A Review of The Scott Jurek Collection from Ultimate Direction

This spring(2013) the Scott Jurek Signature Series from Ultimate Direction will expand its offerings beyond the wildly popular SJ Ultra Vest. Reviewed here are 3 of those items:

The SJ Grip

The SJ Essential Waist Pack

The SJ Endure Waist Pack

It’s difficult to wax too eloquently about a simple handheld water bottle but this SJ Series bottle comes with a strap that I think will eliminate the issue of strap loosening as you run, forcing you to either grip the bottle tightly or constantly re-tighten the strap. It accomplishes this with an adjustable Velcro strap that pulls down over a plastic piece near the bottle’s neck. Once adjusted to your hand, the only way I can see it slipping is the Velcro wearing out, which shouldn’t happen for a long time. Plus, the strap has Jurek’s signature on it, which might make it worth some extra greenbacks down the road. The bottle has the standard UD pull-and-tilt bite valve on the cap. Some people love that, some people don’t. That’s your call!

The SJ Essential is a bare bones waist pack that rides well and is hardly noticeable even when loaded with a digital camera and a fistful of gels. The pack has 2 zippered pockets, one sweat-proof, just big enough to carry a smartphone or digital camera, and whatever other “essentials” you may be bringing along such as gels, bars, TP, etc. There are also 2 very small, Velcro-closure pockets, once again one being sweatproof, just big enough for keys or electrolyte caps or a couple of gels. With the Essential and a couple of hand-helds I’m good for 3 or 4 hours in cool conditions.

The SJ Endure is a slight step up from the Essential in terms of storage capacity. There is a single sweat-proof zippered pocket the same size as the pockets on the Essential, plus a Velcro-closure pocket in the back that sits nestled between dual 8 oz water bottle holders. A bungee pull-cord on the back provides a place to cinch down a light wind shell or shirt. This is a great waist pack for those who need a little extra water than what they can carry with 2 handhelds but who don’t necessarily like the feel of the weight of 40+ oz of water cinched down around their waist.

Gear review: Salomon Skin Pro 10+3 hydration vest

I tried hard to hate this hydration pack. I prefer simple packs, and at first glance, the Salomon Skin Pro 10+3 looked as if it had so many small straps and loops that wearing it would feel like being tied in a streamlined granny knot. After a little adjustment, a three-hour trail run, and a few shorter dates, however, I was forced to rethink my prejudices. 

Comfort, fit, and mechanics: 

This is the most adjustable pack I've met. Velcro at the top of each shoulder strap allows about six inches of play to shorten or lengthen the vest; two adjustable straps with plastic clips at the tops of the shoulders allow fine adjustments while running, and sleeves over the whole arrangement reduce chafing where straps meet clavicle.

There are eight plastic loops along the side of each shoulder strap to which two flexible and adjustable elastic chest straps attach in a variety of comfortable directions--a boon to female runners and to those who chafe at chest straps in high places. 

I'm 5'2" and have a shorter than average torso even for my height, so the pack itself is still a little long for me. Even at its shortest configuration, the pack reaches past the bottom of my ribcage and almost to my hips. The two adjustable chest straps almost eliminated lateral bouncing while I ran, but due to the pack's length, vertical bounce was harder to eliminate without snuggling the weight of the pack uncomfortably against my spine. When adjusted too loosely, the pack bounced enough to bruise my back. But Salomon scores extra points here for sewing the bottom of the hydration sleeve a few inches above the bottom of the pack. That means most of the pack weight rests higher between the shoulder blades, where bouncing does the least damage.

On smaller runners, the Skin Pro 10+3 rides low.

The pack was warm, comfortable, and well-ventilated on breezy but clear winter days at mid-range elevations (4,300' to 6,500'), but it might prove to be too warm in summer simply because the vest covers so much surface area.

Packability and accessibility:

Salomon lists the 10+3's volume at 13 liters, which translates to eight packable compartments: two water bottle sleeves with drawstrings on the front, two stretchy side pockets, a hydration compartment with a 1.5L hydration bladder and insulated sleeve, a larger main compartment, a zippered pocket on the back, and, last and least, a gel-and-salt-capsule-sized lycra pocket with a small safety whistle attached to one of the water bottle sleeves. A compression zipper around the main compartment allows for quick expansion if you need it, and leash-and-loop attachments will hold trekking poles if you use them. All of these fit together into a surprisingly light (slightly less than a pound when not loaded) and streamlined shape.

In short, there's enough room here to pack food, clothes, a small camera, and equipment for a full day of trail running. The side pockets are an easy reach back if you want to stow or pull out a hat, gloves, or a small jacket; the water bottle pockets in front can also hold snack bars and a small point-and-shoot camera. That's a good thing, because getting into the main compartment requires unclipping the two chest straps, taking the pack off, and then maneuvering around and/or through the two adjustable shoulder straps to get to the main compartment's zipper.

