Camelbak Circuit Vest review

For the majority of this year, I have been using Camelbak packs and bottles; I’ve always liked the look of the packs but have steered away in the past as I’ve used bottles and wasn’t keen on the idea of using a bladder. All that changed earlier in the year when Camelbak UK provided me with one of their new Ultra Pro race vests, which was designed to use soft flasks. This became my pack of choice for racing and training, particularly for those times when a medium sized pack is needed.

Camelbak UK thought it might be an interesting experiment to see how I might get on with a pack designed for a bladder, rather than flasks. To this end, I have been using a Circuit Race Vest, kindly provided by Camelbak UK, for the majority of my recent adventures and I’d like to share a few thoughts here.

The contact surface is made up of a 3D vented mesh which is slightly padded and stretchy in all directions which makes for an incredibly comfortable fit. Due to this being a minimal weight pack, there are no torso side pockets pack as seen on many other packs (like the Camelbak Ultra Pro vest), instead there is a double strap which can be adjusted on the fly; this is an important feature, allowing you to tighten the fit as you drink your way through the water bladder. As an additional bonus, this set-up makes the pack cooler when running in hot conditions and doesn’t feel all-encompassing like some packs. Total pack weight (without the bladder) is 180 grams.

The main compartment comes in at 3.5 litres capacity but you will lose some of that when you pack the bladder. The sides of the compartment are a very stretchy mesh which provide a degree of self-compression and, along with the side straps, allows you to run with no bounce from the contents. 

There is no zip to seal off the compartment, just a gently elasticated opening. The pack sits down the middle of your back, rather than wrapping around you (keeping you cooler) but this does mean that you have to be careful how you load up the pack as the opening may not close off completely. This is even more apparent if you are using the bladder too.

I really like the front of the pack; it is nice and simple and uncluttered. You have two large pouches which are very versatile. These are much bigger than normal bottle/soft flask holders but can still be used for these items. You can easily get in the kind of gear you would need on a long run or race, having everything close to hand, whether that be clothing or nutrition. The pouches have a locking bungie cord round the lip so everything is safe.

On the left strap, above the large pouch is a nice zipped pocket, useful for a phone or more nutrition. I really like the big loop added to the zip meaning you could access this pocket even with cold hands. On the opposite side are a couple of small pockets with simple fold over openings. I have to admit that I found these a bit redundant for my use; they were quite small and cannot be zipped up which meant I only ever put in some lip balm. Personally, I would have preferred either another zipped pocket like the left side or just one bigger open pocket, for me, this would be more versatile.

The front is finished off with a few loops, giving you a number of options to route your bladder tube and the two chest straps which are adjustable by height and width; one strap is elasticated and one not, though, and I really like this, you could swap these straps round to give you the most comfortable fit.

And so to the bladder itself; the Camelbak Crux Reservoir. This is my first drinks reservoir so it is important to mention that I do not have any point of reference other than using a soft flask. The bladder has a 1.5 litre capacity and, for me, will give about three hours of hydration. This is significant as I’ll only get a couple of hours from two soft flasks. 

The robust reservoir has a built-in handle which makes filling very easy and the large cap has a reassuring seal, only taking about one quick rotation to open or close. There is a long drinking tube, giving you a number of options to route from the pack to your mouth. 

The drinking end has a bite valve which gives a good mouthful of drink per sip, though you do need to adjust the orientation of the valve to get your natural bite and the opening correctly aligned. There is also a shut off valve, though once I was up and running, I didn’t use this as the bite valve gave a good enough seal.  The main feature of the new Crux reservoir is that it delivers 20% more water per sip which is great for hydrating quickly on the move.

Having now had a trial with the bladder, I can see the advantages, specifically the ability to drink hands-free which is really useful when using poles and the fact that you can carry more liquid with you when out on a long run. I made full use of this when supporting a group on the first two legs of The Bob Graham Round. Being able to carry enough hydration, particularly on the second leg which has very few natural water sources, was a real bonus and I was able to power hike with poles on all the climbs, still taking in water at the same time; I liked that.

If you are a regular hydration bladder user and are looking for a smaller pack for long runs or races, this pack would tick all the boxes, it’s really comfortable, lightweight and has all that accessible storage up front. What more could you want?

For me personally, I am still struggling with the logistics of using a bladder. I really like the ability to drink hands free, the fact that I can drink when running downhill which is more difficult with bottles/flasks and can carry more hydration for long runs when there is a lack of refill opportunities. However, I just cannot gauge how much I am drinking; too fast or too slow, both situations worry me (perhaps I’m just too regimented in my approach). When I used the pack and bladder supporting on the first two legs of a Bob Graham Round, I found that, although the two legs were about the same time, I ran out of drink on leg one and didn’t finish it on leg two. It might be that I need more time with the set-up but I am struggling.

