Nathan FireCatcher vest review: excellent with flasks, awkward with a bladder

Nathan Sports was, for a long stretch, how most American trail runners first encountered hydration gear. The FireCatcher was new for 2014 at $75 MSRP, and this review followed roughly 50 miles of trail and road use around Los Angeles, tested both as sold and with a bladder added.

First impressions

Out of the box the vest weighs 11 ounces. A mix of fabrics keeps it light, airy and flexible, with reflective detailing front and back.

It ships with two 10oz Nathan Super-Flex flasks — together roughly the volume of a single handheld — which slide into the front pockets, sit comfortably in the hand when removed, and flow well when you drink. BPA-free and dishwasher safe.

Storage

• Front: a 6-inch zipped pocket that opens out to roughly three times its flat size; a 2-inch stash pocket closed with velcro; and an open-topped 3-inch pocket sitting ahead of one of the flasks.
• Rear: a single 12-inch pocket, sized for gear or a 1.5L bladder (not included).
• Chest straps close with buckles.

The zippered front pocket takes four gels comfortably. It would not take a Nexus 5. A Galaxy S3 fitted, at the absolute limit of the pocket’s width — which dates the review precisely.

Fit and build

The vest tracks the contours of the torso well, ventilates properly, and survived both abrasion and machine washing. Dialling in the fit took a few minutes; after that only micro-adjustments on the move. The nylon strapping is routed through the flask pockets, and elastic keepers hold the loose ends so nothing flaps.

Construction was rated superb. The edges are bound in something soft and fleece-textured, so there is nothing hard against the neck or shoulders — a small decision that matters a great deal over a long day. The flask pockets also accept other bottles, including Hydrapak soft bottles and standard hard bottles, which widens the vest’s range considerably.

Where it works

For a runner who dislikes handhelds, this was the answer: hands free, comfortable, well ventilated, and correctly sized for 90-minute to two-hour runs. Flasks are easy to reach and do not bounce even without cinching the elastic.

Where it doesn’t

With a 1.5L bladder in the rear pocket, the weight rotated the vest down the back, and correcting it took strap work plus repeated tugging at the front. Worse, getting a half-full bladder and hose into that pocket was a chore at home and would be a genuine time-sink at an aid station.

The review’s proposed fixes were specific: widen the rear pocket, open its sides and replace the central velcro with velcro pads along the flap, giving a manila-envelope opening — or fit a wide zip along the top seam. It also wanted a tube clip, ideally magnetic, since with the flask pockets in use a bladder hose has nowhere to go.

Verdict

A strong piece of kit positioned exactly where the reviewer wanted it: for the runs where one handheld is not enough and a full hydration pack is too much.