Ultimate Direction Mountain Vesta 5.0 Gear Review – Kim Whitesell

Kim is a runrunner on the team and received this pack from Santa in 2020 and tested it out on a run right away. A special thanks to Kim for sharing her feedback on the pack!

ultimate direction mountain vestaGear Name: Ultimate direction Mountain Vesta 5.0

Size: Small

Fit: The pack fits very well and snug. Once I had the elastic cords on the pack tightened, no bounce occurred while running. I wore 2 long sleeve shirts but didn’t notice any rubbing on the outside shirt. The outer edge of the front of the pack is firm, it feels like a thick plastic wire in the seam, which I wasn’t sure about at first but notice the less flexibility helped taking on and off easier and kept the pack in place better. I like the variety of pockets. So many pockets I’m not sure what I’d put in each one!

Pros: Snug fit and no bounce, a lot of space for food and gear, breathable

Cons: My biggest con is the collapsing water flasks. If you take them out of the pocket, they are hard to get back in to the pocket. I’m planning to order the bottle that comes with a straw so I don’t have to take it out of the pocket. Otherwise I like the flask because it isn’t chunky feeling or slosh around too much. Aside from that I haven’t found any other cons about this vest as of now.

Side note for the women who read this: I am a little “chesty” at 34dd. So I get worried about how packs will fit around my chest, which is another reason I like this vest has the firm and supportive seams.

Things I carried during this run:

  • Front right pocket: mashed potatoes and applesauce packets
  • Front left pocket: flask bottle with skratch hydration
  • Pocket below bottle on my left carried my phone.
  • A small pocket above the bottle carried the car key.
  • Doesn’t have anything in the back except my water bladder so I used the elastic cords to tighten the back of the pack and keep it from bouncing. I’m sure for longer runs I’ll be packing this more. I’m sure I could fit a packable rain jacket in the back and other gear.
  • There are several other small pockets in the front to carry gels, hand sanitizer, kleenex, as well as a zippered pocket, perhaps for cash and ID.

ultimate direction mountain vesta

ultimate direction mountain vesta

Have a piece of gear you’d like to tell more about? Write it here – we love to hear about gear – what works, what doesn’t, and what you have lots of info on. A special thanks once again to Kim for taking the time to write this gear review!