After years of neglecting my hydration needs I recently became a big fan of hydration vests. So I was delighted to be given the opportunity to test the new Race Hydration Vest from Restrap!
Part of Restrap's lightweight, high-performance Race range of bikepacking kit, the Hydration Vest features a 2L bladder with 5.5L storage capacity. It comes in two sizes, with the Small/Medium version I tested weighing 368g plus another 146g for the bladder.
I just needed a good test scenario, and it wasn't long before this came in the form of a Whatsapp message that read something like: "Overnight Downs Link double... Who's in?"
Well of course I'm in!
But first I should clear this date with my long-suffering partner Liz.
Liz is a health and safety stalwart with a double dose of common sense. So when I tell her about the overnight ride she reasonably asks: "Why? Is it closed during the day?"
This is the moment I realise the absurdity of our nocturnal quest and I can't help but laugh... You can't explain everything with science and logic but there's probably a good scientific explanation for why a bunch of boys decide in a moment to get together on bikes and deprive themselves of sleep to ride 100 miles off-road through the night.
I just don't have a clue what it might be, so I make no attempt to explain this to Liz.
Psychoanalysis aside, the ride is a good test for the Restrap and ultimately will help me decide if I should take it, or my beloved Camelbak on a bikepacking trip across Norway later in the year.
Funny thing is I've not always been a hydration vest fan... In fact, I'm well known in my cycling club for never carrying water! The facts, as I see them, is this is England and there is no shortage of water. On most days here you can just open your mouth, it's usually falling from the sky! So I think of hydration vests as something for the elite ultra runners but certainly not for the likes of me.
This all changed about 18 months ago when I was preparing for my first ultra endurance event, the GranGuanche Gravel Audax, and now it's safe to say that I'm a hydration vest convert. I love them and I think of them as a must-have piece of kit.
Here's how I became a fan. It wasn't an easy start. Imagine me having carefully assembled everything I would need for my first ultra and overcoming my imposter syndrome to put the Camelbak on for a dry test run. I've prepared the bike and filled the bladder and I'm away... Suck, nothing, suck nothing... ah there's a switch here in the nozzle... flip, suck, nothing...think...ride... think...flip suck nothing... all the way around my 80km test course.
It turns out my dry run really was dry and the vest sucked - or didn't, whichever way you want to look at it. When I got home I inspected it closely. Wait a minute, there's a plastic hygiene cover thingy... doh. I guess this is what dry runs are for and I'm now ready for the real deal.
Happily, things changed quickly. By the time the audax started and I was bombing down the first mountain, I had already started making friends with my hydration vest. We got very close, very quickly - actually, I didn't take it off for three days and slept in it everywhere.... On a ferry floor, in a bush beside an airport perimeter fence, even in a bus stop. I was getting emotionally attached!
In the old days when I first started cycling I couldn't afford much in the way of fancy luggage solutions. I mostly had to carry everything on my back and over the years, I had become obsessed with trying to avoid this. But all of a sudden it made sense again. Carrying on your back is incredibly efficient. It's way better aero than a saddle bag or bar roll. Plus whatever you put in it comes with you when you leave your bike.
This is super handy for ducking into cafes and supermarkets, because there is no need to root about the bottom of a pannier to make sure your passport is safe while leaving the bike. I realised this convenience extended to everything that I needed close at hand, starting with water and gels. Then there's ferry tickets, travel docs, cash, cards, battery pack, sunscreen and even a toothbrush. I found I could carry it all with easy access and never felt like I had to root through anything to find the thing that I needed.
The clincher came when I also realised how inconvenient it is to drink from a bottle. It's almost impossible on some trails without stopping, but not so with a hydration vest. The vests make it easy to take micro sips whenever you want without the risk of losing control or dropping a bottle. This was a revolution for me, having been used to riding myself parched then drinking my stomach full. I've found that little and often works best.
So that's how I became a fan. Now I just need to work out who's coming to Norway... Will it be the sexy new Restrap, or the beloved old Camelbak?
Doing the Double
The date for our night ride came quickly and the Whatsapp group is alive with excuses, but not from me and there is a hard core of five riders left to take on the challenge.
We meet as planned and set off towards the sea, full of excitement for the night ahead. We roll along at a fair pace towards the start of the trail and chat about who has the best lighting setup and what food and drinks we've got. I've stuffed the vest full of sandwiches, chocolate bars and a thermos flask full of coffee.
It's also holding a large battery pack, a raincoat and my phone and keys. I've left the gels at home, but there's plenty of scope to slip at least a dozen in various easy to access pockets.
We hit the start of the trail and the light is fading. I've been riding pretty solidly for two hours by now and I'm starting to drink small sips from the vest. There is 2 litres of water, which should be more than enough. The chatter is slowing up and the pace increases. The excitement is in full swing and we are bombing though the trails in a tight gravel-style peloton.
The track is mostly flat and fast; we single out when the path narrows and double up when it's wide enough. It's a particularly dark night. We need all the light we can get. I'm worried that mine won't make it through the night. It doesn't.
Alex is first to spot a fox and he calls out with joy. He is hoping to see a badger. When James and I get on the front we pretend to spot badgers to poke Alex and we all laugh at our silliness and tell each other bad jokes as we race through the trees.
