REVIEW: Ronhill Stride Windspeed Jacket

By: Matt Setlack

This review will outline what I like and what I feel could be improved with the Ronhill Stride Windspeed Jacket. I have also photos of where in the world I have worn this jacket. I have been wearing various iterations and colours of this particular jacket for 3 to 4 years. I have easily run hundreds if not thousands of kilometres in this jacket and am very well acquainted with it.

Description

The jacket is made of a lightweight material that is quite breathable. There is a small zippered pocket on the upper left hand side. The blue/grey jacket shown below has two reflective stripes on the front and one reflective stripe on the back. Previous versions of this jacket, like the lime green one that I have, also had one reflective stripe on the outside of each wrist. The reflective stripes are nice to have because at least half of my run commutes are in the dark and this helps motorists see me better.

Regarding visibility, there is a small black circular rubber disk in the central back area (see photo above right) that stays secured in place inside a circular metal grommet. This black disk can be replaced by a red light disk that is the same size, and blinks. The exact same disk is found on the Ronhill backpacks such as the Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L vest backpack, which I wrote a review about here.

A feature that I really like is the soft black fabric around the neck area and also a strip of soft black fabric in your chin/front of neck area. I have never had any issues with chafing at all in this jacket. It is really comfortable. There is also a little hoop of fabric in the back that is used to hang up the jacket.

The zipper on this jacket works exceptionally well. There have never been any issues with snagging or catching the zipper in fabric. I typically start my run commute wearing this jacket and then take it off (while running) once I warm up after about 10 minutes. As shown in the photo below, there is a narrow strip of black material just behind the zipper, which helps to make the zipper slide very easily. The strip of material behind the zipper also prevents drafts from getting through.

The zipper pulls are nice and small (but still large enough to use even with running mitts on). They snap down in place and do not flip/flop up and down when you run, which is great.

The wrists are simple and effective. A section of the wrist is elasticized and I find the wrist opening to be perfect even while wearing a GPS watch or while wearing thicker fleece running mitts in the winter. The wrist material is cut in a way so that the outside of the wrist is slightly longer than the inside of the wrist.

The back of the jacket is longer than the front of the jacket. The blue/grey jacket shown below has elasticized sections on each side of the waist. Previous versions of this jacket had a thin bungee cord that ran along the inside bottom perimeter of the jacket.

The black rubber disk is shown in the back centre.

What I Like

1. Simplicity of Design - It is a really good, simple, functional design that has undergone minimal change, which I like.

2. Lightweight - it packs up really small and is so lightweight that I can carry it in one hand even for long runs of 30 km or more.

3. Breathable - the material is wind resistant and water resistant, which to me is preferable over a jacket that is waterproof and therefore less breathable.

What I Feel Could be Improved

There is one zippered pocket in this jacket. The nice thing about this pocket being zippered is that you can pack the jacket up into this pocket and then zipper it shut. You can also put a map, keys, credit card, gels, etc in this pocket and nothing will fall out.

The upper end of the zipper has a sheath of fabric that covers the zipper pull (see photo below). This sheath prevents water from entering the pocket when the pocket is zippered up and it is raining.

There is also a fabric sheath on the bottom of the pocket but the length of this fabric sheath is too long. As shown in the photo below, the zipper pull is completely submerged beneath the fabric sheath. When this happens, it is a little annoying to fish the zipper pull out with your fingers. I suggest that the zipper sheath on the bottom of the pocket be shortened.

The photo below shows the Ronhill Stride Windspeed jackets that I own from oldest on the left (lime green) to newest on the right (lighter blue). As you can see, the black circular rubber disk in the back centre of the jacket has gradually moved up as the various iterations of this jacket have been released. The oldest version is the lime green one on the left and the newest version is the light blue/turquoise one on the far right.

