SJ Ultra Vest

Overall Customer Rating:

• 4 1 1367798400000
  John May 6, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  4

  I've always fought with belts/vests and have been searching for the "right one" for a while now. I ran my first 100 a week ago and saw a number of runners wearing the SJ Ultra Vest and they all thought it was the bee's knees so I ordered one for myself. All in all, I think it's a really well thought out vest and it holds a lot of stuff. I ran a marathon yesterday wearing the pack and had it on nice and snug, but the full bottles sat right on my ribs and it really started to hurt about 10 miles in. I ended up handing the whole thing off to my wife at the halfway point. I am guessing that I either need to use smaller bottles or add some padding to where the bottoms of the bottles sit on my chest/ribs. Or, perhaps, I should have gotten a different size? I'm 5'9" & 151lbs and I got the medium. Definitely open to suggestion!

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• 3 1 1367107200000
  Bart April 28, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  3

  Please see our updated review after using the vest for the past 5 months and the necessary repairs and alteration we found necessary: http://www.blueridgerunner.com/2012/12/ultimate-direction-sj-ultra-hydration_5600.html

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• 5 1 1364774400000
  Johan April 1, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  5

  I've always has issues with race vest's buckles or straps chafing my arms (the Nathan's especially) - no chafing at all with this vest. I have done several 4-5 hour runs with the vest and it has been very comfortable. I use a Camelbak 50oz bladder in the back along with 2 bottles in front. Access to the bladder is not the easiest with the elastic cords on the back, although I likely won't use a bladder during races anyway. It is hard to get gel packets into the pouches on the side of the bottles as they get hung up on the fabric, but not a major issue. I doubt whether I'll ever use the side pockets as they will chafe my arms if they have something in them. Again not an issue as there is more than enough storage in the back for a shell, gloves, etc. Vest appears to be well made, but I'm curious to see how durable it'll be over the season. Very happy with this product, certainly meets all my needs for a training/race vest.

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• 4 1 1363392000000
  David March 16, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  4

  Great vest! Light weight and form fitting; barely felt like I had it on and the bottles really did balance things out. No way you are getting an IPhone in the pouch on the right shoulder strap; forget about it; Iphone with case fit nicely on the side strap and did not cause irritation while running; Nozzles on the bottles are terrible! Repeat terrible and I read other persons' reviews and totally agree with them; I will be looking for new tops for the bottles as I expended more energy trying to get fluid out than running; they "suck" (pun intended). Storage in the back is deceivingly large; other than the nozzles for the bottles, I'd say it is a great product.

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• 1 1 1362268800000
  Will March 3, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  1

  I have always loved Ultimate Direction products and was really excited to get this vest. The concept looked great, the amount of storage incredible (for it's size/weight), and the overall weight was terrific. I just used it for a 100 mile winter time race and discovered a number of major issues. (I was wearing gloves.) 1. It is virtually impossible to get standard foil gel packs to slid into the stretchy pockets on the sides of the water bottles. They hang up on the fabric very badly. Some goes for trying to put empty gel packs in, especially the tear off tops. 2. The side pockets are impossible for me to access/open while wearing the vest. Every time I wanted something from them, I had to take the whole vest off and try to fish it out. A real time waster in a race. 3. To take the vest off while wearing gloves is a real chore. The 2 chest buckles are very small and difficult to operate with gloves on. 4. My Droid phone will not successfully fit in the pocket as advertised. 5. It sure looks like the bottle pockets could have been moved down so the bottle tops weren't up in a person's face so much. Would have also allowed for using the 26 ounce bottle, if preferred. On the positive side, the overall light weight is stellar! Also, there is a LOT of storage. If you're not using gloves and don't mind taking the pack off to access the side (and of course rear) pockets, and can deal with the gel packets snagging incessantly, then this might be a good pack for you.

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• 5 4 1360886400000
  Luiz Felippe February 15, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  5

  I've just ran a ultrarace (100Km) and it's was mandatory to carry on the bag: at least 2 liters of liquid (2 bottles of water + 1,5l reservatory with gatorade), gloves, 1 flee, 1 bivac, 1 bonnet, 1 raincoat, 1 headlight and everything and all fell within the SJ. Besides these items, still carried a camera, Gels and jelly beans. The best of SJ is that you do not feel you're carrying it all during the race perhaps by dividing weight between the front and back of SJ. Awesome! Congrats. Luiz Brazilian Ultraracer.

