UltrAspire Legacy Race Vest Review - Large Capacity & Stable Ride

Article by Jeff Valliere

UltrAspire Legacy Race Vest
Capacity: 10 Liters
10.4oz. without bottles
Sizes:  One size fits most
$99.95

UltrAspire photo

The UltrAspire Legacy Race Vest is a secure, high capacity vest that can carry a reasonable amount of essential gear on longer runs or all day summer outings.  As the name implies, the Legacy can be used for racing and is better suited toward longer mountain races where more gear, or mandatory gear, needs to be carried, but most would find it too large for shorter, faster racing.


On the front of the vest are several large capacity pockets on each side where Ultraspire's 550 ml UltraFlasks or other soft flasks can be used or to store food/smaller gear. There is a zippered pocket for small essentials, a small magnetic pocket for pills/salt tablets and a large zippered pocket for a smartphone.  The UltraFlasks (not included) are a bit of a tight fit in the front pockets and additionally squeeze out any space in the over/underlaying stash pockets.  Softer/thinner soft flasks work better here, but still compete for space.

The zippered top pocket can store several gels, chap stick, car keys, credit card, etc...

The sweatproof pocket is good for salt tabs, vitamins, etc...

The pockets are generous and stretchy, great for food, a beanie, gloves, etc..

With bottles up front, pocket capacity can feel a bit compromised.

In fact, no matter which bottles you use in the front, even more malleable soft flasks, it is not likely to fit both a phone and a bottle on the right side.  An Ultimate Direction body bottle fits well on the right side, but will not (easily) fit on the left side.

The opposite is true however with Salomon flasks, on the right side they stick up too far, but on the left, it fits reasonably well and you can squeeze a phone in the outer pocket.  Either way, I think the Legacy Race Vest just does best with a bladder.

The large zippered pocket easily accommodates my iPhone in Lifeproof case.

..with room to spare.  The pull tabs are nice and easy to operate with gloves.

Fit can be dialed in with the two front stretch shock cords with hook/loop attachment and pull tab.

The straps are easy to adjust, but can be a little tricky to attach to the hook when moving fast and especially while wearing even thin glove liners.

For the more major adjustments, there is an adjustable strap on either side to accommodate a wide range of sizes and body types, or for accounting for clothing layers.  These are easy to adjust.

The back of the Legacy Race Vest features one large main compartment, an outer smaller pocket and two rear/side mesh bottle pockets.

The main zippered compartment is deep and voluminous and can eat up large amounts of gear such as jackets, food or whatever you can stuff in there.

The outer pocket is great for stashing/organizing smaller stuff like hats, gloves, food and storing a key.

In addition,  between your back and the main compartment is an insulated bladder compartment that can either be used for a bladder or further storage/organization.  Additionally, the insulated liner add a bit of padding/protection from any hard items in the rear storage pockets.

The mesh flask pockets are a bit of a challenge to fit flasks into.  Again, like the front, the taller, thinner soft flasks work better here.  Reaching on the run was nearly impossible, I could remove with some stretching, but no way I could get bottles back in here without removing the pack.

If you carry poles, there are generously sized cinch straps on the bottom.

The honeycomb mesh materials on the straps are soft and breathable.

As is also the case for the mesh back pad.

Conclusions/Recommendations:
The Legacy Race Vest is a well built pack that can comfortably and securely carry a large amount of gear with little bounce.  Comfort and breathability are excellent and quality is top notch.  I appreciate the ease and range of adjustment, easy to tweak on the fly and that can accommodate a wide size range of runners.

UltrAspire photo

Though you can use up to 4 bottles/flasks for more than 2 liters of liquid, I find that the use of them is difficult, if not problematic.  Using in the front seems to eat up valuable space, crowding out other pockets and making it difficult to access items.  Using bottles on the back is just tough to access.  I think using a bladder in this instance is preferable and opens up critical space for items you want more readily accessible.

The price is competitive at $99.95, but does not include bottles, flasks or a bladder like many other vests do and thus reduces that price advantage but runners are also quite frankly likely have a wide range of flasks and flasks already on hand.

UltrAspire photo

Though the Legacy Race Vest is comfortable and carries the weight in a stable and secure way, it feels more like a pack than a race vest. Other brands such as Salomon and Ultimate Direction are using lighter materials and sizing that integrates more like clothing vs. the feel of a pack.

Overall the UltrAspire Legacy Race Vest is a high quality piece of gear that should satisfy the majority of runners looking to carry 10 liters worth of gear in a comfortable and secure way, yet I would suggest a bladder over bottles, which greatly improves accessible storage options.

Reviewer Bio

Jeff Valliere is a former pro cyclist who now runs and climbs the mountains of Colorado. He has been top 5 Masters, top 25 overall, at the Pike's Peak Marathon several times, finishing 2d Masters in 2015. Jeff loves vertical accumulating more than 500,000 vertical feet per year, has climbed all the Colorado 14's and 200 of the 13's and has held FKT on several. 

The product reviewed in this article were provided at no cost. The opinions herein are entirely the author's.

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