I personally feel that this was not a good decision and there are two reasons. First, while sitting/driving in my car before and after a run while wearing this jacket, the black disk is uncomfortable when I lean back into the seat because it gets right in between my spine and the car’s seat. When the black disk was lower down on the back like in the lime green jacket, the disk would fit in the “small of my back” and I would not notice it while driving. When the black disk is removed, the discomfort goes away.

Secondly, when I am wearing my Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L vest pack on the run commute to and from work everyday, the black disk is right in between my spine and the Ronhill backpack, making it uncomfortable. In addition, the black disk is so high in the lighter blue jacket that the backpack covers up the disk. If I did have a red blinking light in place of the black disk, the light would be completely obscured by my Ronhill backpack.

In terms of the reflective stripes, I like that the newer jackets (lighter blue, on the right) have a reflective stripe in the lower back of the jacket. This location makes the reflective stripe still visible while wearing a Ronhill backpack. The reflective stripes on the older lime green and darker blue jackets were obscured when wearing a backpack.

The older lime green jacket had reflective stripes on the outside of each wrist. I liked the location of these stripes because it made me more visible to motorists from the side (laterally). The wrist reflective stripes are no longer on the newer darker blue and lighter blue jackets.

Places I have Worn this Jacket

Kananaskis 100 Mile Relay Race (K100)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Philadelphia Half Marathon in Nov 2017 - you might recognize that arched bridge because it was in one of the Rocky movies.

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

This was just before the Hams and Hamstrings 5k at 7,000 feet ASL in Colorado Springs in Apr 2017. It is the perfect warm-up jacket. I placed 2nd in that race. 1st place was local resident (and world mountain running 2016 champion), Joe Gray.

Pikes Peak, Colorado, USA

Running above 14,000 feet ASL.

Bulgaria

This was what I brought on my way up Masala Peak, the highest peak in Bulgaria. I ran up this peak after the World Mountain Running Championships in 2016.

Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada

This was when my wife, Emily and I ran across Cold Lake and back in January. For a post about it, click here. The lake is massive; about 25km across and nearly 100m deep.

On my daily run commute to and from work all year around.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

It was more than a little cold. I believe the temperature was around -30C. Cold Lake is farther north than Edmonton and it gets noticeably colder there.

Mount Charleston, Nevada, USA

Port d’Envalira, Andorra

Running above 2,400m ASL.

Font Romeu, France

At the National Altitude Training Centre. Font Romeu feels a lot like Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.

Conclusion

Overall, the Ronhill Stride Windspeed Jacket is the best running jacket I have ever worn in my life. I have worn various versions of this jacket for thousands of kilometres and am very impressed with it. If you have any questions or would like more information about it, please feel free to contact me via the “Contact” link at the top right of this page.

Thanks for reading!

REVIEW: Ronhill Infinity Torrent Jacket

By: Matt Setlack

This review will focus on what I like about the Ronhill Infinity Torrent jacket and what I feel could be improved. I have included as many photos as possible in this review (taken by myself) as I feel a photo is worth a thousand words. For an overall description, please visit the www.ronhill.com website by clicking the photo below. Note that the current colour (charcoal/fluo yellow) is different than the jacket that I have (blue and red) This review will focus on my person observations after running in this jacket for 3-4 months.

Initial Impressions

The very first thing I thought about when I pulled this jacket out of the package was how incredibly lightweight it is. I measured it to be 195g, which is even lighter than the Ronhill Momentum Victory Hoodie. I really like the vibrant blue and red colour of this jacket and I love the simple, elegant and functional design. To me, excellent design is when there is nothing left to remove but the garment still fulfills everything that it was designed for. Simple is good. Simple means lightweight. Simple means easy to use because there is no complicated mechanisms. 

Fit 

The fit of the Ronhill Infinity Torrent jacket is a little bit looser in the torso than the Ronhill Windlite jacket. The length of the arms feels the same. I wear a size medium in this jacket and the sizing is consistent with other Ronhill garments I have worn in size medium.