Hydration system:

Salomon includes a BPA-, PVC- and phthalate-free 1.5 liter/50 ounce hydration bladder and a light insulated sleeve with the pack; both of these fit into a separate, easily accessible hydration compartment that sits a few inches higher than the bottom of the main compartment. A small adjustable leash at the top of the compartment attaches to the insulated hydration sleeve and minimizes forward-and-backward bounce. 

A convenient quick-release on the hydration bladder allows easy water refills without removing the drinking tube from the backpack. Once it's detached from the drinking tube, the hydration bladder is a pleasure to use: a clip slides easily off the folded top to allow quick access for refilling and cleaning. The top clip is leashed to the hydration bladder--no need to worry about losing it or dropping it in the dirt.

A quick-release on the hydration bladder allows quick water refills without removing the hydration tube from the pack.

The hydration tube itself runs under rather than over the arm and is difficult to pull back into the pack if it's too long. That's easily fixed by rerouting the tube up the side of the pack and down over the shoulder, where it attaches nicely to one of the pack's small loops.

The bite-valve locks to prevent leaks, but the lock is difficult to operate one-handed. Left unlocked, the bite valve didn't leak while I ran, although that might change as the plastic in the mouthpiece ages.

The upshot:

In the case of this one-size-fits-most pack, the word "fits" meets a much higher standard, somewhere in the range of "feels like a second skin." If you fall within normal human adult height ranges, try a speed date with this pack, and be prepared to fall in deep, deep like with the pack's many thoughtful details. If you occasionally land in children's sizes or have to lean down to hear people, however, proceed with caution, or investigate other packs in the same product line that are offered in XS/S and M/L sizes. 

Jeff Kozak's Review of Inov8 TrailRoc 255 - I Love This Shoe

Before my first run in the TrailRoc 255 was half over I knew I had finally hit my Inov8 jackpot. Not that I had been gambling addictively with the brand in search of a winner, far from it in fact, but my negative experience with the Roclite 295 had left me prematurely cashing in my Inov8 chips. A friend of mine rarely runs in anything else but every time I took a pair out for a spin my feet quickly got tired and sore in general, and my arches ached in particular. The fit was just off and there simply wasn’t enough underfoot protection to satisfy my soles. A week after the TrailRoc 255s landed on my doorstep I still haven’t run in anything else. These shoes are sweet!

The TrailRoc series is a new line of shoes by Inov8 in which the 255 resides at the upper (more protective) end of the spectrum. Although there is plenty of wiggle room in the toebox the shoe fits like a racing glove through the midlines and back to a snug heel cup with a soft yet stable heel counter. The shoe feels like a slipper, albeit a stable one, so unnoticeable that you might even catch a few post-run zzz’s on the couch while forgetting to take them off.

Specifics, you ask? The TrailRoc 255 has a 6mm split-the-difference-between-barefoot-and-traditional-shoes drop on a low profile (or stack height). The midsole is injected EVA, which is really only useful information if your feet and/or legs react particularly negatively to certain types of shock-absorbing materials (I have a friend who can almost instantly tell the difference between Asics’ Speva and SoLyte materials and who reacts in the same manner as some folks do when given Pepsi instead of Coke, or vice versa.). The upper is synthetic, tight-weave (think protection from debris intrusion) mesh with TPU support overlays and has seemingly zero abrasion or irritation points. Even though the 255 is considered the most protective in the TrailRoc series I would say the toe bumper rand is only minimally so, although I didn’t kick any rocks intentionally to find out.

The outsole is as aggressively-lugged and grippy as has come to be expected from Inov8 shoes. The TrailRoc series builds its shoes on a Tri-C outsole. This outsole is comprised of three zones of sticky rubber, each with varying degrees of hardness (durometer). Although I haven’t yet been able to test the shoe in wet or snowy conditions (I live on the desert rat side of the Sierra Nevada.) I have found the 255 to be bomber on dry, rocky trails and dirt roads. During the winter months I do a lot of Owens Valley running which usually entails loops mixing in dirt and pavement. It was a great feeling to discover that the 255 feels just fine on pavement; in fact, it felt better than some “minimal” shoes I have run in that were designed specifically for the roads.

The most recent incarnation of a “minimalist” footwear movement has turned, or at least attempted to turn, the “traditional” approach to running shoes on its head. Truth be told, Inov8 has been making footwear that fits into this mold for far longer than the current bookshelf-life of ‘Born to Run.’ They nailed it with the TrailRoc 255, which means they most likely nailed it with the entire series since the shoes are all built on the same foundation, differing only in heel-to-toe drop and overall level of protection/stability. My own foray into “minimal” running shoes has been limited. I’ve been fortunate to sample a fair amount off the platter but, as of yet, I have not found a shoe I would trade for the traditional (say, the BrooksCascadia) when going long or toeing a race starting line. That may have all changed with the discovery of the TrailRoc 255…