Another issue I have is that you have to take the bladder out of the pack to refill it, often along with some of your kit too. This is a minor irritation during a longer training run but a major problem in a race. I suppose everyone has their preferences and this pack will suit those who love their reservoirs.

What I find interesting is that this pack has now become my go to kit on training runs and I even chose to race with it at the Hardmoors 60 mile race in September. I love the pack for its light weight and comfort. You can pull in the straps on the run to keep everything snug, it is probably the coolest pack to run/race in as the contact points are minimal, along with the vented mesh design and you have those big pouches up front for easy access to nutrition, kit or hydration flasks. For the Hardmoors 60, I used the pack with a Camelbak Ultra Handheld Chill Flask, another Camelbak Quick Stow flask in one pouch and my nutrition in the other pouch. This worked like a dream and will be a combination I’ll use again and again. Additionally, for the three weeks I was out in Chamonix during the summer, I never went anywhere without the Crux Reservoir; just being able to easily carry that volume of water and sip constantly really helped me avoid the dehydration I suffered from the previous summer.

The way I am looking at the Circuit Race Vest is that it is a cracking mid-sized pack with a number of variations as to how you might utilise the components depending on your preferences and the training/race context, this may or may not involve the reservoir, but it’s good to have that as an option.

Camelbak Ultra Handheld Chill flask review

I have been a fan of handheld drinks bottles for many years, starting to use one back in 2013 when training and racing in the West Highland Way Race. I think, at the time, I picked up a simple Camelbak handheld strap and drinks bottle that was in a bargain bucket in a local shop; I have been using it ever since.

I like to use it in races where you have support or the kit requirements mean that you don't have to carry a full race pack, but I especially use a handheld bottle on training runs of up to about 2 hours where, again, I might not use a pack but still want to keep on top on my hydration, equating to at least one run a week when I make use of a handheld.

Over the last couple of years I have become a big convert to soft flasks in my race vests but have always had to carry a traditional bottle in hand. I was pleased when Camelbak, offered to send me one of their new Ultra Handheld Chill Flasks for a review.

The product includes both the "holster" and a rather clever insulated 500ml soft flask.

The holster has a nicely padded and ventilated mesh as the palm contact point which insulates your hand from the cold but equally allows sweat to dissipate on hot days. There are also double pockets, both of which are made of stretchy mesh and can accommodate a surprising amount, including a phone in the zippered pocket, though this obviously adds to the weight. I usually put a few electrolyte tablets in a pocket on hot days.

What I really like is the criss-cross elastic strap configuration which is used to hold the product on your hand. Traditionally, a handheld simply has an adjustable loop through which you slide your hand, giving no alternative options to readjust your grip. The Camelbak has four elastic straps that criss-cross each other giving numerous options; changing grip is useful over long runs.

The straps also have a thin rubber strip on the back, meaning that the holster grips your hand rather than you having to grip the bottle. I like that, it's so much more comfortable than a traditional handheld.

The soft flask is a 500ml bottle with a slightly wider top than some flasks meaning that refilling is easy and even adding powders/tablets/electrolytes is simple.

In addition to a normal bite valve, there is an extra twist locking mechanism to prevent leaking. This may be a bit of over-kill, but it certainly works well. I generally run with the lock set to open all the time.

What makes this flask special is the insulation which keeps your drinks cool for longer. I'm not a big fan of warm water when running, give me a nice cool drink every time. It should be noted that, with the insulation layer, the actual volume of drink that you can get in the flask is slightly less than the 500ml advertised, especially important to remember if you are mixing powders to a specific concentration.

The flask is really well made and feels robust. I've given it a pretty good bashing over the last six weeks and the whole product still looks like new.

My only real issue with the Ultra Handheld Chill, other than the slightly smaller capacity, is that I found it difficult to remove and replace the flask. It is a tight fit in the holster which is obviously needed to give that security I was talking about previously where you don't even have to grip the bottle, this is a trade off against the ease of which you can swap bottles. When on longer runs, I usually just dip the bottle in a stream, keeping it in the holster. I have two of the Camelbak Quick Stow flasks but as I've tried to move from an empty flask to a new full one it's been quite a battle. I have come to the conclusion that, in an ultra race, I would run with the Chill flask in hand and a Quick Stow flask in my vest pack, just filling up the handheld without taking it from the holster and sipping from the Quick Stow when/if needed. I'm probably going to use this system in anger in the Hardmoors 60 in mid September. I understand the need for the tight fit, and not everyone will be swapping flasks mid race, but I like to on occasions.

With it's light weight and really comfortable grip, I love this handheld flask and grab it by instinct as I head out the door on those medium to long runs. It is such an easy way to stay on top of your hydration for the minimum amount of effort.