What I Really Like about this Jacket

Front Main Zipper

The zipper works really well and seems very durable. There is a flap of material behind the zipper which eliminates the possibility that wind (or rain) will blow through the front of the jacket. The zipper itself is also waterproof so you have two layers of protection. 

#RunEveryDay Logo

I really like how Ronhill has printed "#RunEveryDay" on the inside of centre back of the jacket. This is a great reminder for me and also shows that Ronhill is with the times. 

Waist Cinch Cords

One each side at the bottom of the jacket are places where you can tightened up the waist cinch bungee cord with one hand. They are easy and intuitive to use.

Excellent Worksmanship

As you can see in all of these photos that I took, the level of care that was put into manufacturing this jacket is very impressive. It is very high quality and there is not a stitch out of place.

Hood

The size of the hood is perfect for me and there are also two different adjustments that you can make. One adjustment is done via two red bungee cords in the front of the jacket. These two cords cinch down the front opening of the hood (where you look out of).

The second adjustment is via a red cord loop on the back of the head. By pulling this red cord loop, the hood beak is brought closer over the top of your head (similar action to tightening up the back of a baseball cap). They work really well and make running with the hood up very comfortable. 

When you don't have the hood over your head, you can easily cinch it up by putting a flap of material over the bunched up hood, which will prevent the hood from flapping up and down as you run. Ronhill has done a phenomenal job of making this "hood strap down system" exceptionally intuitive to use (really well done, Ronhill!). The very first time I wore this jacket in the rain, I wanted to strap down the hood. Somehow, without ever seeing the system, I managed to figure the system out within seconds while running and not even being able to see what I was doing because everything was going on behind my neck! Incredible!

All you have to do is roll or bunch up the hood behind your neck, then open the fabric "strap/trapezoid" (as shown in photo below). Take the black rectangle of velcro on the bottom of the trapezoid and stick it to the blue rectangle of velcro on the outside back of the jacket. That's it! It works perfectly, is very secure and lightweight. 

Black Face Rub Rectangles

Really nice touch by Ronhill. When you zip the front zipper all the way up to the top, there is a nice soft black cloth material that your face/mouth can rub against, if necessary. This is really comfortable. My face does not rub against the jacket at all when it is zipped all the way up. 

Cuffs

I like the simplicity of the cuffs. There's nothing complicated about them. I like that only half the cuff is elasticized, which allows you to easily pull the cuff over your GPS watch to start/stop/check the time and/or pace. 

Aqualite is the material used to manufacture the jacket. The tags that come with the jacket reads, "Key benefits: Total waterproof and windproof barrier" and I would agree.

Packable Size

It packs up to about the size of a water bottle, which is a bit larger than the packed up Ronhill Windlite jacket. It is very easy and convenient to carry if you want to take it off while running if it stops raining. The weight is only 195g as well, which is less than half a pound. 

What Could be Improved with this Jacket

Red Bungee Cords in front for tightening up the front part of hood

As it is now, one red cord on the left and one red cord on the right hang out the front side of the jacket (see photo below). When you are running, they have a tendency to bounce/faff/jostle about, which I find a little annoying. It would be much nicer if these red bungee cords were routed INSIDE the front of the jacket rather than OUTSIDE the front of the jacket.

Breathability

If you make a jacket that is waterproof/water resistant, then it will not be very breathable (i.e. allows water vapour to escape from the inside). If you make a jacket that is very breathable, then it will not be waterproof/wear resistant. PERIOD. A lot of companies have tried and they claim that they have manufactured a jacket that is BOTH waterproof AND breathable but I have not worn any jackets yet that do both of these things extremely well. It is not a fault of Ronhill (or any other clothing manufacturing company for that matter), it is simply a characteristic of the material. It is kind of like using all season tires all year around rather than summer tires in the summer and winter tires in the winter. The all season tires will work okay all year around but will not be particularly good or bad in any season. However, to be fair, Ronhill has done a better job than any other company I know in creating a jacket that is waterproof while being fairly breathable.

