Get In-Vest-ed: Cycling Hydration Vest Faceoff

The Evoc Hydro Pro 1.5 is the first hydration vest I tried, and it remains the one that I gravitate to most frequently. Maybe that’s because it’s the one that I’m most familiar with, but I think it’s because it’s the best all-arounder of the bunch. This pack is highly adjustable, super stable, relatively light, and has just enough water and gear storage capacity for my needs.

The Hydro Pro 1.5 L + 1.5 L Bladder comes with a 1.5-liter Hydrapak water bladder that is easy to fill and clean with a fold/slide-open top. With that, I’m usually good for a couple of hours on the bike, or a couple more if I add a bottle or two on the frame. Like most packs, the full bladder takes up space, but it doesn’t completely fill it, and you can actually squeeze 1.5 liters of gear into the pack, too. It’s just a simple, large open compartment. I typically carry a ToPeak E-Booster Digital pump (or a hand pump), a spare tube, a multi-tool, a Dynaplug kit, and a couple extra snacks in there. Plus, I can fit a (neatly folded) light jacket inside when I need, too. It’s all super easy to access through the large zippered flap that opens super wide.

One of the highlights of the Hydro Pro for me is the front pocket layout. The left side has a zippered pocket that’s large enough to fit my iPhone, along with an internal pocket for cash/cards, as well as a key clip. There’s also a stretch mesh pocket on top of that, plus another on the right side, both of which are ideal for quick-access items like gels and other snacks. On top of that, the position of the straps on my chest makes everything very easy to access and remains comfortable even when the pockets are fully loaded.

The Hydro Pro is a one-size-fits-most affair with a claimed chest circumference range of 33.5 to 47 inches. It has stretch panels connecting the body of the pack to the straps, along with adjustment straps to account for different torso sizes. In the front, two straps connect across the sternum with a few inches of tension adjustment and some vertical adjustability to optimize their position. The lower strap has a standard buckle, while the upper has a magnetic buckle that doubles as the magnetic attachment for the hydration hose.

In my experience, the Hydro Pro 1.5 doesn’t move at all while riding. Whether pounding miles on rough gravel or riding properly chunky trails on the mountain bike, this pack just stays put. Like all of the packs I’ve tried, it can feel a bit round on the back when the bladder is completely full, but that issue is quickly remedied once you start drinking some of the water.

Any pack is hotter on the back than none, and the Hydro Pro’s AirMesh back and straps were on par with most of the other packs I tested, all of which resulted in a hot and sweaty upper back. Of course, the 1.5 L size has limited storage capacity, but it also comes in 3 L and 6 L sizes for those interested in carrying more with them. All sizes currently come in the same black and steel (light blue) color options.

At $130, the Hydro Pro is priced competitively, and I think it provides solid bang for your buck. I’ve been using mine for the past two years, and it cleans up easily and still looks basically brand new. It’s an excellent all-rounder and my top choice for most gravel and mountain bike rides. You can learn more about it in this article from a few years back.

Premium cycling apparel brand Velocio started making packs earlier this year, including the aptly named Hydration Pack. This pack is somewhat unique, with an extremely low weight, airy materials, and super streamlined, training- and race-oriented fit. It strikes me as best for weight-conscious road and gravel riders seeking a lightweight, breathable, and slim-fitting pack for high-intensity, long-distance rides.

The first thing that stood out to me about the Velocio pack was its super light weight. The airy mesh and stretch materials used in its construction add up to just 285 grams, including the reservoir. That also translates to a slightly higher level of breathability, as the materials allow more air to pass through them than others I tried. One drawback to this is that it has very little structure or padding, although that doesn’t really matter all that much once it’s strapped snugly on your body. This thing has a very sleek, jersey-like fit that’s probably a bit more aerodynamic than the competition, too.

One drawback is that the light materials don’t feel the most robust. That’s not really a problem if you’re mostly sticking to paved or gravel roads, but it makes me somewhat hesitant to use this pack for mountain biking. Additionally, the bladder in the version I tested feels quite round on the back when full. In response to rider feedback, Velocio says it is updating the bladder with a baffled version that should hold its structure a little better.

The 1.5-liter bladder is a good size for most people’s needs and should make it easier to skip the first couple of aid stations in your next gravel race. The pack has roughly 1.5 liters of gear storage, and I found it easy enough to stuff the essentials like a pump, plugs, tools, and tubes inside the large zippered pocket on the back. The vest straps also have zippered pockets and stretch mesh pockets that can fit a regular-sized phone, or all of your high-carb gels on race day for quick access. Given the fit of the pack and the position of the straps/pockets on my body, I didn’t love stuffing them full, but that may vary from person to person.

