* Montane
Gecko VP12+ review *
£110 –
further details here
Quick read
This is a great pack. It ticks all the boxes I look for in a race vest: size and fit; durability; accessible storage and poles storage. It's light weight but sturdy and has loads of really well thought through features. It's in the upper bracket of prices for race vests but you're getting a premium pack which I believe represents great value for money.
Background
Over the past 10 years I’ve been lucky enough to use a fairly big selection of vests and rucksacks. I started with the Inov8 Race Elite 25 and then moved on to the Montane Dragon 20 and Jaws 10. I enjoyed using both these packs and continue to use the Dragon 20 today for longer days out and when leading groups. The Dragon was and is an excellent pack - the only significant complaint I have about it is a lack of accessible storage whilst you’re wearing it.
With a
degree of caution because of stories I’d heard about durability I moved on to a
Salomon Adv Skin 12l and S/Lab 8 vests.
The 12l version became my “go-to” pack for days out and longer
races. Whilst it was great to wear, the
durability issues were clear right from the start. The material snagged and needed stitching
from early on, so it became clear that this was a bag for special
occasions. The S/Lab 8 was a lighter but
still less durable version of the 12l.
Don’t get me wrong these are good packs that have been at the top of the
market in race vests for a long time but I now think that there are better
packs out there for a lower price.
During this
time, I also used an OMM Classic 32 for the Spine Challenger and Saunders
Mountain Marathon. The Classic 32 been
around for years and whilst it is a great rucksack, it lacks the advantages of
a race vest (it has way more “bounce”, has less accessible pockets whilst it’s
on and doesn’t provide easy access to water).
I’m yet to
spend any time running with vests/packs from Ultimate Direction, Raidlight or
Harrier.
It’s taken
me a while to get here but this review is all about the new Montane Gecko
VP12+. It comes as part of a range of
new vests from Montane that come in 5 capacities ranging from what is almost a
running vest with front water carrying capacity through to a 20l version (see https://www.montane.com/search/gecko-vp).
I’ve broken
this review down into the four areas I care most about in a pack: Sizing and fit; Durability; Accessible
Storage; and Poles Storage.
Sizing
and fit
Most of the
running I do that needs a pack is in the mountains and 5hrs+ in duration (I
tend to focus on 50+ mile races). I
really rate having the flexibility to carry more kit in a pack if it is required
on a particular day but at the same time knowing that the pack will not feel
“saggy” or “bouncy” if it is not full.
On this basis I went for the 12l version which sits in the middle of the
range. The vest is offered in 3 sizes
(S, M, L) and as I often find, I am squarely between a S and M. I decided on the medium and this turned out
to be a good decision as the vest sits very snuggly on my back.
There is a fixed elastic cord on the back of the pack which allows you to compress it when you are carrying less kit. Interestingly this is adjustable by hooking the cord across the pack rather than with toggles to tighten it. I was slightly sceptical about this method to start with but I’m pleased to say that it works really well and there is virtually no “bounce” or “sagging” when it was not fully loaded with kit. I have also experimented with using the elastic rear cord to carry poles (see below) and it clearly could be used to carry other kit that for whatever reason you didn’t want to store in the main compartment of the pack.
Montane has used a three strap system to secure the vest at the front – there are two of the more normal bits of elastic with clips that can be moved up or down and at the bottom you have a secure Velcro elastic band. I’m a really big fan of this combination as I think it provides security but also almost endless adjustment potential. I’ve had good experiences in the past of Velcro elastic bands on Montane packs (the Dragon 20 has one) and over 7 years later this still works really well. For me the Velcro strap is quite a bit too long but there is a system for storing the excess in a roll. Even so I think that this could have been designed to be slightly shorter on the medium version of the pack - see picture above (although this is a very minor point).
Durability
The pack
has only just been released by Montane and therefore I cannot say how it will
perform in 6 months, 1 year or longer (although I’ll update this review in 6 months’
time so keep an eye out if you’re interested).
However, already the attention to detail in stitching (see the
reinforced stitching as an example), robust materials and design mean that I
expect this pack to last a long time. I
have had great experiences with the longevity of Montane kit. As mentioned
earlier, I still use my original Montane Dragon that I bought in 2014 today and
it still performs as well as it did then.
