There’s a reason that I’ve gravitated lately toward Ultimate Direction’s newest vest: the Xodus Vesta. You see, I’ve started including more shoulder mobility exercises in my routine lately. That’s all well and good; a wider range of motion never hurt anyone. Even runners can benefit from flexible shoulders for the way they help with posture and propulsion. The further back and forth you can swing your arms, the more momentum you can create to drive your stride.

But I haven’t had those reasons in mind first and foremost. No, I started working more on shoulder mobility in hopes of being able to reach the back pockets of my hydration vest — and that’s a problem. Not necessarily with my shoulders, but with my vest. Contortionism shouldn’t be a prerequisite for taking full advantage of a vest’s storage capacity. You might as well slash the advertised volume in half unless you like stopping to take the whole thing off every time you need a wardrobe adjustment or a re-up on gels.

The easily-accessible front pockets on most vests can only fit so much. There’s usually enough space to accommodate everything you need for a regular training run, but there’s no way you can fit 100 miles’ worth of hydration, nutrition, and gear into those pockets come race day. Every spare minute matters, whether you’re gunning for the podium or chasing cutoffs, and pit stops to reorganize supplies add up fast.

Xodus Vest and Vesta

That’s where the motivation to redesign the typical running hydration vest came from for Ultimate Direction. I’m surprised that someone hadn’t already jumped on the opportunity. Making pockets more accessible on the go seems like such low-hanging fruit when it comes to helping runners save time and energy over the course of long distances. Maybe it’s out of hesitation to reinvent the wheel. Most vests have stuck to the same general framework for decades, with only slight tweaks to distinguish one brand’s version from another.

Going off-script carries both the benefit and the risk of separating yourself from the pack. Runners aren’t always the most adventurous bunch, at least when it comes to daily habits. We know what we like and we know what works, from routes to meals to gear. And even if something doesn’t work perfectly, who’s to say something else won’t make our run even worse? The devil we know usually wins out over the one we don’t.

Ultimate Direction took the bet anyway and put an entirely new spin on hydration vest design with the intention of making pockets more accessible — no fancy mobility routine required. The Xodus Vest (men’s fit) and Vesta (women’s fit) eschews the classic front closure that other vests employ in favor of using that space for storage. Bungees and zippers across the chest are a waste of prime real estate. Moving the attachment system to the side frees up space in the front for pockets that runners can actually reach without dislocating a shoulder.

Storage

Most running vests generally include four front pockets, with two of those taken up by flasks that protrude out far enough when full to make the other pockets too tight and shallow to fit more than a few gels on either side. You might also get a couple other small ones higher up on the shoulder straps, but nothing anywhere near big enough to accommodate more than an emergency stash of bandaids and salt pills.

The Xodus, on the other hand, features eight large compartments all right there on the chest. Take out two for flasks and you still have six, each one with ample room for the heftiest smartphones on the market and snacks for days — not mere hours.

This vest doesn’t offer any more storage space than most other vests; its 7-liter volume doesn’t make the Xodus anything special based on numbers alone. The same amount of space just goes so much further on the Xodus.

Convenience

Convenience makes a big difference during long runs and races. As the miles stack up, so does fatigue. Even if you’ve been blessed with longer and more limber arms than yours truly, you probably won’t be able to reach nearly as far by the end as you could at the beginning when it took less effort. Mental energy dwindles as well, turning grown-ass adults into toddlers. Minor nuisances might as well be major crises once you’re too tired to problem solve appropriately.

I’ve cried over enough during races to know that trying to reach a back pocket isn’t worth the frustration. I’d rather dedicate that effort toward willing my feet to keep plodding along through the pain. It’s one or the other by mile 70. If the Xodus can save me a few tears, I’ll gladly take back the spare energy.

Organization

My one complaint when it comes to the creatively functional pocket design has to do with the separation between pockets. More so the lack thereof. The three main pockets up front have separate openings at the top, but bleed into one another at the bottom to form one continuous kangaroo-style pocket.

On one hand, this allows your supplies to spread out instead of stacking up on top of each other. On the other, it makes organization more difficult. I like to separate my different fueling options so I can know where the exact kind or flavor I’m looking for lives in my vest. I do ultimately think it’s worth the space savings, but at the expense of some structure.

Low-Profile Flasks

Ultimate Direction frees up even more space by trimming down the amount of space that the flasks take up in the Xodus. The flasks that come with the vest are flatter and wider than most so they lie relatively flat against the chest. These dimensions keep the flasks from either sticking out too much from the chest or overcrowding the other pockets. This is a big win for women especially, who already have enough going on in the chest region.

I’ve tried similar flasks to no avail. When other brands flatten out their flasks, they make the mistake of flattening out the mouth of the flask too, which makes adding electrolyte tabs or liquid nutrition powders a pain. And as we just covered, annoyances often escalate into catastrophes the farther you get and the harder you push.

These flasks avoid that issue entirely by keeping the mouth of the bottle just as open and round as any other. You’re left with a pretty top-heavy flask that tapers down at the tip into a flush seam. The higher weight distribution takes some getting used to, but just like the open pocket design, saves a surprising amount of space throughout the vest.

Shirt-Like Fit

To accommodate the front pockets, the Xodus slides on overhead like a shirt instead of over the shoulders like a vest. Zippers and bungees on the side dial in the fit. I won’t lie: this took some getting used to. I felt a bit constrained the first few times I ran in the Xodus, as if the closure system being out of sight and out of mind triggered a claustrophobic response.

But once I realized that I didn’t need to tug the Xodus on and off during a run nearly as often as I’m accustomed to, the initial discomfort dissipated. It stays put without question– or, more importantly, chafing. That’s the biggest perk of the shirt-like fit. An elastic band along the bottom of the Xodus holds it in place at just the right height. Think of it like a high-powered crop top. It’s long enough to keep the band from rubbing against your ribs, but short and snug enough to keep tanks, T-shirts, and even longline sports bras from riding up underneath.

Final Thoughts

I’ll break out the Xodus for long runs and races when I expect my brainpower to plummet. It takes the guesswork out of on-the-go storage by putting emphasis on accessibility. Running with more weight up front might feel unwieldy at first, especially coming from typical vests, but put plenty of miles into the Xodus before writing it off as trying too hard to be innovative. As soon as your energy levels take a nosedive, it’ll all make sense.

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Lucie Hanes is an avid writer and adventurer on rock and trail with a passion for sharing her outdoor enthusiasms through journalism and mental strength consultation.