X-Bionic do a clothing range called Fennec which is made from a reflective material and includes a bandana option. Its become a very popular choice of clothing for hot-weather ultra marathons like the Marathon des Sables.
In general, the UltrAspire range does lack storage... That and the fact the bottles are on the back are the main differences between those and the Ultimate Direction vests.
We've sold out of the UD vests very quickly and feedback has been incredibly positive. QUite a few people have been buying them as possible replacements for Salomons and from these customers they've all said they'll be sticking with the UD from now on.
The UltrAspire Kinetic is very good - two bottles, loads of pockets on front, waist pockets and a small stash pocket on the back which would take lightweight waterproofs.
The only UA with a lot of storage and bottles is the Fastpack. The Omega & Surge are bladder-based so have more storage but no bottles.
If you're near Edinburgh or Glasgow, give us a shout and you can try the different vests on.
Loads of different options these days and the vests from UltrAspire and Ultimate Direction are moving things on again and giving runners the option to buy "rucksacks" specifically designed for runners so they have lots of little pouches and pockets for everything you need, especially for those running longer distances.
Some runners prefer to just run with a bottle and some love the waist belts, OMM do a couple of ones which are firm favourites despite having been round for a while.
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