Fireball 7L Race Vest – The Tech

Out of the box, the Fireball looks disconcertingly small, like a sort of miniaturised hydration pack for little people. That’s a little misleading, it actually technically holds around 7 litres and while it comes with a pair of Nathan’s insulated, reflective bottles, it’s also compatible with a 1.5L reservoir.

It’s light too, thanks to extensive use of mesh fabrics. And, it says here, unisex. That’s possible because the side webbing slides freely so you can position the two front bottle pockets to suit. Or that’s the theory.

As with both the Osprey Rev 1.5 and the Montane VIA Fang 5, the Fireball sits high up on your torso and uses a double chest-strap to keep things in place. Where it differs from the other two is that there’s no elasticity in the harness system.

The bottles are the same 500ml ones supplied with Nathan’s Trail Mix hydration belt, and are both insulated and reflective – drop one at night and you should find it again relatively easily. They live in twin, shock-corded front pockets.

If you prefer to use a reservoir, there’s space for a 1.5L version out back complete with central exit port and guide loops on either side.

Fireball 7L Race Vest – Verdict

Tim’s take was ‘It’s an ok bag, but not one that i would buy,’ and we’d say that’s a pretty fair assessment. While the Fireball is stable and secure and we do like those little bottles, the lack of stretch in the harness and the paucity of easy access storage means it’s a little limited compared to similar packs we’ve tried.

In particular, there’s no bungee cord for storing excess baggage and only a couple of gel pockets plus a tiny ‘pill-pocket’. That’s not to say that it’s a bad pack, it’s just that the competition is fierce.

We’d suggest taking a look at either the Osprey Rev 1.5 or the Montane VIA Fang 5, or possibly one of Nathan’s alternative packs like the VapourAir.

More Information

See nathansports.com