We stop occasionally for navigation, but not so much to regroup because we've managed to stay tight. We take a longer break in a playground. It's a bit eerie at night, James finds an abandoned soft toy and sits it on the front of his bike. The laughter breaks the seriousness of what we are trying to get done here and we plough on into the night.
It's late, we share the trails with more wildlife, the odd fox, some owls and plenty of unidentifiable sets of eyes glaring at us in the night before scurrying off into the undergrowth. Apart from the animals, the trail is ours and we are the kings, masters of the gravel path, the ruts, the fallen branches, the potholes and the smooth runs of tarmac that punctuate them. We are super alive with heightened senses, this is our drug and we are tripping.
At 1.30am-ish we hit the top of the trail, it's our turn around point. We've made pretty good time so we found a 24 hour garage for resupply. Lattes and Mars bar duos all round... we order five of each to make the process as uncomplicated as possible. We whoop it down and hit the road back in the direction we came from to try and get back to Shoreham before the sun at 4.50am.
We know what to expect and this part of the trail is tricky with lots of slippery mud traps between spongy ground. You never know when you're going to hit the mud where your wheels become completely unpredictable for a short moment and then you're back on firmer ground and heading in a different direction and needing to correct it quickly before you're off the trail.
I slipped off the trail once but recovered quickly. It's a bit unpleasant, it keeps us all concentrating into the wee hours. It's not long before we are on the dry section and our momentum builds again. We are largely silent now and speeding gracefully along the trail.
And soon enough we have done it. We beat the sun, sort of. Actually it was pretty hard to tell because it was a bit overcast. But the night went off fairly uneventfully, no punctures, no crashes. Nothing. We didn't even lose the trail once.
This is not our usual style and we roll back towards Brighton rather proud of ourselves and debating whether to get a train home or ride. We are addicts and we elect to ride home.
But wait, I've completely forgotten my ulterior motive which was to review the Restrap vest and assess its suitability for our Norway trip. It's super light and so comfortable that you forget you're wearing it. I think about this a little and conclude that since I didn't notice the Restrap as remarkable at anything, it must have done everything well.
You just don't notice the best bits of kit, they just do their job quietly. You only notice the stuff that goes wrong: the cheap tyre that keeps puncturing, the bargain pump that doesn't pump. These things become problems that need sorting out. The really good stuff just goes unnoticed until you get home and put it away and realise it was with you all the time, silently and dependably doing its thing.
There is one final test though. I had been a bit too clever making the coffee in my flask double strength - to help me stay alert. It was totally undrinkable and I carelessly spilled it all over the Restrap, it was covered in sticky coffee and needed a good clean.
Cleaning it gives me the opportunity to note some of the features. The Restrap has a magnetic attachment for the water hose to clip back into place. It works pretty well, you only have to let it go in the general vicinity of the attaching magnet and they find each other quickly. The magnet can be placed almost anywhere across the front of the vest. The hose was a bit too long for me but it's easy to cut down to the ideal length.
The bladder is easy to fill with a clip that slips off and doubles up to hang it in place inside the vest. This system is simple and unlike the Camelbak, pretty foolproof. I've been caught out with the Camelbak not putting the lid on properly and having the water spill out and run down my back slowly until my shammy has turned into a used nappy, a rather unpleasant feeling!
The Restrap design also allows you to turn the bladder inside out. This means you can dry it properly for storing. This is not possible with the Camelbak and it always gets stored with a little water in it that leaves me slightly uncomfortable.
There is a large pouch on the back that is good for holding a lot of stuff, but be careful not to go too crazy because it can sit a bit awkwardly if overloaded.
The inside is a funky orange colour, allowing contents to stand out against a zingy citrus backdrop for easy retrieval - that makes it feel like a very well considered product.
The zip to the large pouch has an orange drawstring so again, it's easy to find. There are two large net pockets on each side that are excellent for securing smaller items such as pumps and spare tubes, these are lined with a super hard wearing shiny material that gives it a premium feel. There's also a strap to clip a light on to.
On the front, there are three open pockets, ideal for bars, gels, sunscreen etc and battery packs to keep handy for plugging in on the move.
As for comfort, the Restrap sits high on your back which is great because it doesn't interfere with access to jersey pockets and looks and feels right. The back of the rear is lined with netting that helps keep air flowing underneath the vest. The straps also contain some reflective material that is very helpful at night.
It's clearly very well made, the materials are strong and hard wearing. I feel like it's an attractive, long-lasting addition to my cycling kit bag. It's understated too: it doesn't scream hydration vest, it just gets on with the job, time and again and this is what I like the most about it.
The vest is priced at £139.99 which does make it a fair bit more expensive than the Camelbak, but the philosopher inside me thinks that if you're really worried about the price, this isn't for you. If instead you want to know that it's going to work well and never let you down then don't worry about the price, the Restrap is a good choice.
How much would you pay for the sort of freedom that it will help facilitate? The excitement of blasting trails in the middle of the night with your mates is priceless.
So which little guy will I take on our Norway adventure?
Well, I'm a very loyal sort of person so switching is hard, but switching is exactly what I'm going to do... Yep, it's the Restrap!
Race Hydration Vest, £139.99 from restrap.com
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