With the first run of Velocio’s Hydration Packs, the brand made them in two sizes, S/M and L/XL. With two sizes, they skipped side adjustments and cut a little weight, but I felt they ran kinda small, overall, and were best for trim, cyclist body types. I’m tall and have fairly broad shoulders, but I’m not bulky or particularly muscular in the upper body, and the L/XL was a snug fit for me. It worked well enough, but I was pretty darn close to maxing it out. Fortunately, when the next round of packs comes out (September-ish), Velocio tells me they are doing a four-size run — S-XL — that will hopefully provide a wider fit range. 

It’s also worth pointing out that the Hydration Pack will also come in more colors than black. The updated packs will be available in spruce (green-ish) and madder brown (red-ish) color options, which might help keep your water a tad cooler for longer.

For riders seeking to carry more water while keeping weight to a minimum, this pack is a super streamlined, lightweight, minimalist’s dream and a very compelling choice. With the coming updates, including more sizes, a baffled bladder, and new color options, the Velocio Hydration Pack should be even better than it already is. 

The Rogla 5 is a new cycling vest pack from the German pack specialists at Deuter. I found it to be super comfortable and very stable while offering a well-organized mid-sized storage capacity for people who want the option to carry more than the Evoc, USWE, or Velocio packs can fit. I felt it had a couple of minor quirks, but nothing that would keep me from recommending it to anyone interested in a vest-style pack.

With 5 L of total storage capacity, the Rogla hits the “Goldilocks zone” for storage. When full, the 2-liter bladder occupies part of this storage space, but there’s still 3 liters for all your gear. The main compartment is fairly roomy and easy to fit larger items into, but it’s not nearly as spacious as the High Above Supernatural. You need a slightly more organized approach if squeezing an extra layer, gloves, and a jacket in there, but it all fits pretty easily when done correctly. Plus, it has some organizational pockets inside to keep tools separated and prevent you from fishing around inside, and there’s a strap to secure a pump vertically. An additional set of tucked-away bungees on the outside of the pack is there to attach bulkier items like knee pads, a jacket, or a helmet. 

The 2-liter bladder is plenty large, and it fills part of the storage space when completely full, but it doesn’t completely dominate it. The Hydrapak bladder is similar to all of the others, with a user-friendly fold/slide top. The hose nozzle has a removable cover that you can either leave on to keep dust off your nozzle or remove entirely. Removing the cover for every sip of water felt cumbersome, so I eventually took it off. The hose slots into a non-magnetic clip on the upper sternum strap. I don’t mind the lack of a magnet, as they aren’t always the most secure, but I didn’t love the clip location that was more centered on the chest. I got used to it, but prefer it off to one side or the other.

At the front, two long zippered pockets on the straps can easily swallow your phone and all of your snacks. They are quite large and can hold plenty of stuff, all of which is secured behind a zipper — no drop-in pockets here. Deuter apparently intends one of them to hold sunglasses, but it felt pretty awkward to shove them in there, especially because the straps curve pretty sharply under your arms.

Fit-wise, Deuter doesn’t specify a chest size range. I got along well with the Rogla 5, but I wasn’t that far away from maxing it out. Again, my upper body isn’t that big, but with my 38-inch chest, I had the side straps and the sternum straps somewhat near their limits. But, for anyone smaller than me, it should provide a great range of adjustments to dial in the fit. Even near the upper end of its fit range, I found it to be quite comfortable and impressively stable while riding — even when stuffed with water and gear. 

Overall, I found the Deuter Rogla 5 to be a great all-around option that should serve adventurous gravel and mountain bike riders well. It’s not the raciest, but it’s comfortable, well-organized, and a solid choice for those who want the option to pack more than the bare minimum.

The High Above Supernatural is a premium hydration vest pack that’s made in the USA from super durable and highly weather-resistant materials. This pack is aimed squarely at the mountain bike crowd to carry plenty of water and gear while standing up to abuse and changing weather conditions. Yes, it’s expensive, but the quality materials and craftsmanship mean that it could be the last pack you ever need to buy — just like everything else High Above makes.

The Supernatural has the most cargo storage of all the packs I tested, with 6 liters of total capacity, four of which can be gear. That all fits into the main storage compartment, which is primarily wide open, but has a large zippered pocket with a key clip and two stretch, drop-in tool pockets. There are also straps on both sides to keep up to two pumps in place vertically. Should you manage to max out the storage space, there is a bungee on the outside of the pack to secure a jacket or knee pads, along with an optional strap system for attaching a helmet if you like. On top of that, there are large stretch pockets on the front of the vest straps, so you can keep a phone or nutrition handy while you ride. 