A possible solution to this issue could be to maybe add arm-pit zips (although this would add weight) to the jacket. And if you're wearing a jacket in the rain, then you would not want openings in the arm pits for rain to come in and get you wet. Perhaps a small panel material that is thinner and breathable could be placed in the arm pit area. 

Zipper Pulls

I personally prefer the small YKK zipper pulls that Ronhill uses on almost all of their other garments; the mini-flip lock kind rather than the long string/cord pulls that this jacket has. The zipper pulls on the Ronhill Infinity Torrent jacket have a tendency to flip up and down when you run and I personally don't really like this. This is a really minor annoyance though. 

Conclusion

Overall, I am very impressed with the Ronhill Infinity Torrent Jacket. If you do a lot of running in the rain, I would recommend that you consider this jacket. Ronhill products can be purchased at Running Room.

REVIEW: Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Tee

By: Matt Setlack

This review will focus on what I like and what I feel could be improved with the Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Tee. I have been wearing it for two months now mostly during my daily run commute and occassionally during indoor runs on the treadmill.

Ronhill website

If you are interested in finding out specifics about this tee, please visit www.ronhill.com.

What I like

Sizing - The sizing of this tee is consistent with other Ronhill apparel. I wear a size medium in this tee and a size medium in pretty much every other piece of Ronhill apparel I have. Medium fits me very well.

Fit - The fit is relatively relaxed. The torso and sleeve length of this Ronhill tee is noticeably longer than all of the other running tees I own. The long torso length makes it easy to tuck into your waist band if you like or leave it untucked. The long length is nice when I am doing stationary rowing in the gym and do not want the skin of my lower back exposed.

Very comfortable - I like the way it feels. The textured portions on the lower torso (the lighter "V" in left photo above and the lighter "up arrow" in right photo above) remind me of the textured stainless steel plates that you find at construction work sites. It stretches in every direction, which makes it very comfortable.

Breathable - I have never had an issue with this tee getting wet from perspiration and staying wet. I hang all of my clothes to dry after washing them and this tee hang dries very quickly.

Stitching - The stitching between the torso panel and the arms (as shown below left) is flat and can easily stretch perpendicular to and along the length of the stitch. 

Material - When you flip up the bottom front of the shirt (see photo above right), you can read the tee info, "Made in Portugal www.ronhill.com 60% polyamide 40% polyester Size M (and washing instructions)". There are no paper labels/size tags/material tags in this tee, which is really nice. I find that with other tees that have little paper labels, when I want to remove the label I do one of two things. Cut the label off but then there is a bit of paper left over scratching your skin or rip the label right out of the stitch but this often opens up the seam/stitch and you have to resew the stitch. Having the text printed right on the bottom of this Ronhill tee is a very good idea. A lot of other Ronhill apparel even has #runeveryday printed onto the inside of the apparel. 

Another minor but important fact about the printed tee info is the location. It is conveniently located on the front inside of the lower torso. It is also "upside down" (as shown above) but when you flip it up while you are wearing the tee, you can clearly and easily read the tee info right side up. This makes total sense and is an example of how Ronhill is making very functional and innovative products.

What could be improved

I don't feel like there is really anything that could be improved with the Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Tee. Some people might prefer having a shorter torso length and short sleeves. However, this doesn't affect the function of the tee whatsoever.

I recommend the Ronhill Infinity Space-Dye Short Sleeve Shirt. If you are interested, it is sold at Running Room. More product info can be found at www.RunningRoom.com or by clicking here.

REVIEW: Ronhill Trail Vertex Running Jacket

By: Matt Setlack

The Ronhill Trail Vertex running jacket is designed to keep you warm when running in sub-zero temperatures. It is a very versatile jacket meaning that you can wear it in a wide temperature range just by varying the number of layers you wear underneath. I have been wearing this running jacket for the past month and typically wear it during my run commute to and from work every day (10 mile round trip). So far, I have worn it for approximately 300km in temperatures ranging from -30C to +5C (with varying layers underneath, of course).

