Nathan  Pinnacle FeatherLite Hydration Vest

This is my first running vest purchase and I believe I chose the best one for my needs. It’s very well made and has great structure. I was nicely surprised that along where the front clasp are attached, there is an actual metal wire going down vertically along the vest to give the front structure and fit. The color is a nice slate grey. Unfortunately the brand name/lettering is not reflective, only a few tiny pieces across the shoulders, so wouldn’t recommend for running in the dark. It feels overall very lightweight. It came with one compatible water bottle. Along the pocket where the bottle goes, there is an elastic band to wrap around the top of the bottle so it won’t bounce out. There are 4 pockets total along the front and a slim back pocket. The two front upper pockets are open and long for the water bottles. You could buy an additional water bottle for the other side. The two lower pockets are smaller and have small velcro to keep items secured. I have only run with it a few times here in sunny Florida. It’s not been high temps, but moderate, and it didn't feel too hot. I ran with the water bottle, a gel, and my house keys. It didn’t feel heavy and nothing bounced out. I would recommend if you’re in between sizes to go down in size because you want it to fit snug. I imagine other peoples’ complaints about items bouncing everywhere went with a size too large. I typically wear a size small shirt, 34 inch bust and ordered the xxs. I think it was a great fit and the small/medium would've been too loose on me. I love how this vest helps me to really run hands free and I can’t wait to use it for my first half!

I was looking for a light colored, very light weight vest as a hot weather and short day alternative to my salomon adv skin 12. when i received the package, i thought the envelope from REI might have been empty.:and after opening the package and confirming it was in there, the first thing that surprised me was the vest came with one but not two soft flasks. no biggie as i already own a number of compatible flasks, but for someone who may be getting this as their first vest, it may be a problem. one of the features that attracted me to this vest was the single lower back pocket, and the otherwise light mesh covered back. it looked breathable, and i am a very sweaty person who tends to always run hot. i didn't expect the lower back pocket to be only accessible from one side, it has a zipper closure which was nice, but the one point of access is a bit limiting as once you shove a few things back there it may be difficult to retrieve the first stuff that went in. if it had two openings, each with (or without) a zipper, that picket would be much more usable. the two lower pockets on the front each have a small velcro tab that gets in the way and jusy gets annoying, but fortunately there's a small fabric tab, i presume to pull on, that can stick to the J-hook side of the velcro easily, defeating the velcro's desire to make accessing the pocket a two-handed affair. before heading out for my first run, i dry-fit two 500ml flaks from my salomon, a few gels, my phone, and a few other things and it looked like things were good. i filled the flasks, adding another 500 to the rear pocket as i wouldn't have a chance to refill until i was close to the end of my ~12 mile run exploring a recently opened and new-to-me trail. only once i was warmed up and running about a mile in did i realize this light mesh used for the main structure of the vest was bery stretchy, and in all directions. the pocket material is a tighter weave, and just the amount of stretch you'd want for pockets, but where my Salomon vest's base material is a static mesh, this stuff stretches a ton in not just side to side (which would make sense for comfort) but in all directions. the 1500ml of water plus other stuff i was carrying was bouncing so badly i had to fully since the side and lower front straps to try to lock the vest to my body tightly just below my ribcage to keep the movement under control. it helped, but didn't fix the problem. and i found myself needing to also hold the front with my thumbs just to keep things from wrecking havoc on my nipples through my shirt. if you're hiking, this won't be a problem, but in order to run in it i'm going to have to sew rigid straps to the vest from the front pockets, over the shoulder and to the top of the back pocket. i very disappointed with this oversight and hope that Nathan releases an update with a different mesh, or some reinforcement over the shoulders to keep the bounce under control. two stars because it is VERY light and breathable, but completely unusable without reasonably involved modification.