The Supernatural also comes with a baffled 2-liter bladder, so on top of gear for an all-day mission, you can bring plenty of water, too. Like all of the other bladders I tried, this one has a similar folding/slider top with a wide opening that makes it easy to fill and clean. All that water and gear storage means that this pack can be heavier than the others, but even with a full bladder, tools, snacks, and a jacket, it always remained stable on my back— even when riding rough and steep terrain.

Based on the position of the straps, it seems like I’m right around the middle of the Supernatural’s fairly large fit range. The two sternum straps have a relatively wide range of tension adjustment and can be moved up or down for optimal chest positioning. At the sides, a zig-zag strap system allows for a sizeable range of torso/chest circumference adjustment. For me, this means I can easily put on another layer and a rain jacket and still have plenty of adjustability to fit over it comfortably.

The main thing that sets the Supernatural apart is the 400D Challenge EPX shell fabric used. This fabric is thicker and a little stiffer than others, but it feels like it could protect you from a knife attack. It also repels water quite well, fending off light to moderate showers and puddle splashes with ease. The burly YKK #8 waterproof zipper also helps to prevent any moisture from entering. High Above clearly intended to make a pack that could stand up to the elements and the rigors of riding rough trails in the forest, and I think they definitely succeeded in that mission.

Those burly materials add up to the heaviest pack I tested, but at 575 grams including the bladder, it’s not exactly “heavy”, either. Beyond that, it’s hard to look past the price, of course, as this is the most expensive vest-style hydration pack that I’ve ever seen. That said, it feels bombproof and capable of providing years of faithful service, so I’d expect most riders to get their money’s worth over time.

USWE has been making vest-style packs for moto, running, and cycling for years, and is one of the most common brands that I see out on the trails. The brand’s tag line is “no dancing monkey”, a reference to the feeling of an unstable pack bouncing around on your back. Being one of the earliest brands to really market their vest-style packs towards cyclists, they became a go-to choice for early adopters of cycling vests and continue to be a popular pick with lots of models to choose from.

The Outlander XC 2L is one of the brand’s smallest packs with a minimalist design that seems best-suited to fast and light XC and gravel riding. It comes with an average-sized 1.5-liter water bladder that takes up most of the pack’s storage space when it’s completely full. Turns out, the 2-liter capacity of the pack gets nearly maxed out by the bladder, so that leaves a somewhat tight 0.5 liters of space to stuff a few essentials into the pack. You can squeeze quite a few slim items into it, like a mini-pump, CO2s, a multi-tool, and a well-placed tube, but it’s tight, and the zipper opening is small. Comparatively, it’s much easier to fit lots more gear into the Evoc Hydro Pro 1.5.

It’s also notable that the Outlander is the only pack I tested that doesn’t have any pockets on the straps. You’ll need to keep your phone, gels, and other quick-access items elsewhere. This pack is primarily meant for holding extra water and making it easy to drink, you’ll still need to use your jersey pockets or cargo bib pockets to keep essentials handy.

USWE’s No Dancing Monkey (NDM) 4-point harness involves a unique X-style strap system that meets in the center of the chest with a single buckle. The circular buckle is super easy to use, and it makes taking the pack on and off super quick, which could be helpful if you’re getting a handup mid-race. That said, I found the strap orientation to be the least comfortable of the bunch by a tiny margin. That’s mostly down to personal preference, but I preferred the pressure distribution of the other packs’ more vest-like strap designs. 

One notable thing about the USWE pack is its huge range of strap adjustability. The shoulder straps are adjustable, and the lower/side strap connection has two attachment points to accommodate larger or smaller chest dimensions. It’s a quick and easy adjustment to make and should make the pack work for most people. Oddly enough, I fall exactly in the middle of the 33 to 43-inch chest size range and felt like I was on the cusp between the two options. It felt too snug in the small setting and on the verge of being loose in the large setting. 

Given the small size of the Outlander XC 2L, it had one of the smallest footprints on my back and chest. It was sweaty directly under it, of course, but overall, a bit cooler to wear with less surface area contact. On top of that, it’s also the least expensive option I tried, making it a good value for anyone interested in trying out a minimalist hydration vest pack. Its gear storage is very limited, but USWE makes plenty of other options that are capable of carrying more gear.

