Nathan Sports VaporShadow
I’ve been wearing a hydration pack each time I go out on a trail, not so much because I need the hydration but more so that I get used to running with something on my back, although as I’m only running short distances at the moment I have taken out the 2L water bladder in favor of carrying a small water bottle in the front pocket.
Nowadays if nothing is posted on social media then it OBVIOUSLY didn’t happen. As such, I will invariably post photos before, afterwards and perhaps even heaven forbid, during a run which isn’t as hard as it sounds because I’m great at multi-tasking – it’s a girl thing and I got even better at it once I bred .. 😉
In any event, due to my prolific social media posts, I’m regularly asked
“What hydration pack are you wearing?”
The answer my friends (is not blowing in the wind) 😉 My hydration pack is a Nathan Sports VaporShadow 2l Race Vest.
Initially I had ruled out a backpack hydration system because they are rather pricey and as I was not (at that time) a trail, adventure or marathon runner I couldn’t really justify what the cost per run would be. To me, they were just one of those “would come in handy but hardly essential” items and to be fair, I’d never seen one that jumped out and said “BUY ME!!!”
Until I saw a photo on Instagram of one of my adventure racing friends wearing the Nathan Vapor Shadow *swoon*
My friend regularly participates in various adventure activities and races so I’d consider her to be far more knowledgeable about gear than I am, so if she’s wearing it, then it must be pretty good. I may have also noticed how she looked so cute running up a volcano with a big smile on her face wearing this cute hydration pack that matched her shoes! I mean if you’re going to run up a volcano, why not have your pink and purple pack match your shoes … 😉
After seeing that photo I did actually put some time into investigating different hydration packs and then decided that my top three must have’s were;
- A female specific fit
- A pack that had solid sides (as opposed to a strap)
- Front straps that could be secured above my boobies.
Then it was just a case of comparing hydration packs that were available in New Zealand (or could be sent here for free) that had those three elements. In the end I settled on the exact same pack that I’d seen my friend wearing on Instagram for a variety of reasons but the main positives were, the front straps slid up and down on a channel so I’d be able to ensure it fit comfortably, it had a zippered phone pocket on the front (because we all know I’m never sans phone) and quite frankly? It was the cutest by a mile!
The VaporShadow comes in three colorways however where I purchased my pack from the only colors available in my size (L/XL) was the pink or the dark grey and obviously (from the photos above) I went with the pink.
Although I’ve worn it a few times now, I’m still playing around with the strap settings to get the perfect fit because on the odd occasion when I run the left side of the circular neck section ends up moving around and will rub, a quick tug to the left usually sorts it but if I was on a long run that would get pretty annoying – I guess if worse come to worse I could put some kinseo tape on that one area because otherwise, it’s as comfortable as running with something on your back probably gets .. and you’ve got to admit .. it’s so cute!
Till next time