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Don鈥檛 let the vest鈥檚 slim appearance and unencumbered feel fool you: it鈥檚 capable of carrying everything you need.
Don鈥檛 let the vest鈥檚 slim appearance and unencumbered feel fool you: it鈥檚 capable of carrying everything you need. (Photo: Courtesy Ultimate Direction)

Testing Ultimate Direction鈥檚 New OCR Vest

With ripstop fabric, drain holes, and a water-resistant phone pouch, this endurance-racing vest is ready to get messy

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Don鈥檛 let the vest鈥檚 slim appearance and unencumbered feel fool you: it鈥檚 capable of carrying everything you need.
(Photo: Courtesy Ultimate Direction)

New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! .

is launching its first-ever hydration vest designed specifically for obstacle-course racing, with input from pro OCR racer Amelia Boone. I got a sneak preview of the OCR Vest ($110), which looks minimal yet durable, boasting just enough storage to get you through a long race without weighing you down.

At its core, the new OCR Vest is no different from regular running vests. It鈥檚 got a main compartment that fits a two-liter bladder, with external聽compression straps that can hold an extra layer. And the shoulder straps have聽two zippered pockets and two open, stretchy pockets, one of which fits a 600-milliliter soft flask. Among the various compartments, there鈥檚 room for snacks, thin gloves, sunglasses, and any other small accessories you like to have with you on course.聽

What鈥檚 different聽is聽the material, plus聽a few extra features. The vest is made out of 100-denier ripstop nylon, which is tougher than the material used on many of Ultimate Direction鈥檚 other running vests. (Panels of heavy-duty stretch mesh along the sides of the back panel and across some of the front pockets add comfort.)聽It鈥檚 burly鈥攂ut聽light enough that you won鈥檛 think twice about taking it out on hot days.聽

(Courtesy Ultimate Direction)

A roll-top, water-resistant聽plastic pouch on the left strap holds a smartphone, so you can continue to snap photos and video without fear of your cell taking a mud bath. (The pouch buckles into place聽and is easy to remove and reattach during an event.) And several of the pockets are equipped with drain holes, so runners won鈥檛 get weighed down after going through muddy or watery obstacles.

However, most of these OCR-specific features aren鈥檛 built to handle serious聽obstacle courses. The fabric, while burlier than a typical vest鈥檚, isn鈥檛 tough enough to withstand barbed wire and the like. And the water-resistant phone case will protect your electronics from splashes but it鈥檚聽not fully waterproof, which means it might not protect against full submersion.

If you鈥檙e looking for a vest to use in all of your OCRs, even the most extreme ones, Ulimate Direction鈥檚 new offering may not be for you. On the other hand, if you want a vest for training and mellower races, the OCR vest might be exactly what you need. It鈥檚 pared down from vests built for ultras, which require the runner to carry more聽gear than an聽OCR, without compromising on features.聽It comes in two sizes (small/medium and medium/large) and goes on sale in September, just in time for the fall racing season.

Lead Photo: Courtesy Ultimate Direction

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