The Apidura Racing Hydration Vest was my first cycling hydration vest, and somehow still the one I come back to most often, even with its few quirks.

This vest simply feels lighter on my back than pretty much any other vest I have tried, and alternately breathes well and dries relatively quickly after I do get sweaty. Its mesh back and straps are especially well-ventilated and feel open, yet the fit remains quite structured and secure while riding.

It also has a slim profile that sits close to my body, which feels good when riding, but also means it can fit under my rain jacket or even a winter jacket if it’s not overly stuffed full.

Even though it is light, it still offers big 2L water capacity for long hot days, with a bladder made by Apidura which works well and is easy enough to keep clean.

Only one thing really bugs me about this vest — its hose routing is quite limited by the fixed magnetic holder on the lower right side of the chest strap. This means that the hose is best routed over my right shoulder with the drinking valve sitting just below that lower chest strap while riding. And with the valve rotated for easy sipping, it sits annoyingly against my stomach while clipped to the magnet. The solution is relatively simple: a separate clip-on magnetic buckle (like if I steal the movable one from the Restrap vest)… then you could clip to the left shoulder strap. Or more often, I end up simply ignoring the magnet and loop the hose through the upper sternum strap as I ride.

Another tiny pet peeve is the long bungee straps on the side that fine-tune the torso fit. They are actually great, and I love how easy they are to adjust — depending on the layers of clothing I’m wearing or how tight I want it to fit based on how rough the terrain I am riding — but when I look at my shadow or a photo of me on the bike, I wonder why those bungees are flapping around in the breeze. Tucking them into themselves works well, but I never seem to remember to do that in my regular use.

The Restrap Race Hydration Vest is frankly the heaviest one I’ve used, and not the most breathable on my back. But this is a hydration vest handmade in the Yorkshire Dales in England, where there’s a 6-month rainy season. So, it is also the vest I grab if the weather is going to be foul. Or frankly, even if I just think I might get rained on.

Its main body is made with a waterproof black X21 fabric. And both its main rear pocket and phone chest pocket get waterproof zips. So even though its seams are not sealed, it keeps contents quite dry, even in extended rain.

I really appreciate that it uses classic nylon webbing straps that allow for a secure fit, cinched down to your body so it doesn’t move as you ride. But the two chest straps also include a short, stretchy elastic section, so there’s a tiny bit of give to not limit the movement or your chest expansion as you breathe. The secure fit also provides more adjustability than most, allowing me to comfortably fit in the smaller of two available sizes, while my large chest often limits me even at the bigger end of several other hydration vests.

I also really like the orange lining of the phone pocket and main rear pocket, which helps me dig out smaller items that I stuff inside with normal clothing and snacks. The colored pull tabs (current ones are orange front & rear) also make it easy to find the zipper pulls when you reach down, even when riding and adventure racing at night.

I mostly just use the classic mesh pockets on the straps to carry quick-access snacks, the phone pocket, of course, and the main rear pocket to keep clothing dry. But two stretchy mesh pockets on the back can easily carry a couple of extra water bottles (or tall boys) whenever I restock before camping for the evening.

I first rode with the new Canyon x Millet Sharp vest for the Traka 100, a very rainy and muddy five hours out on the bike for me. It was cool enough that I didn’t necessarily need the extra food & water, but meant I didn’t need to stop at the feed station to refuel, and could keep on spinning the pedals through the muck. And I’ve kept reaching for it ever since.

The highlight of this hydration vest is that I forget I’m wearing it soon after I start pedaling, even starting out with 1.5L of water and a bunch of snacks inside. It is not especially light, but it fits securely and doesn’t move at all while riding. And the rear pass-through mesh pocket is the best I’ve found to be able to stash a rain jacket or armwarmers while riding. It even has enough space to stash a spare bottle from a race feed station or bulkier snacks and a can of Coke from a mid-ride gas station resupply.

I’m happy that the zippered chest pocket is lined to keep my sweat from fogging up my phone screen/camera. But the pocket is not waterproof, so ultimately it gets wet in heavy rain anyway. Size-wise, with a 102cm chest, I’m at the comfortable upper limit of the L/XL. So this is best for smaller riders, especially since the hidden side bungees do a good job of making it even smaller.

Ultimately, it doesn’t have the best ventilation of any vest I have tried, but the PowerNet fabric against the body dries quite quickly. But at the same time, those tiny white mesh pockets collect dust & mud as you ride, and it’s really difficult to clean. My vest started white, but I think it will be grey from this point on.