Article by Renee Krusemark
Nathan VaporAiress 3.0 ($160)
Renee: The VaporAiress 3.0 is a 7-liter capacity vest available in three sizes. Featuring an adjustable sizing system, the vest comes with a 2 liter bladder and a good amount of storage.
My sample is the smallest size, XXS-M, which is listed for busts from 30”-36”. The two front straps sit low, which might be great for women with large busts.
I appreciated one aspect of the low sitting straps: When running with two flasks in the front and with items in the front zipper pockets, the items did not press against my chest, which happens with other vests. Whether it’s food, my phone, or my key fob, I spend time adjusting my other vests so the items in the front zipper pockets don’t cause discomfort across my chest. That’s not an issue with the VaporAiress.
The negative of that is the shoulder straps slipped down, which was a bit annoying on single track. I had the two front straps tightened as far as they would go, and pulled the inner adjustable straps (the adaptive-fit) as tight as possible. Otherwise, I didn’t have too much bouncing of the vest itself when I ran with 1500 ml of water in the back bladder and with 750ml/500ml front flasks full as well.
The overall storage is great and is listed as 7 liters or 427 cubic inches. The vest works best for me when needing a lot of storage rather than just something for a gel or two and a phone. I ran with the bladder at 1500ml, a jacket in the zipper pocket, and gloves in the side kangaroo pockets. The pockets are open (no Velcro), but even my small knit gloves stayed in place.
I can easily access the back kangaroo pockets while running. I used my Nathan 750mL spine flask in the front, which unfortunately is not sold separately from the Nathan Pinnacle 4 vest. The flask fits very snugly, which was great to prevent bouncing. The flask is hard to drop into the front pocket, however. My 500ml Salomon flask is thinner and drops in easily. The flask did slip up the top once the water was gone, but I looped the lid opening around the bungee cord, which helped.
As with the Nathan Pinnacle 4 Vest , the magnet attachment for the hose is a great feature. I didn’t notice the hose hanging in the front and accessing it for water is quick and simple. The front has two large zipper pockets, plenty of room for a phone and food items.
Conclusion
The VaporAiress is a smart choice for runners who need a lot of storage and accessible pockets. The front straps sit low and the shoulder straps sit wide, so I think the fit is best for women with large busts relative to the rest of their torso. I liked that the zipper pocket items did not press against my chest while running, but the shoulder straps slipped down which was annoying.
Comparisons
For comparison, I’d prefer the Nathan Pinnacle 4L (RTR Review) on a daily basis. The fit is much more snug and the material is like a second skin. The vest works great for carrying only a few small items such as a key fob, phone and small food items.
The benefit of the VaporAiress is more storage overall, including a zippered pocket in the back and the bungee cords for poles. I enjoy the two large zipper front pockets of the VaporAiress; the Pinnacle 4’s are big enough for my phone, but it’s tight. For busty chest ladies, the VaporAiress will be more comfortable across the chest, especially if carrying front water flasks and storing items in the zipper pockets.
Of the vests I have, the VaporAiress is most like the UltrAspire Legacy 2.0 (RTR Review). Both vests have sizing that covers a wide range. The Legacy 2.0 is available in only one size. However, I was able to get a good fit the Legacy 2.0 because of the side adjustment straps and front straps. The downside is having to deal with four different cords to adjust, and the lag of the cords flop around while running. Both vests have great storage. The Legacy does not have great pockets for front flasks. For the Legacy, I preferred to carry hydration in the back bladder or the back side pockets, using the front pockets for food and other items.
Tester Profile
Renee is a former U.S.Marine journalist, which is when her enjoyment of running and writing started. She isn’t that awesome of a runner, but she tries really hard. Most of her weekly 50-60 miles take place on rural country roads in Nebraska, meaning mud, gravel, dirt, hills, and the occasional field. She has PR’s of 1:30:59 for the half marathon and 3:26:45 for the marathon.
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Samples were provided at no charge for review purposes. RoadTrail Run has affiliate partnerships and may earn commission on products purchased via shopping links in this article. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content. The opinions herein are entirely the authors'.
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1 comment:
The front straps slide up and down on the vest so your not limited to the straps being low all the time. I feel like adjusting these would have improved your experience.
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