MEC
MEC Pace Running Vest
A running vest built to punch above its weight: highly breathable, with a dual-sternum-strap harness tuned to fit a wide range of body shapes, and an included reservoir.
- Client
- MEC
- Year
- 2019
- Role
- Technical Developer
Challenge
The MEC Pace Vest was MEC's first attempt at a modern running vest: a hydration bladder, front chest harness, large stretch dump pockets, and enough storage for a rain jacket, snacks, and the other essentials you'd want on a longer run. One of MEC's goals was to make trail running more accessible. There were already a lot of premium running vests on the market, but many of them came at a premium price. The challenge was to deliver a vest that fit a wide range of body types, performed well, and stayed approachable on cost.
Research
The majority of the work went into fit. We held a number of fitting sessions with people of different body shapes and sizes to understand where the vest worked well and where it needed refinement.
Design Direction
The design was led by Dave Westwood, with pattern making by Christine Lyon. My role was to work alongside both of them to develop the fit, refine the construction, and make sure the vest performed the way it was intended. The goal throughout was to make the vest feel secure without forcing every user into the same fit.
Development
The biggest challenge wasn't adding storage, it was keeping the vest stable while someone was moving. A running vest needs to carry a load without bouncing, but it also can't restrict your breathing or create pressure points over long distances. Every adjustment point, stretch panel, and seam placement has an impact on how it actually feels on a run, and translating that into construction was most of the technical work.
Prototype
Working with lightweight mesh and highly elastic materials made that especially difficult: small changes in pattern shape or material stretch could completely change the way the vest carried a load. We also spent a lot of time refining the adjustment system, iterating the side compression, chest straps, and overall harness until they had enough range to accommodate different body shapes without adding unnecessary complexity or weight.
Final Product
What shipped is a running vest that carries real load without bouncing, adjusts to fit a wide range of body types, and still landed at an accessible price, everything the brief set out to do.
Reflection
I had left MEC before the vest launched in 2022, so it was genuinely rewarding to see the development work we completed back in 2019 carry all the way through to production. It's always satisfying to see a product you've spent months refining make it to market, even from a distance.