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Ultra training for beginners

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Bintmcskint Jan 2014 9:55pm, 24 Jan 2014 15,647 posts	Quote Pin Bintmcskint It will drown out the swearing
Liliaicha Jan 2014 10:42pm, 24 Jan 2014 9,002 posts	Quote Pin Liliaicha
Northern Exile Jan 2014 8:33am, 25 Jan 2014 2,906 posts	Quote Pin Northern Exile I share Jacdaw's view on the UD vests. Both my wife and I have the PBs and I think the build quality is a bit questionable. One thing that seems to be common on these is that 1. the stitching fails here and there and 2. The Velcro on the small lower pockets rubs on the bottleholders, wearing through quite quickly. I also heard that a lot of people were unhappy with the bungee cord used to secure the bottles, frequently it just frays through. I've reinforced both our vests with that invisible repair tape stuff and it seems to be OK. I've also stuck the Velcro flaps down properly. If you're in the market for a UD vest, I would definitely wait for the new ones (i.e. the blue ones) to hit the streets, but be warned - I've been told by someone in the trade that they're going to be more expensive. A PB vest goes for what? £125 quid? I wonder what increase they can load on that.
IanS Jan 2014 2:15pm, 25 Jan 2014 1,596 posts	Quote Pin IanS Interesting tip NE - I got a UD PB at Xmas and I'm really happy with how comfortable it is, but sounds like I need to be watching for wear (or maybe as you say do some preemptive patching)
The Bogman Jan 2014 6:24pm, 25 Jan 2014 114 posts	Quote Pin The Bogman i've used the Camelbak Ultra Vest for over a year and very happy with it. It has a large bladder and room for two bottles up front + good storage pockets. It does lack a good internal storage compartment for those longer runs with kit requirements but it has served me well for unsupported runs up to 60k and 100k races. Very stable too.
Avon Jan 2014 6:34pm, 25 Jan 2014 626 posts	Quote Pin Avon Hi everyone. Just a reminder that if you are interested in reading about Ultra event reports in the UK then please check out the free ezine available to download at www.ultratales.com It's put together by myself with lots of contributions from various Fetchies.
Shred Betty Jan 2014 10:37am, 27 Jan 2014 377 posts	Quote Pin Shred Betty My other half has the UD SJ vest and loves it - fabric is very crinkley though and I'm not sure how comfortable the bottle positioning would be for female frontage?! I'm also not a fan of sloshing, but he says he finds it theraputic?! At the moment I use a camelbak with a bladder and a salomon pocket on the waist belt for easy reach food. I like the idea of the Nathon Vapour Shape as I could still use the bladder for water and put something with flavour in a bottle (or soft flask) in the front - I get bored of drinking the same thing all the time!
Northern Exile Jan 2014 11:40am, 27 Jan 2014 2,910 posts	Quote Pin Northern Exile Betty, I know several girls who use the UD vests and they all say that the bottle position doesn't cause a problem.
GeeeM Jan 2014 11:52am, 27 Jan 2014 708 posts	Quote Pin GeeeM There is a UDvest specifically made for girls on the way out - not sure it's available over here yet... ultimatedirection.com
lady alton Jan 2014 11:59am, 27 Jan 2014 889 posts	Quote Pin lady alton The UD bottles seem to be able to get some of the air out as you run so oddly enough they don't slosh very much or for very long. I confess this was something I worried about too! As far as quality goes I have had no problem with mine at all and find it really comfy. The crinkly fabric is odd but you can use the elastic at the back to compress the pack as needed. So when I run home from work and it's really full there's no problem but when there's hardly anything in it I strap it down and nothing wobbles or shakes about at all. Definitely gets my vote