A very light and stable vest that is exceptionally breathable, making it well-suited to hot weather running.
The North Face have really stripped things back here, creating a very light and breathable vest that’s designed to conform closely to the contours of your body and to handle loads without bouncing. It uses high-spec fabrics and has an array of different pockets to help you carry your everyday running essentials or your kit for race day.
The Top Line
I like this. It’s very light and comfortable to wear and there’s virtually no bounce at all. It’s a little on the small side, so I wouldn’t quite recommend it for big distance ultras, but it should suit a lot of casual runners who want something they can wear for days out on the trail or for any short training runs.
The North Face Summit Run 10L pictured here in Snowdonia National Park. Photos: Dave MacFarlane.
Who Will Like It
The body-hugging, stretchy design of this vest makes it great for short runs where you might only need it for your phone and house keys, maybe a light shell too. But it also has the capacity to support much bigger adventures too.
I’ve found it can just about fit all I’d need for something like the 50k Ultra Trail Snowdonia, which is a summer mountain race. That’s carrying very light, minimalist-style kit though. For any bigger races, or for ultra distances in winter mountains, getting the mandatory kit inside this is going to take some tetris-style packing and it’s not really realistic for comfort or convenience. I’d recommend looking at a pack with at least a 12-litre volume for that kind of running.
I can see this appealing to road marathon runners that want to be able to carry a few items with them. I’m writing this a day after the London Marathon – after only watching it, I should add – and I saw a few people using this vest for that.
I used this for a few days of trail running in North Wales, mainly on the trails of the southern side of Eryri National Park. I’ve also been using it on training runs on the Wiltshire Downs around where I live. I’ve used it in the rain and on very warm and dry days too as we creep into summer (at the time of writing). I haven’t managed to use this in a race scenario yet, but I intend to. I’ll come back and update this review if there are things worth knowing. I’ve also been experimenting with its capacity at home, just to see what it’s capable of carrying.
OM editor Will taking the Summit Run 10L for a spin on some Welsh trails.
Key Features
Body hugging fit: This fits like a glove naturally, then you have the cinchable cords that allow you to refine the fit further, even while on the fly.
Breathable fabrics: This is probably the coolest, most breathable vest I’ve worn. It’s great for those long runs in hot weather.
Hydration options: It comes with two 500ml Hydrapak squeezy bottles. These hold well in their sleeves when you need them to, but nifty little zipped gussets down the flask sleeves make removing and stowing the flasks painless. There’s also a sleeve inside the pack for a hydration bladder and loops to thread a hose on the harness.
Pockets: There’s an array of stretchy dump pockets. The main compartment can be left open or can be closed by a simple toggle (this doubles as a hanger for a hydration bladder). There’s one zipped pocket which is on the front of the pack, located next to the left-hand flask sleeve.
Pole storage: Running poles can only be stowed at the base of the vest in a long horizontal sleeve which is open on either side.
Other details: It has a little whistle, reflective details and toggles that can be used for attaching your race number.
Fit
I’m 5 foot 10 and I have an average build. I tried this in a size L and it fitted perfectly. Sadly there’s no size guide for this on The North Face’s website. If you can’t decide between two sizes, I’d go for the larger of the two.
Performance
This does offer exceptional levels of performance. On one of my tests, I loaded it up with kit, including a very heavy cheese roll, and ran down a local hill at speed. It was impressively stable and didn’t bounce around frustratingly or cause any painful friction.
It also excels in its breathability. I’d say this is probably one of the best packs out there if you want something that isn’t going to cause clamminess. On the flip side though, I wouldn’t say it provides much protection for your belongings in bad weather. In rainy conditions, I’d recommend carrying your insulation and any electronics in dry bags as they’ll be quite exposed in this. The fabric for the main compartment has water resistance but, from my experience, the threshold isn’t that high. It does dry quickly though.
That leads me onto the phone pocket. I don’t like that this is located right next to the flask pocket, with nothing to keep it protected from any leaking liquid. I wouldn’t recommend keeping your phone here when you’re using the flasks.
Drawbacks
Having just one place to store running poles might be a downside for some runners. I personally like to keep my poles at the base of the pack, and the configuration works nicely here.
And the colour. I received this test sample in the white colour. I’ve found that dirt shows up very quickly with this, and it therefore gets grubby fast. It’s not designed for machine washing either, and can only be handwashed cold. So, realistically, it’s not going to stay sparking fresh for long. I’d strongly recommend choosing the darker colourway that’s available. Generally, I’m not a fan of white kit for for trail running. I can tolerate it when a brand has deliberately not used any dyes to reduce the environmental impact of the product, but that’s not the case here.
Verdict
This is a comfortable and convenient pack with exceptional balance and stability. Its sizing, stretchiness and storage make it pretty versatile in terms of what types of training or adventures you can use it for too – anything from quick 5km evening runs through to day-long mountain adventures in the summer. Those who want some more protection for the kit they’re carrying might want to look elsewhere though.
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