Overall Thoughts

The Ronhill Trail Vertex running jacket is one of, if not THE, greatest running jacket I have ever worn. The greatest qualities of this jacket is its ability to help you thermoregulate, which I believe is one of the key ingredients of a comfortable jacket.

I wore the Ronhill Trail Vertex running jacket in Vancouver, Canada (see photos above) in temperatures around -5C to +5C. Underneath the jacket I wore the Ronhill Merino 200 long sleeve top. It was snowing heavily (those big fluffy snowflakes) and was warm enough that when the snowflakes touched down, they melted (it was a slushy mess to run through). I ran with my wife, Emily for 100 minutes (1:40) and was AMAZED that I was not even a little bit wet (neither from sweating nor from the wet snowflakes on the outside). For those who don’t know, this is revolutionary! Apparel manufacturers have struggled for years to make a jacket that is BOTH water resistant AND breathable but Ronhill has really done it with this jacket. On the exact same 100 minute run, Emily was wearing a different jacket and by the time the run was over, her jacket had completely soaked through and her undershirt was completely drenched...Emily didn’t enjoy the run. I was completely dry and thoroughly enjoyed the run.

A Note on Ronhill Running Clothing  

While I was studying a masters in Aerospace Vehicle Design at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, one of my professors, Mr. Phill Stocking showed us a quote one day about what good engineering design is. The quote went something along the lines of, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away” by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Whenever I wear Ronhill clothing, I am reminded of this quote as I believe that Ronhill has done a brilliant job at designing and manufacturing running apparel very fit for purpose and not unnecessarily complicated.

Although I could be wrong, I get the feeling that Ronhill is constantly designing their products to be the absolute best for the end user. Because of their defined scope of making functional apparel for runners (in addition to backpacks and other running accessories), they do an exceptional job at it. Every Ronhill product that I have worn has been designed and manufactured with the utmost care and it seems that every little detail is well thought out – and works extremely well. Of all the running apparel manufacturers out there, Ronhill, in my opinion makes some of the greatest running apparel that I have ever worn. I find Ronhill products to be more durable, functional, reflective and comfortable than most. If you want quality that will last for years, you should really consider taking a look at Ronhill products.

What I Like About the Ronhill Trail Vertex Running Jacket:

Overall Fit - I wear size medium in Ronhill clothing (except gloves, which I wear large). I think the medium form/model that Ronhill uses for its clothing has my exact shape and dimensions because medium fits me perfectly as if it was custom made.

Arm Fit – The length of the jacket arms is a bit longer than typical, in order to allow the runner to stick their thumbs in the wrist thumb holes. I like that the arms are a bit longer as they keep my wrists warm when my arms are bent while running.

Another nice thing about the arms is that they are nicely cut to your arms; there is no loose fabric flapping around in the wind. It’s just perfect the amount of material Ronhill left in the arms. The circumference of the wrist feels slightly bigger compared to the Ronhill Wind Lite running jacket that I have been wearing in the summer (it's the bright green and blue jacket that I'm wearing in other blog post photos). This is a good idea because when you’re wearing this jacket you will likely also be wearing mitts or gloves and having a bit of extra room in the wrists helps accommodate the gloves.

Torso Fit – The jacket torso length is perfect for me. The circumference of the jacket torso is not restrictive nor too loose so cold air doesn’t come up from below.

Versatility - I have worn this jacket in +5 with a thin t-shirt underneath and I have also worn it in -30C with two long sleeve wool tops on underneath. I like to wear this jacket with the Ronhill Merino 200 wool top (fantastic piece). The temperature range for this combo is around -5C to -20C. You can wear it in such a large range of temperatures because the wool top seems to do an amazing job of keeping you warm. 