The Ultra Handheld Chill Flask can be found at wiggle.co.uk with a SRP of £39.99

Camelbak Ultra Pro race vest review

For many years, I’ve admired the build of Camelbak’s running packs but have always steered myself away from them as I’m not a bladder man; I like my bottles and/or soft flasks as I like to know how much I’m drinking. The packs have always looked well thought out and have a nice shape to them, looking like they would be really comfortable for trail running. I became very interested earlier this year when I noticed that Camelbak had produced a minimalist race vest designed for use with soft flasks, the Ultra Pro Vest.

Link to Camelbak here

I was very kindly sent a pack to try out by Burton McCall Ltd, UK distributor for Camelbak.

The first thing you notice is just how light the pack is, weighing in at a svelte 180g. This is definitely a minimalist pack and gives the impression that it is made for racing, this is not an expedition pack. There are lots of easily accessible pockets of varying sizes to suit every eventuality of kit we are determined (or instructed) to carry.

I particularly liked the large zipped pocket on the upper left chest strap which can take a mobile phone but I tended to use it for trail snacks and energy bars.

On the opposite chest strap is a small two pocket combination, useful for items like salt tabs and also includes a whistle, which is clipped to the strap (no flapping around – nice touch.) 

The under arm pockets are simple stretch mesh affairs, but can take good stash of bits and bobs. Over the late winter/early spring months, I kept hat and gloves in these pockets for easy access. What I really liked about these side pockets was that I could easily reach back to use them, even when running at a good pace. I have struggled to contort my arms to reach these type of pockets on some other race vests but had no problem with the Camelbak.

On your back, you have the main storage compartment for those items for which you don’t need immediate access. For a minimalist pack, you can get a fair amount of gear in there and, I’m sure that if you really thought it through, you could probably squeeze in compulsory kit for events like The Lakeland 100. When I was forced to stuff a number of bigger clothing items in during the recent Hardmoors 110 mile race, I found that the shape of the pack was altered to the point where the set-up I had on the straps was no longer comfortable and I had to readjust on the move. The minimalist nature of the pack will not cope with extra fleece jumpers and jackets, but I don’t think that was really in the design brief. When packed to the correct capacity, this is a very comfortable pack.

One more pocket design I liked was the outer mesh pocket on the back. I could stuff a light jacket, maps, extra gloves, hat and food into this space and still reach back and access anything whilst on the run. When I’m racing, I really don’t want to be taking my pack off to reach essential items, I could even put a small video camera in any one of the pockets; this is a versatile little pack.

The pack comes in three different sizes (S, M and L with an online size guide) with the medium fitting me nicely though I did have to spend a lot of time on my first few training runs with the pack trying different chest strap options until I found the best combination. Initially, the fully loaded bottles were bouncing around a lot, but persistence paid off and I got the perfect fit. Both front chest straps are adjustable in width and height.

Now for the main shift from Camelbak; the Quick Stow 500ml soft flasks. On some other race vests, the flasks are designed to be used whilst staying in the chest pouch, this does involve a degree of neck craning unless you use flasks with straws, as I do. As the name suggests, the Camelbak flasks are more of a half-way house between traditional bottles and “stowed” soft flasks. You take them out of the pouch to drink from and are then able to quickly pop them back in place once finished drinking, as you would with traditional bottles. This system does work but it’s a little bit trickier, making it a trade-off between not quite having the ease and speed of a bottle whilst enjoying the greater comfort of a soft flask. I guess you pays your money and takes your choice.

The flasks themselves are really well made, feeling robust, and are a nice shape to hold and stow away on the run. They have a slightly larger opening than some other flasks which makes adding powders to you drinks a bit easier.

In addition to a normal bite valve, there is an extra twist locking mechanism to prevent leaking. This may be a bit of over-kill, but it certainly works well.

On really long runs/races, I still prefer to drink from the flasks without taking them out of the pouch, so I am delighted that pretty much any type of flask will fit and I could substitute my straw flasks when required.

To really set this pack off nicely, I would like to have seen some sort of facility for carrying running poles. I know this will not be an issue for lots of ultra-runners who do not use poles, but I am sitting on a plane as I write this having just had a week training in Chamonix (sorry everyone ;-) ) and I like running poles, particularly in the BIG mountains. There are other packs in the Camelbak range that do provide a harness for running poles, such as the Ultra 10 vest.

Those of you that know me personally or who read this blog regularly will know that I am a self-confessed kit nerd and I will only use equipment that I think will aid my performance, to this end, after a month or so of training with this pack I decided to use it as my pack for the recent Hardmoors 110 mile race. 

This was a supported race meaning I could go for minimalist kit, seeing my crew every 60 – 90 minutes. However, during the hours of darkness we were required to carry more mandatory kit which the pack swallowed with ease. The Camelbak Ultra Pro Vest performed flawlessly, to the point that I didn’t really know I was wearing it for long periods of time and I guess that is just about the nicest comment you can make about any race vest.