The Nathan VaporHowe Waistpak was reviewed by Colorado Springs’ trail runner Dreama Walton who was a member of ATRA’s 2017 Pikes Peak Trekker team and is currently training for her first Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. Dreama is a Nathan Ambassador and was given this pack as part of her sponsorship.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect with the Nathan VaporHowe Waistpak. According to Nathan, they teamed with Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run winner Stephanie Howe on this female version of the fan-favorite, super-sleek, minimalist waist pack. It seemed a lot like a slimmer fanny pack that I thought would be uncomfortable to wear, but man, was I wrong! This thing is awesome, especially for short to mid-length runs.
If you are like me and run in a dry climate then you probably need sips of water even on shorter runs. Until now, on shorter in-town or city park runs, I had the dilemma of not wanting to bring my hydration vest because it felt like too much, but also wanting the convenience of having water and my phone with me. The VaporHowe Waistpak is the answer. It’s perfect because I can run in town wearing the waist pack and not look completely ridiculous on my easy five-mile run and I still have the ability to carry my things!
Here’s the rundown…
The waist pack goes on two ways, you can pull it up from your feet or you can pull it down over your head like you would put on a shirt. Both ways offer challenges especially if you are blessed with a little extra on top and any amount of hips but the material is stretchy so don’t worry, it will go on. Just remember if you are putting it on in front of people, you may feel a little awkward as it may pull up your shorts (if you are wearing shorts) and will squeeze all your places, as it goes on. Once on, it’s comfortably snug.
Once on, there is a zippered pocket in the front with the Nathan logo, this is a great pocket for a cellphone, credit card and/or key. There are also two smaller pockets that fit gel-sized items. The back pocket which has Velcro fasteners is where the water bottle fits. Nathan includes the 20 oz soft flask, which fits perfectly. Before using this I thought for sure it would bounce around and I would constantly be pulling it down however, I was pleasantly surprised. It hardly moves and even with a full bottle of water, it doesn’t bounce. It’s the perfect solution for those shorter runs!
The Nathan VaporKrar (men’s version) and VaporHowe (women’s version), is a minimalist waist pack which includes a 20 oz leak-free soft flask easily stored in the back of the pack. The step-through design fits comfortably around your waist and is completely bounce-free. Check out the Nathan website to get yours.
Dreama helped collect Google Street-view images on the Garden of the Gods trails in Colorado Springs.
