Congratulations, pod people! I have officially transformed into a running vest girl. š
THE RUNNING VEST FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH ME
I’m not sure if it’s a quirk of neurodivergence or a character flaw or some combination thereof, but there are some things that I simply cannot come around to until I’m ready.
It didn’t matter how often you told me to get running shorts with pockets; I was fine carrying my phone in my hands. And then one day I bought running shorts with pockets and now I won’t buy a pocket-less pair! It didn’t matter how many people in the runDisney race were wearing costumes; I didn’t wear one. And then one race I did and now I always plan a costume!
Quite a few of my running buddies enjoy hydration backpacks and running vests. I never wanted one, seeing them as yet another layer to contend with and anyway my shorts have pockets, remember? And then one day I saw a cute running vest with pockets for your water bottle, and suddenly it was time.
Except I hit a snag: that cute running vest, offered by a popular yet tiny indie brand, was out of stock in the color I wanted. It was also fairly expensive – think over one hundred whole American dollars. I didn’t like the other color available, and for that matter $100+ is pricey when trying an entire category of gear for the first time. So I decided to hunt for a more affordable option, at the very least as a stopgap measure.
ENTER: THE ZELVOT RUNNING VEST
I’ve mentioned before that I participate in a work-sponsored fitness app that awards gift cards for completing health and wellness activities. I had some Amazon money to burn; thus I started my search there. Now, Amazon famously has some crappy products with questionable reviews. Cute running gear in pretty colors that seemed legit? I risked shooting for the moon only to land among the one stars.
Shockingly, I was in luck! With some shrewd filtering and a narrow eye on average ratings, it didn’t take me long to land on a worthy candidate. It was fairly streamlined, offered pretty pastel colors like pink and purple, and even came with its own right-size soft water flask. (I prefer them soft myself.) Zippered pockets, reflective stripes, adjustable bungee closure. Most importantly, though? LOTS of thorough reviews by satisfied customers WITH PICTURES. All this for under $40, baby! I clicked the buy button and my Zelvot running vest journey began.
I LOVE POCKETS & ZIPPERS & NOT CARRYING MY WATER IN MY HANDS
Arguably the most important feature of a running vest is its storage capacity. I mean, why are we even here otherwise?
And the Zelvot version delivers.We’ve got:
ā¢ A large pouch on the back with a smaller, zippered pouch inside of it
ā Two water bottle-sized front pockets
ā¢ Two half-size pouch pockets
ā Three zippered front pockets, including one inside one of the half-size pockets
I love zippered pockets for keys and ID cards and other stuff you absolutely cannot lose!
This is not a hydration vest; there are no built in water receptacles. But the vest does come with a 500ml (just under 17oz) bite valve water bottle – or two if you get black, for some reason. Zelvot also sells bottles individually, so you can add to or replace yours.
HOW DOES IT PERFORM ON THE RUN?
All this would be moot, however, if the vest itself wasn’t workable on the run. I am delighted to tell you that the Zelvot running vest firmly cemented my enthusiasm for this particular piece of running ephemera.
As is the case with the best workout wearables, I largely do not think about my vest at all while I’m running. There are minor exceptions, mind you – my keys may jingle if I use a too-large pocket, or my water bottle might bounce if I don’t secure the bungee tie that holds it in place sufficiently. I also need to tie off the extra fastener elastic and tuck it into the nearest pocket to keep it from flopping around. Yet these are easily solvable problems, to be chalked up to a learning curve.
It stands to reason per the above that I find the vest reasonably lightweight, even in Puerto Rico’s wildly humid summer conditions. It doesn’t even chafe as far as I can tell, though I should note so far I’ve only run nine miles with it on. That nine miler was VERY hot and humid, though. Like 100 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean, it’s a good start.
BUT BEFORE YOU SMASH THAT BUY BUTTON…
I will offer a few caveats. The first is that I use a size extra small-small. Even so, I wind up pulling the bungee closure rather tight. I do have a smallish chest and rib cage, but I would not characterize myself as a small person per se. A truly petite individual may need to look elsewhere.
Second, the Zelvot running vest is hand-wash only. I just bring it in the shower with me after my run, soap it up a little, rinse, and dry, but if machine washing is important to you this isn’t your match.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that the fit at the shoulder is not close on my frame. I don’t mind this, as I think it looks fine and it’s one less place to potentially chafe! But if you’re after a close fit and not large of chest/shoulder, perhaps a different model would suit you better.
Finally, while I’ve taken my vests on quite a few runs already, I’ve only had them for a couple of months. They’re holding up great as far as I can tell, but only time will prove their longevity. If anything materially changes, I’ll be sure to provide an update.
SHOULD YOU BUY A ZELVOT RUNNING VEST?
There’s no shortage of running vests out there. I’ve only tried this one; I’m hardly a connoisseur. This being my first, however, I am totally loving my vest! It’s a new must-have for all my long runs, especially for the water-carrying possibilities. Not only can I get two bottles in the front pockets, I could conceivably toss a third and maybe even fourth in the big back pocket and hot-swap them in. Oh, the hydration possibilities. That combined with the fun colors and affordable price point leads me to encourage anyone vest-curious to give Zelvot’s model a go.
As for me, I am 100% smitten with that long run running vest life. I’ll tell ya this much: I’m definitely wearing one for the Marine Corps Marathon. I may even work a vest into some running costumes. I wonder what other things I don’t want I’ll want someday?
In conclusion: YOU’RE NEXT! YOU’RE NEXT!
I used my own money (and my own gift cards) for this purchase. I have not been in contact with Zelvot at the time of this writing and all opinions are my own. The Amazon links in this post are affiliate; whatever money I make from such links goes toward my website domain and hosting and such. If you choose to use my links, I thank you for your support!
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