Salomon tweaked the colors for this vest since we tested it, but as far as we can tell, last season's model is the same as this year's. The black above is a current color option.
July 2020Ideally, the running vest you select will be so comfortable and hassle-free it will help you run further faster. While the Sense Ultra 5 is a pretty functional piece of gear, there are several things along the way that almost made it more of a hindrance than a companion during our testing process. Don't get us wrong, this vest is still quite comfortable and functional. For such a small and lightweight package, it holds a lot of water and fuel, and our issues with reaching the side pockets are partly due to the inflexibility of the lead gear tester.
To start with the negative first, the fit adjustments are oddly difficult to move. Every other vest we tested has either rails or clips that allow the chest straps to be adjusted up and down easily. The Sense Ultra has clips that seem impossible to adjust, easy to lose, and even harder to reattach. We weren't able to adjust them quickly.
On the positive side, once you get the straps adjusted (and the blisters on your fingers repaired), the vest is extremely comfortable. It efficiently distributes the weight of the two soft flasks and snacks you have on-board.
This is a minimalist running vest, and as such, it doesn't have a ton of features crammed onto it. It does, however, come with a whistle. As we mentioned in the comfort section, parts of the design are a bit frustrating, specifically the fit adjustments.
Supporting the minimalist design of this vest is the two soft flask hydration system. The bottles are simple, lightweight, and our tester didn't have any issues with them leaking while running or in the car on the way to the trailhead. It's important to note; there isn't an option to expand the water capacity with this vest. If you need more than the two 8oz soft flasks, this might not be the best option for you.
It would be unfair to criticize the storage capacity of this vest too much as it is a minimalist design and isn't made to haul the kitchen sink. With 5L of storage space, Salomon managed to keep this vest to 6.8 ounces, making it incredibly light and scoring quite high for volume to weight ratio. The stretch pockets do allow a fair amount of storage. We crammed a running jacket, snacks, and water fairly comfortably for our morning runs. It is easy to overload this vest, however, causing a few problems — the most noticeable is the neck lining digs into the lower neck/upper back area when this vest is overloaded.
If being ultralight and compact is a top priority, this vest isn't a bad choice. In fact, for events and races where resupplies are frequent and the weather doesn't necessitate you bring extra layers, this lightweight vest is a fantastic option.
There is one main compartment on the back, two large stretch pockets on the front and two zippered underarm compartments. Also, you get one stretch pocket above the right soft flask capable of holding a tube of electrolyte tabs or maybe a baggie of Ibuprofen. For such a minimalist vest, there are quite a few pockets of varying sizes.
It's hard to say this vest is good value. It is a functional, lightweight vest, but for the price, there are many options available that score higher in nearly every metric and are more versatile.