Thermoregulation (Temperature Regulation) – You can unzip the front pockets or unzip the front of the coat to cool off or do the opposite to warm up. The PrimaLoft panels in the front and back of the jacket keep you warm but the material in the arms is thinner (no PrimaLoft) so that you don’t sweat. It’s a brilliant design.

Material - The material that the jacket is constructed of is stretchy, which, in addition to having a really nice fit, makes it super comfortable. Another advantage of the stretchy material and the particular stitch pattern that Ronhill used is that it allows the runner to easily stretch the jacket wrist cuff over their watch or GPS watch (a really nice touch). Most other jackets I have worn have non-stretchy wrist cuffs and usually what happens when you check your watch while running is that you either accidentally press the buttons because the cuffs are so tight or you don't bother checking your watch because you can't access it. The stretchy wrist cuffs on this Ronhill jacket are one of the things that make this jacket really fit for purpose.

Water Resistance - The jacket has a special coating (DWR – Durable Water Repellent) so the rain/wet snow just beads and runs off the jacket, which is really nice. If you're sweating, the DWR coating doesn't prevent the water vapour from leaving the jacket.

Lack of Hood – This is a good thing. It makes the jacket lighter and 99% of the time when I'm running, I don’t use a hood anyway. I also find it annoying when a hood is bouncing around behind me and partially filling up with air as I run.

Lightweight (257 grams) - It is light enough and packs up small enough that if you get too warm on the run, you can take it off and easily carry it in one hand while you complete your run.

YKK Zippers – They are nice and small but still big enough to use with mitts on. When you flick them down so they are in-line with the zipper, they are locked in place. I like that they don’t flip/flop all over the place when you are running. Behind the main zipper is a wind block strip of material to prevent the wind from blowing through the zipper.

What Could be Improved with the Ronhill Trail Vertex Running Jacket:

Thumb Holes in Arms – Personally, I never really use these thumb holes and I find that when I do, I feel like the design could be refined a little more. Emily likes using thumb holes so I guess it’s just a personal preference. However, these thumb hole do not take anything away from the jacket and do not affect its performance in any way.

Reflectors - When I wear this jacket on the run commute in the mornings and evenings, it is usually dark outside. Ronhill could possibly consider putting reflective stripes on the front/back of the jacket. However, there is a currently a reflective Ronhill logo on the front chest and a small reflective triangle on the upper back torso. This is a non-issue when I wear the Ronhill tuque (beanie) because it has a reflective stripe that goes all the way round the head making me visible to passing motorists.

I think reflectors on running clothing are a personal preference. The nice thing about not having reflectors is that you can always add reflectors later (via arm bands, reflective belt, etc) but if you buy a jacket with a lot of reflectors already on it, it is near impossible to take them off. I like the reflector scheme that was used on the Ronhill Wind Lite running jacket.

Overall Thoughts

The Ronhill Trail Vertex running jacket is very likely the greatest running jacket I have ever worn. Ronhill has nailed the design of this jacket. This is the perfect running jacket for anyone running in sub-zero temperatures. I highly recommend this running jacket to anyone who is looking for a high-quality, functional, comfortable, durable jacket to wear in cooler temperatures.

You can find the Ronhill Trail Vertex running jacket at Running Room by clicking here. I personally like the Running Room located at 8537 - 109 Street in Edmonton as they have a fantastic selection of running shoes and apparel. The staff there are super friendly and they also have a back room with many discounted running shoes. I even saw last year’s model of this jacket (red colour) at the 109 Street Running Room this winter at a discounted price.   

REVIEW: Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L Vest Pack

By: Matt Setlack

I have worn the Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L Vest Pack during my daily run commute to and from work every weekday for the past month (03 Feb 2017 to 06 Feb 2017). I have run approximately 300km total with this bag. When I run to work, the contents of the pack weigh approximately 5-7 lbs (2.3-3.2 kg), which includes my lunch and spare clothing. When I run home, the pack is a lot lighter with just has a spare change of clothing inside. The purpose of this review will be to provide you with my personal observations on this particular running pack.