The
material used hasn’t shown any signs of snagging or fraying and it seems
significantly more robust than on “comparable” packs such as the Salomon ones I
mentioned above. Interestingly despite
being made of what I believe are more robust materials the quoted weight of the
Montane vest is slightly lighter than the equivalent Salomon pack (265g for the
VP12+ and 277g for the Adv-Skin 12).
Accessible
storage
Montane has
done really well here. There is space
for two soft flasks on the front of the pack (which are supplied with it but
other brands of bottles seem to work as well), two zip pockets, two smaller
food pockets and two large pockets further round the sides. The pack is completely symmetrical and so it
should be easy to store anything you need regularly in a balanced way.
The main compartment of the pack is zippered on the back and therefore is not designed to be accessed whilst it’s on. However, there is a little pouch on top of the pack with no zipper that acts as an additional place to stash some kit that you might need access to – for me it’s worked really well storing my waterproof top in here. The obvious question here is “will it fall out?!” So far, I’ve not had problems with this but it’s something you need to be aware of.
 |
| Red waterproof stashed in the top pouch |
Pole storage
It’s fair
to say I love running with poles but I hate the hassle factor. I have also struggled over the years to find
ways I’m happy with for carrying poles. There
are two ways that Montane suggest storing your poles on this pack – on the
front of the vest with one on either side (next to the soft flasks) and on the
bottom of your bag moving a couple of elastic toggles from the front of the
vest. I’ve also experimented with
putting the poles in the elastic cord on the back of the pack as a third
option.
I’ve never
been a fan of the front storage method – to me, poles get in the way, stop you
accessing your soft flasks and knock around against your arms as they
swing. Whilst I won’t be using this
method of storing poles, the design on this pack is the best organised method
of front storage I’ve come across – I was genuinely surprised how “out of the
way” the poles felt and there were no issues with accessing what I needed.
My
preferred method is on the back of the pack.
This method of storing poles is nothing new but the execution of this
method on packs varies massively. On
this pack the back storage system has been really well thought through - there
is no swing of the poles and you really don’t notice that they are there other
than when occasionally your elbows hit them on the rear of the arm swing. It might be worth noting that if you have
variable length poles (telescopic or adjustable z-poles), they generally are a
bit longer when folded and you might get more problems hitting them with your
elbows. The fixed length z-poles I use seem
just the right size to avoid this problem.
As
mentioned above, I’ve also experimented with using the compression elastic to
store my poles – this has also worked well but it’s harder to get your poles
into the right place whilst the pack is on.
However, the poles are stored in a slightly higher place and so
depending on your arm swing they may be more out of the way here. You just need to try out all the options!
Other features
The pack is full of small but really useful features. Things like a waterproof material used on the back of the vest to stop your kit getting wet from sweat on your back – with other lightweight packs my kit ends up sopping wet on a hot day from sweat. There are the material lips above the stash pockets on the front allowing you to tuck things in and stop things spilling out. There is a good-looking system for a bladder if you choose to use one. The soft flasks slide really easily into the pouches on the front which will make a big difference when refilling them mid race (I’ve found it’s really difficult to get the flasks back into some packs). I’m sure that there is more to discover in the pack – if it’s consistent with the rest of the pack it will be really well thought through and made of quality/durable kit.
Waterproof material between back and main compartment.
Long
term
I’ve been
testing the pack for about a month now and have taken it out on a variety of
runs with varying amounts of kit. I’ve
yet to wear it for more than 3hrs and to test it in the context of a really big
day out in the mountains. However, the
month I’ve had using it so far has allowed me to really get to understand how
to get the best out of it (understanding your kit really well is key to being
able to get the most out of it) and therefore I fully expect it to be equally
impressive on a big day out in the hills which is what it’s made for. I’ll be posting a six-month review of the
pack after I’ve had the opportunity to put it through it’s paces in the UK
mountains and (subject to Covid) the Lakeland 100.
Overall
If you’ve
made it this far, you’ll have gathered I’m a big fan of this pack. It performs really well in the four areas I
look for in a pack. The fit is excellent
and very versatile; there is a lot of accessible and useable storage; its
incredibly well thought through, made of seemingly durable robust materials but
still remains lightweight; and the poles storage options really work. When restrictions lift it’ll be my “go-to”
pack for days out in the hills and long distance races.
The £110
price tag means that it is a significant investment but you’re getting a
premium quality pack for slightly less than some of its competitors.
Ultimately,
this is a pack that all-round performs as well, if not better, than any other vest I've tried.
Great review! 👏
ReplyDeleteExcellent review. Thanks
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