Review: Montane Via Fang 5 Race Vest

This product has been through some serious hell with me, easily thousands of miles of runs and training, and three ultra runs, namely the Isle Of Wight Challenge, The Jurassic Coast Challenge and The Millennium Way Ultra. Bar my various different trainers it’s probably my favorite bit of kit. What’s more I got it second hand and the thing is still going somehow through all kinds of absolute hell so I’m a bit attached to it. Or is it attached to me?

Pro’s: Super lightweight, very breathable, perfect amount of room in get decent trail running gear in (lightweight waterproof jacket/insulated jacket/enough energy gels and peanut butter sachets) There’s lot’s of pockets for phone, spaces for energy gels that are easy to reach on the strap areas, zipped main compartments with expandable sides and also a bungee tie system on the rear which I’ve founds really useful to hang any extra clothing off if I’m getting too hot. The fabric utilizes Polygiene (in a nutshell a silver chloride treatment) which to help control odor by preventing bacteria growth but unfortunately doesn’t prevent it, the distance I run in this thing it still copes pretty well. Oh and it’s got a little whistle built in which is useful if you are doing any fell races and need to get someones attention. Thankfully I’ve never had to use it for any emergencies yet. I have this interesting knack of surviving doing lots of stupid things.

A good deal of the vest is made of mesh so not only is the bag breathable but it’s also really light weight at only around 327 grams. It’s also really comfortable, which is probably evident by how much I use the thing, you can barely notice wearing it. Whats more it has a handy walking pole stash also on the outside of the bag (for those races you have to get the poles out for just to stop yourself falling over and not getting back up!!)

Cons: Although the elasticated stomach strap is very comfortable the velcro fastening really does not mix with lightweight running shirts. It easily gets caught on them and pulls the fibers. It’s not a massive niggle but a lot of running t shirts aren’t cheap, really that’s my only issue with the vest.

Overall I’d give it an 8.5/10 and that’s only because it’s bobbled a ton of my favorite running shirts! But would I buy another? Of course.

Like the sound of it? You can buy the product from https://www.montane.com/mens-c1/montane-via-fang-5l-running-vest-pack-p770

Own one of these? Tell us what you think in the comments below!