Description

The photos online do not do this pack justice; it is much nicer than the pictures make it look. All photos in this review, with the exception of the photos from the Ronhill website were taken after using the pack for approximately one month. If you would like to find out specifics about the pack, please visit the Ronhill website here of the Running Room website here. The Ronhill website has the following to say about this pack:

This pack is sold in two different colour schemes: Granite/Lime and Royal Purple/Fuschia. The name of this bag is the Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L, which means that when the pack is in the smaller configuration with the perimeter zipper zipped shut (see far left column), the internal volume is 10L. When the perimeter zipper is unzipped, then the internal volume expands to give you an additional 5L for a total of 15L (see far right column).

What I Love about the Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L Vest Pack

This running pack makes a lot of sense. It is very obvious to me that Ronhill has done extensive research and development on this pack and there were clearly many runners involved in the process. I feel as though Ronhill's main purpose in life is first and foremost to produce the greatest pack (or jacket or top or whatever they are making) for the end user.

1. Fit

The fit of this pack is excellent and it hugs my body perfectly. There are numerous ways in which this pack can be adjusted to fit you just right. There are two elastic straps that go across your torso and they can slide up and down. The lower end of each shoulder strap can be adjusted to effectively shorten or lengthen each shoulder strap. You do this by pulling the lower end of the shoulder strap (located near where the glove fingertips are in the photo below) out from under the hip pockets.

The elastic torso straps are a very nice touch and stretch when you inhale/exhale, which is really nice. The last running backpack I had did not have this and it was annoying to have to constantly readjust the nylon straps based on if you had a lot of gear in the pack or if you just ate a big meal.

Distribution of Weight - To me, the centre of gravity is quite close to the back and rides higher up than a more traditional pack. This was my first "vest" style of backpack so it felt odd at first but I got used to it and I find it much more comfortable than a traditional pack now.

The Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L Vest pack rides higher than a non-vest style backpack, which is a good thing as it doesn’t affect your arm swing at all while running. The pack wraps around your upper chest rather than your stomach like a more traditional backpack. It is very easy to breath while wearing it. It feels more like wearing a vest than wearing a backpack.

The relatively wide shoulder straps really help to distribute the weight over a greater surface area, which is much more comfortable. The wide shoulder straps don’t cut into your shoulders with more weight in pack.

2. Functionality

Front Pockets - Fantastic idea. They are made of a stretchy mesh material. I usually store an extra tuque (Canadian word for beanie or hat), an extra pair of gloves and a buff here. They work well and are an ample size. In the front right strap, there is also a black whistle and a smaller mesh pouch to store things such as I wallet, I believe.

Size of bag – Perfect for my lunch and a spare change of clothes (underwear, socks, shirts). The 10L +5L concept is a fantastic idea and very useful/practical. I generally like to keep it as small as possible in order to keep the centre of gravity as close to my body as possible. However, when I have a larger lunch or if I am bringing my work clothes home at the end of the week, then I unzip the perimeter zipper and use the full 15L size of the bag. The perimeter zipper goes in a "U" pattern along the left side, then along the bottom, then along the right side of the pack. 

The additional 5L is also nice to accommodate racing flats for Tuesday tempo sessions or Friday interval sessions. There's an elastic draw cord on the back side of the pack, which cinches tight to make the pack as small as you need it and prevent items inside from bouncing about - great idea. When I'm run commuting, I find it annoying when I can hear the jingle-jangle of loose items inside the bag and having that cinch cord and perimeter zipper eliminate that, which is awesome. 

