XVest Reviewed
I received my XVest X8484 via UPS yesterday (sorry UPS guy, yes it was a small box to have weighed so much) and had a chance to assemble it and take it out for a spin. Following are my thoughts and opinions thus far.
First things first, when you receive your XVest, the weights come packaged. You unbox the weights, and remove the individual plastic wrapper from each. The weights are 1lb cylinders that are rounded on the end. Each has a small collar that it slides into inside of a larger pouch on the vest. The weights are well distributed among 4 large pouches; one each across the chest, abdomen, upper and lower back. You can add as many weights as you like, up to the full 84 lbs, and the mounting system does a very good job at holding them snugly. Even with all of the weights inserted the vest is surprisingly easy to handle, aside from being quite heavy of course. Getting all of the weights inserted took about 30 minutes.
The general construction and finish of the vest is very high quality. The nylon is extremely tough and reminded me of the construction of body armor that I've worn. Seams are all double-stitched and a heavy thread is used. The Velcro closures (everything save for two quick-release clips on the shoulders that act as a secondary retainer to the Velcro shoulder adjustment) are of the industrial variety to say the least. In short, the thing's built like a tank.
Putting the thing on while loaded with 84 pounds takes some practice. It'd be pretty easy to knock yourself out cold me thinks. Once you get it over your shoulders it's just a matter of leveling it out and pulling the giant elastic waist straps from the back to the front where they attach using enormous Velcro pads. The thing fits like a glove but still allows for easy deep breathing. Quite a feat. I had to take the thing on and off a few times to get the shoulders adjusted for a proper fit which eventually meant laying on the floor and sort of crawling into the thing because my arms got tired and my head got sore. Overall, adjustment was a breeze.
After getting the thing adjusted and putting it on, I immediately noticed how much more stable my overall mobility was in comparison to having the same amount of weight in my backpack. Walking around, bending over, picking things up, just normal motion were all much more balanced and less awkward. Having the weight distributed around your body and closer to your center of gravity makes a HUGE difference. While it certainly adds to stability, balance and control, I would soon find that there is a price to be paid.
I headed out the door and hit the pavement running. I set out to do a single lap on my normal run; from my house to the trail, once around, back to my house. The trail is gravel and dirt and almost entirely small hills, some steep, some gradual. It's a great run and a perfect place to test out my new gear. From my front door to the trail head is about a third of a mile. About half-way through that third of a mile I was made painfully aware that I was no longer carrying all of the weight on my back and that now I had 42 lbs trying to pull my torso forward. Oddly enough, the muscles in my back, those that hold you upright vs. bending over forward, had not been worked in, ooooohhhh...ever. I learned VERY quickly to run with near perfect posture, keeping the weigh over my hips and my spine straight (the price as mentioned earlier). I would have to adjust my posture frequently over the nest few miles, but I found that if I ran with proper posture, the pain was tolerable. I did have to walk for a few short spots just to give my back muscles a break, a stretch, etc. but at the end they simply felt like they'd been worked hard. Today (the day after) they're fine, if a bit sore from being asked to put out. In addition to the aforementioned, I found that if you run with a hunched posture, the vest bounces. 84lbs bouncing while you run makes for very difficult progress (and very sore shoulders). Again, proper posture fixed this problem.
At the end of my run I felt like I'd really put out. My legs had gotten a good workout (though not quite as much as with my heavier backpack). My torso felt like it had just run a gauntlet. My shoulders were dead (not in a bad way). Overall and OUTSTANDING workout. My only complaint is that the shoulder padding is lacking. 84lbs is a lot of weight to have suspended by your shoulders. They should have spent some more money in production cost and put a load-bearing waist-belt on the thing such as you find on a good backpack. Given the lack of one and the poor shoulder padding I give the XVest 4 stars. Add the two and I'd not hesitate giving it 5.
Happy running!
Egon
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Reply #1 on : Thu December 13, 2007, 13:11:26
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