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• 5 2 1360800000000
  Paul February 14, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  5

  I have ran many 2-3 hour runs with the SJ Ultra Vest now and I can't say enough good things about it. It doesn't bounce and isn't "in your face" like you would think 2 bottles would be. Great design and I am amazed by the fit. I was worried about the sizing after reading the reviews and I am a large by Ultimate Directions fit guide. Thought I would be somewhere in between a large and medium, but it fits me fantastic. Love the storage space. Great for running to the gym and packing a change of clothes, or those long runs when the weather is unpredictable. Congratulations Scott and thank you for this great product. I can't wait for future collaborations with you and Ultimate Direction!

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• 4 1 1360627200000
  Antony February 12, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  4

  As a 6'0", 195 lb ultra trail runner, the options of kit that fits well and is purposeful is limited. When I saw that the SJ Ultra vest was 'designed' for the larger runner I could not wait to give it a go! I live in Singapore (~30Deg C, ~80%RH 365/24/7) so a pack that can remain light and carry all that is needed in this environment is essential. This pack does that. It holds a load! and it does not take on water (read sweat!) making it heavy during the run, the materials used easily keep this down to a minimum on the longest of runs and a quick hose down with clean water post run keeps it fresher than other packs I've used. It doesn't rub of chafe, but does have a tendency to ride up a little at the front. This is in line with other comments on bouncing. I'm at the top end of the sizing and I still need to hitch the straps tight in to keep it in place. I would guess in a drier environment it would stay in place better on me. I have now been able to balance the pack, and one tip is to pull in the internal bungee in the bigger compartment (designed to hold a bladder) this puts a little more tension on the whole pack and helps it stay put. The mesh pockets above the bottles are not useful to me as anything designed to go in there (cameras/Smartphones) hit on the clavicle whilst running. In summary, this is a great pack! But you'll need to transition to the feel of it. It does feel very different to the rear bladder options out there, but once you have you'll love it.

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• 4 1 1360540800000
  Jeramie February 11, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  4

  Worked great. Plenty of Storage. I had an issue with the water bottle caps, made a switch with old bottles, problem solved. I ordered the Large for 40in chest, it was too big, I had to make an alteration to tighten up from bouncing. Overall, great product. Lightweight, no chafing.

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• 4 0 1360454400000
  Michael February 10, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  4

  Very happy with the fit. Im 5'8" 152 lbs and a medium fits perfect, with or without layers on. Plenty of storage no bounce bottles in front are very accessible. Have not tried a bladder in the back yet. One problem is the 4 mesh pockets on the sides of the bottle holders. The mesh is stretchy but the stitching isnt. I can get 2 gels in each if i try hard with the bottles in place. Once a bottle comes out, the gels fall right out of the pockets. Another issue is the mesh pockets above the bottles. The opening is too narrow and the pocket is to shallow to fit a phone as advertised. I can stuff my iphone in there but the bottom of the phone gets pushed up by the top of the bottle and has fallen out. Aside from those pocket issues i am very happy with the pack and i am recommending it to friends.

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• 5 2 1360454400000
  crystal February 10, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  5

  My husband and I both use this vest, no chafing even shirtless in a 100k! Lightweight and fast drying, the only problem is the interior of the bag gets wet from sweat so anything needing to stay dry in the center compartment has to be in a ziplock or similar (not a big deal). I run to work a few days a week and it holds a change of clothes, money, phone etc. effortlessly. We both can not reccomend this bag enough!

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• 5 1 1358812800000
  Emil January 22, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  5

  Without a doubt my favorite piece of kit! Sizing – There are issues with sizing as reviewed below. I have a 34.5 inch chest and ordered a Medium. It fit perfect with two layers and full tension. Worn in this way I experienced almost zero bouncing and a very comfortable fit. Obviously with full tension of the sternum straps I needed to exchange for a small which Ultimate Direction made as painless as possible – awesome customer service! Construction – Very high quality craftsmanship. Top of the line materials. No chaffing or hot spots anywhere. The vest shed moisture easily. Though the rear cuben fiber pocket built up some condensation, which can be an issue depending on what you store there. Insanely light! Capacity – At first glance the pack doesn’t seem to hold much. Looks are deceiving. In the rear pockets alone I managed to store a water proof jacket, gloves, hat, arm warmers, emergency blanket, TP, first aid kit, headlamp and flashlight. I’m sure I can fit even more, the mesh had plenty of stretch left. In the other front and side pockets I fit a total of 4 full size cliff bars, 12 gels, cell, GPS, batteries, chapstick, map and trekking poles, then I ran out of stuff. The kicker valve bottles are awesome! Consider me converted.

