Black Diamond Distance 4 Vest

Great vest! Light, breathable, comfortable, and just the right amount of features. I often avoid wearing a vest because I like feeling free and light. This one feels like your wearing nothing. The fabric is incredibly comfortable. I tend to have somewhat sensitive skin to fabrics and can wear this vest without a shirt on and have had no issues with rashes or chafing. There is the perfect amount of pockets. Up front you have one zippered pocket perfect for holding your phone. I have an IPhone 13 Pro (the smaller version) and it fits it perfectly. Just small enough that it doesn’t bounce- but not so small it’s a pain to flake your phone out to switch to that next episode of The Singletrack Podcast. There is also two nutrition pockets that hold your nutrition quite securely. The back panel zippered pocket is perfect for your phone and keys and headlamp. The bottom pocket fits an extra layer, gloves and extra nutrition or a flask perfectly. Finally, the quiver style carry works great! Low bounce, comfortable and easy to take your poles out without taking of the vest. However, you do have to take of the vest to stow the poles. Then there is the two flasks. They work perfectly with the black diamond packs. However for some reason they never work with anything else. The flask caps are the best ones I’ve ever used! However. I don’t love how soft and pliable they are as they can be a bit awkward to hold to drink or spray water over the dome on a hot day. They way they are sown together is a bit irritating. There perfect if you never take them out of the vest so it’s not a big deal. In terms of the stability of the the vest, I did find that the pack bounced a bit when the flasks are full. Keep in mind that I have a somewhat unusual upper body. I have quite wide shoulders ( a men’s medium fits perfectly) but a narrow waist/low chest (around a men’s size xs) a 29 fits my waist perfectly- anything bigger I need a belt. I bought a size small in this pack and the chest is great but the lower is a bit loose- even with the elastic front buckle cinched down. I think this cause the top of the back to bounce vertically when running.

Hi,

What are the differences between this second generation pack versus the original?

Just a styling change, or are there material/functional changes as well?

Thanks!