Gear Review: Orangemud Gear Vest 1L

Orangemud entered the scene with a different take on hydration.  Since their beginnings with the Hydraquiver, which set a bottle up high on the back, Orangemud has expanded their offerings to a more traditional style pack with the Endurance Pack and now the Gear Vest 1L.

What Orangemud brings to the table that traditional pack makers don't is how the vest sits on the body.  Orangemud moves the mass upwards to the upper back / shoulder area.  With adjustability everywhere to ensure you have the ability to snug the pack down to prevent movement and ultimately chaffing.  

The advantage of having the mass higher up is removing the tendency for the pack to drag on your shoulders, making things slightly easier for the long haul.  Brilliant.

But you're here to read my opinion about the Gear Vest 1L.  

According to Orangemud

Who did we design this for? Runners, riders, hikers, paddlers, skiers and more. During any sport the Gear Vest is extremely stable to torsional, up and down, and fast movements. It tracks with your body and is very comfortable to wear. Storage up front is designed around 450ml soft flasks, gloves, nutrition, or big smart phones. The rear bladder compartment can hold some extra gear around the bladder, but is focused on speed and breathability. So not a lot of storage there. The shock cord on the back works great for holding a jacket or light layer. 

 In short this is a no frills hydration vest for the basics only!  

Do I like the GV 1L?  Absolutely!  If you're looking for a basic hydration pack to carry 1 liter of hydration with the ability to carry some basic essentials for the longer run that's breathable with an almost not there feeling, then this is the pack for you!

The two shoulder pockets are great for items you need quick access to.  The two front pockets I kept empty on my runs but are great locations to take additional fluids, stuff gloves, cell phone, pocket wind / rain layer, or other items you don't want bouncing around in your pockets (keys or wallet maybe).

There's no additional sleeve or pocket out back.  That's not the purpose here.  If you need to stash additional needs out back, best switch over to the Endurance Pack, which I'll post my views on soon.

Theres a shock cord out back for you to tie some gear down to the pack, but it best be flexible and compact or you're not going to enjoy the ride.

Orangemud is known for their adjustability in their hydration packs, and the GV 1L doesn't disappoint.  You can find some configuration through the multiple strap points to lock this thing down just right to eliminate any and all bounce.

Lastly this thing breathes extremely well.  Despite my heavy sweating during a humid day with a light rain, the pack has such a small footprint and made to breathe at no time did I feel it begin to interfere with my motions or weigh me down when drenched with water.  Or was that all sweat?  LOL!

Did I forget the genius of the built in emergency whistle that is built into the upper front clasp?  I did!   It's iconic orange and it's definitely loud!  BONUS!

But this pack isn't all delight and happy feelings on a beautiful orange sunset day at the beach.  There are a few things Gsleeve believes that Orangemud could do to improve this pack greatly.

1. Include an insulating sleeve.  The pack is so thin and breathes so well that the heat from my body heated my hydration quickly.  It became entertaining as the liquid in the tube was cooler than the liquids out back.  An insulating sleeve would help slow this down which occurs with all hydration packs.  
2. With a one size fit all pack with adjustability to the nines, a smaller fella like myself (okay down right skinny) found a lot of extra strap ends that I had to do something with.  I know this is picky, but it's what it is and expect to have this issue should you be of the smaller variety.  
3. Lastly, tube management.  Specifically the addition of a tube holder on one of the sternum chest connectors would eliminate the pesky built in clip on the bite valve.  My solution?  I've ordered a Camelback comfort magnetic drinking tube trap (pictured below) that I will glue to the connector.  
   

Oh and I've shortened the length of tube by four inches too.  I don't recommend them shortening the tube, but adding a tube trap would be a big win (maybe with instructions within the booklet letting folks know who may be new to all this they do have the option of cutting the tube length for a true custom fit).  Just saying.

I'm not disappointed in my purchase one bit.  Not at all.  Delighted with the GV 1L.  These are my observations and as a result of my satisfaction with Orangemud's product, the GV 1L will see plenty of time on my long runs and in upcoming Ultras (I see you D3 100!).  Good job Orangemud.  Great product.  Just add that insulation sleeve and tube trap.  Pretty please.  😁