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• 5 1 1358726400000
  Haley January 21, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  5

  I just got the SJ Ultra Vest and tested it out during a marathon this weekend. I love it! I am not a fan of GU or gatorade, and I'm a slow runner, so I knew I would need to provide my own hydration and fuel for the bulk of the race. The vest more than accomodated my needs; I was able to comfortably carry (and run with) an extra pair of shoes, 4 baked potatoes, 5 energy chew packs, granola bars, sunscreen, an outer layer, and a couple other "just in case" items. I stored one bottle in the front holder and packed the other holder with potatoes for easy access, using a hand-held bottle to drink out of. It didn't chafe, it didn't bounce, and it was very secure. Sizing was perfect; I got a size Small, and I'm 5'3", 110 lbs, 32" chest, and with the vest fully loaded, I still had about an inch of wiggle room. Overall, I am really happy with the vest and would highly recommend it!

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• 5 1 1357862400000
  Melanie January 11, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  5

  I bought this vest in addition to my suite of hydration stuff used for ultrarunning. I have a nathan vest, and ultimate direction handhelds. The nathan works great, but was interested in the Ultimate Direction signature series vests because it is easier (and faster) to change/fill bottles during a race than a bladder, and I like the idea of a front loading hydration system- and one bottle for water and one bottle for carb product. I was worried the SJ vest would be too big or bulky for me- I am a 5'3'' woman with a chest size of 33.5'' and an B cup bra (this is relevant), but I was wrong- not big or bulky at all! The SJ vest fits me very well, and I find it is more comfortable than the nathan vest because the shoulder straps are wider and the whole thing is so much lighter. Because I am a woman with boobs I feel it is important to comment on this- the bottles in the front do not lie upright, they tilt slightly down (and I imagine more so for someone with a larger cup size). At first I thought this would be problematic, and indeed there was some discomfort the first time I used it as the bottom of the bottles were against my ribcage, but I eventually got used to it and did an 8 hour run last weekend with no problems. I also sometimes just use one bottle in the front, and use the other pouch for food bars. That works well- it doesn't feel lopsided. In short, the pack is versatile, light and if a woman is concerned about the fit- definitely give it a try before you decide it would be uncomfortable.

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• 2 0 1357344000000
  Norbert January 5, 2013 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  2

  I hate to say it, but unfortunately the vest does not work for me. While I get overall concept and the vest is light and all that, two 600ml bottles in the front are just not enough. You maybe able to able to use the Creek Water around Bolder Colorado, but not in most places. I know the vest is sold with the option of putting a bladder in the back. But that in my view, does not really work. Also, there is no suitable bladder available from Ultimate Direction. I have tried putting a 1.5L Camel Back bladder in and that's just plain horrible. The bladder is not stable and bounces around a lot. In my view that's mostly due to the softness of the vest. Even fully tied down that is. Also, there is no proper way to attach the drinking hose. I tried shopping for other bladders as well, but could not find anything suitable. What I also find irritating is, how to two bottles in the front have been placed. Too much in my face. Norbert

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• 3 1 1356566400000
  wiliam December 27, 2012 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  3

  Love the pack and how everything fits on it. Like having the bottles on the front and how light the pack is. Only draw back it the fit. I measured my chest and going my the size chart i needed a large but once I ran it in it bounced to much. It's as tight at it can get but still to big. When they are in stock again i'll go with a med size one.

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• 4 2 1356134400000
  Mitch December 22, 2012 Was this review helpful? Yes No
  4

  Used the vest on a 4 day 56 mile run on the California coast, was very happy with the performance. Really was snug and was able to tighten the pack down, so their was no bouncing or sagging. No hot spots after 4 days of using the pack. A little hard to get into the side pockets while wearing pack, but great access to bottles and two front pockets with out taking the vest off. Make sure you get the right size, seems I'm right in the middle, would love to have had the sizing been broken up in a little different spot, worried that with a full pack and a heavier jacket that I would need a large. I'm a 36 and at first ordered the large, but had to exchange for a medium, so I could tighten down. All in all, very happy with the pack and would definitely recommend. Running the Na Pali coast next month with it and am grateful I have this pack. It's small enough to tighten down, but big enough to carry pants, jacket, gloves, hat, extra socks, plenty of food, cell phone, charger, maps and more, stretches nicely, but can still tighten it all down. Nice going Scott!

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