“There are only two certainties in life: death and taxes” but I would also throw change in there.
We know change is inevitable. It occurs every second in every moment and everyone has their approach to change. Everyone handles it differently. Some people welcome it with arms wide open, and others, not so much.
I can hover in the latter camp more times than not. Change can be scary and heartbreaking and I know, also rewarding. When things are working smoothly, why change what isn’t broken?
The hydration vest that I’ve been wearing for the past 9 years wasn’t broken, until the day I noticed it was.
That sounds a bit dramatic, doesn’t it?
A few years ago, I was volunteering at the final aid station at Millard Canyon for the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run. A runner came through and as we filled up his hydration bladder I noticed something. His hydration vest looked very similar to mine. In fact, it was exactly the same!
I also noticed his pack was on its very last thread. Yes, the last one. How it was staying together I’ll never know. Perhaps it was a mixture of sheer will, Scotch tape, and magic because it was clearly trying to hold itself together long enough until their runner crossed the finish line.
Maybe it wasn’t even his hydration vest. Maybe the guy forgot his and asked a buddy to borrow one.
Yeah, I have one but not sure it’ll even last a mi-
I’ll take it!
I realized my vest would be able to withstand many more miles but eventually, the time would come when it may not.
By the end of 2020, my vest started to show its wear and tear and I began to peruse the hydration vest options. There are so many different types and styles to choose from. When I got mine in 2013, the process was so easy.
I stumbled upon a blog (that no longer exists) and she wrote about this vest from Nathan Sports that she really liked. Well, that settled that. I was sold! I bought it soon after and never looked back.
My vest wasn’t fancy or a bright color, nor did it have any bells and whistles, but it served me well for 9 years holding everything I needed during training runs and races such as my phone, lip balm, fuel, earphones, Kleenex, salt tabs, water, etc. Basically everything but the kitchen sink.
In early 2021, I picked up the Nathan VaporHowe which is a beautiful purple, but I wasn’t ready to part with my original vest yet so I shelved it. I thought about how shredded that guy’s vest at AC100 was so I knew mine still had some mileage left in it. There were more than a few threads remaining.
But then last month I realized I could not keep ignoring what my vest was trying to tell me. It was breaking down more and the time had come to have it step aside.
My first thought was to start using the VaporHowe but when I was getting it situated it wasn’t fitting me how my original vest did. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. It was just different. It sat higher on my back and I guess I’ve been used to my vest being lower for so long.
Granted these hydration vests are not cheap. But I do consider it a worthy investment because I use it often so I started searching again for another pack. Get it, inVESTment? Ha! Just thought of that.
Luckily, I had gift card credits from Amazon and didn’t technically need to pay for either one so that was beautiful.
This time I came across the Nathan Pinnacle 12L vest that had a longer back which I didn’t see when I was looking at vests last year. Perhaps it’s much newer and wasn’t available then.
One option was the women’s vest which comes in a bright yellow Lime color and the other was a beautiful bright blue for the Unisex fit. Considering my old vest was Unisex and that worked out, and my favorite color is blue, well that settled it. I was sold! Again!
A few days after I received it, I tested it out on 8 trail miles and overall it fit well and felt great.
Here are some brief points after my initial assessment. Oh, that sounds so formal.
– There are many pockets to store items that I did find a bit confusing. For instance, I could feel where my lip balm was but it was actually in another compartment than the pocket I thought it was in so I needed to keep searching for where it was.
– It was a bit tricky and unclear on how to open the hydration bladder to add water to it, but thanks to YouTube I figured it out.
– The insulated hydration bladder kept my water cool and I want to see how this works during the summer heat.
– The mouthpiece of the hydration tube popped off at one point. I didn’t understand why my water was suddenly pouring out of the tube and it turns out the mouthpiece fell off when I twisted it too far after taking a sip of water. There it was, lying in the dirt. Because the water was flowing out, it was a quick rinse and I was able to place it back on with no trouble. It comes off so that the tube can be easily washed which I do like. I just need to be more careful of my own strength and twisting it too far and off the hose. I don’t want to lose precious water.
– What my old vest does have that I wish this one did is the hook to which I could attach my keys without the fear of them having them fall out of the many pockets. I was able to place them in one of the zippered pockets but there is that extra security of knowing your keys are safely attached by a hook and unless you unlatch them yourself, there’s a slim chance they’d fall out on their own.
– Unlike my old vest, the Pinnacle has bells and whistles. Literally! Yes, there is a whistle inside one of the many pockets. Did I mention pockets? And I hope I never have to use the whistle since I never used it with my old vest. Maybe because my old vest didn’t come with one.
My main takeaway: I love the Pinnacle vest and once I can get a system down of knowing which pocket I should place my items in so I know exactly where to find them, it’ll be smooth sailing. But I have a new running companion that I don’t feel is going to break apart at any second so I’m happy!
Now that I have a few vest options I will likely wear the Pinnacle for my longer runs and the other two for short runs. Okay, I will probably retire my old vest.
We’ve had some great adventures together through short and long runs, heat and cold, night and day, humidity and rain, trails and roads, marathons and ultras, tears and laughter. I am so grateful for having it all these years. It’s been my constant support through countless miles, but it’s time that my dear old vest rests.
Change is inevitable, and while I can be resistant sometimes, this is one change I do embrace.
Thank you for reading!