Details - Keepers for the front torso elastic straps are very nice to prevent the end of the straps from dangling and swinging around while you run. I also like the way in which the zipper pulls are tied to the zippers. First the zipper pull material is stiff and second the zipper pull length is just right - these two attributes allow the zipper pulls to remain relatively rigid while you are running. Again, I find it annoying when straps/zipper pulls/loose fabric/etc is flailing about while I'm running. I like my pack to be sleek, aerodynamic, and efficient - high speed low drag ;). The zipper pulls also allow you to use the zippers even with mitts on - a nice touch as many of my winter runs in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada are done when the temperature is below -20C!

Top Flap - Really good idea. I believe what this flap does is prevent water from entering the bag via the tiny opening where the two zippers come together and it also ensures that the waterproof pouch in the backside remains completely dry. A third (and possibly unintentional positive byproduct) of this flap is that it helps relieve the stress concentration on the zippers. In every bag I have ever seen, the number one thing to fail first is the zippers! The greatest stress is put on the zipper at the very top of the bag when the pack is heavily loaded. Having this flap with velcro takes part of the load, which means there is not as much stress directly on the zippers. Great durability in this bag.

Lightweight - I measured this pack to be 431 grams - less than a pound empty! Even considering how lightweight it is, it is still super comfortable.

Damp pocket - This makes a lot of sense and is really practical. I use it all the time when I'm bringing my sweaty running clothes and head sweatband home. The head sweatband may look funny but it prevents sweat from getting in your ears and damaging your earphones. The damp pocket helps to segregate the damp clothes from your dry clothes (and maybe work papers inside the main compartment that you might be bringing home to work on). It is located at the bottom of the bag as shown in the photo immediately below.

Internal Miscellaneous Items Pouch - I put two iPod Shuffles in here (I always carry one spare Shuffle of course), my identification and some money. I like that it is sewn into the bag at the top edge only (it free hangs) because if you happen to have pointy objects inside the pouch, they don't dig into your back when you're running. I have used other running packs, with small pouches that are sewn all the way around the perimeter and sometimes this causes sharp objects to dig into your back but that's not the case with this Ronhill pack.

Water Resistance - Although I have not tried this pack in the rain, I am confident based on the material of construction that it would be very resistant to moisture. 

What Could be Improved with the Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L Vest Pack

Hip Pockets - I suggest that Ronhill consider moving zippered pockets forward as it can be quite challenging to reach into these pockets while running and while wearing mitts. A workaround that I have found is when I'm trying to access the right hip pocket, I push the entire pack to the right with my left hand, and that makes it a bit easier to access. Maybe my arms/shoulders are really inflexible? Another potential solution could be to change the zipper so that instead of just being a straight forward-back horizontal zipper, it was instead a forward-back horizontal zipper plus a little extra zipper that went vertical in the forward edge of the pocket (kind of like an L shape). Perhaps this might make it easier to access the contents of the hip pockets.

However, I understand the design that Ronhill was going for with these hip pockets. If they were to move the hip pouches too far forward, then they would interfere with the arm swing. The location where the pouches are currently located is tucked back out of the way, which is nice. 

Reflective Stripes - I suggest that reflective stripes be put on the front side of the straps (not just on back side of backpack as it is currently) and possibly on the lateral (left and right) sides of the pack. This is easily mitigated by adding a simple yellow reflective belt around the pack though so it's not a major issue.

Carry Loop - I'm not sure if this even warrants consideration but I found that when I am carrying the pack to the front door from the kitchen in the morning using the cord carry loop, sometimes the relatively fine cord that the carry loop is made of is uncomfortable on the fingers. Considering that this happens about 1% of the time and doesn't affect the running performance of this pack, it's not a significant concern but I thought it should be mentioned. Maybe in the future, consider making the carry loop out of a flat lace type of material to distribute the load over a bit larger area. This really is a minor issue and can easily be rectified by carrying the bag by the shoulder straps.

Overall Thoughts

The Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L Vest pack is an outstanding running pack and I highly recommend it. If you are looking for a pack for the run commute (or even just a pack that you could use as a gym bag), this is definitely the one I would choose. If you are interested in this pack, you can find it at Running Room.