldn't resist working The Office into this one.

Yes, they’re dorky. But so what? If a runner is wearing a hydration pack, chances are they’re at a level of training which necessitates it. And at that level, fashion tends to take a back seat to function (way, way, way back). After all, we wear ugly shoes and short shorts and heart rate bands. The typical elite runner does not look cool when he’s working out. So what’s a little extra uncool, when it yields results?

And now, with that digression out of the way, I can get to the actual review:

Nathan HPL #020 Race Vest Review

—Cons—

The water tube sometimes grinds against the eyelet through which it feeds—it makes an annoying sound every other stride. Pulling on the tube ends the noise, though. This has only happened once to me while using the product

I wish there was a tighter/Velcro loop to hold the end of the water tube when I wasn’t drinking from it. There are two loops on the front straps, which makes it seem as though one is meant to stabilize the tube on your body and the other is meant to hold the nozzle (so that it’s not flapping in the wind). The nozzle is too small for these loops, and kept falling out.
My solution was to tuck the nozzle through the strap and under one arm. It worked, but seemed clumsy and made the nozzle hard to retrieve sometimes.

Hydration packs don’t look strange on a biker. On a runner, though, they’re dorky. With the pack on, I attracted a LOT of hate from passing drivers.
Of course, the kind of training/racing that warrants a hydration backpack is demanding enough that fashion shouldn’t matter. As an ultra runner, looks are pretty close to the bottom of our priority list.

—Pros—

I didn’t notice any sloshing sound from the water bladder, even when it was three-quarters empty.

The pockets don’t look like they hold much, but they can contain everything I need for safe travelling and distance running (cell phone, “power” food, keys, cards, money, etc.).
This eliminated the need for a second bag, which was great because I didn’t know if there would be a safe place to store one—having one bag grants peace of mind.

I loved the fit. My nipples chafe easily and so I was leery of the big straps that’d be going over them. But the straps fit perfectly to minimize rubbing. After a 22 mile run, I suffered less chafing than I would have in a cotton shirt.
The snug fit also makes the pack less noticeable. No jostling!

The material is super light and dries quickly. And even after long runs, it doesn’t stink.

Great for Gu on the run. Gu’s consistency demands big gulps of water, which means diverting runs to pass water fountains or pre-placed water bottles. This eliminates all such worries.

Most importantly, the steady stream of hydration meant fresher-feeling muscles throughout and after a long run, and less recovery time.

This past Saturday, I participated in a company-funded 20-miler that took me all around Philadelphia. A Nathan rep was present, and generous enough to supply everyone with some sort of hydration device. Brooks was also present, giving out free stuff and using cornstarch to show off their very cool DNA technology. Also present was Anne Mahlum, founder and president of Back on My Feet (the organization which puts on The Lone Ranger Ultra).

There was a time when I wouldn’t have thought twice about a 20-miler. It wouldn’t even have been the long run of my week. But that time was over half a year ago; concerning long distance, I am out of practice. I’ve been putting in relatively low mileage, running with my high-school racers and then doing extensions afterward.

I was therefore a little apprehensive. The longest run I’d done since the ultra was 10.5 miles. I knew that the jump to 20 was going to be… uncomfortable.

What I did not know was that I was actually jumping to 23 miles, or that I would do it with Maggie, a pleasant– but inconveniently skilled– marathoner. She was in much better shape than I, and running alongside her forced me to keep my pace up.

(Good luck in the Philly marathon, Maggie!)

Anyway, my body held up well under my recklessness. I used this run to test my HPL #020 pack, and I think that the steady hydration contributed to my success. Or at least, it contributed to the fact that I could walk around later that day.