With the weather getting warmer (in parts of the country), I figured it would be a good time to talk about hydration. Staying hydrated plays an important role in performing at your best. With so many different brands and types of hydration gear out there, I wanted to share the different options with you. This review will just provide a short description of each item. In the following days, I will post more detailed reviews. Each day will feature a separate company.
Handheld Hydration:
The Hydrapak SoftFlask is
a fully collapsible sports bottle that can be used for running, bicycle riding,
skiing, or any other activity where you might need to hydrate. It comes in many sizes from 150 ml to 750 ml
and several different colors. The SoftFlask
500ml comes with a comfortable finger loop to hold on to or clip to your pack
once there’s no more water left. It
collapses as you drink, which reduces sloshing.
It collapse down so small that you can fit it in the palm of your hand. This is an easy to hold option if you don’t
need any pockets for storage.
Fuelbelt took what
they claim is the most ergonomic 10 ounce bottle in the world and added a
feather light padded hand strap to it. While
there are no pockets for storage, this is the most comfortable handheld
hydration product I have tested. The
strap is extremely comfortable and won’t irritate your skin. It also comes in 11 different color
combinations to fit your personality. Like
the SoftFlask, there are no pockets for storage, but the Helium Sprint is still
amazing.
The Fastdraw 20 Extreme is
a versatile handheld bottle. Not only do
you get a comfortable hand strap that allows you to run without having to grasp
your bottle, but there is an insulated sleeve to keep your drink cold while
preventing your hand from getting too cold.
It is extremely comfortable and easy to use. You simply slide your hand in and use the
cinch strap to tighten it down. The
pocket is somewhat large and will fit a decent amount of gels or even a small
light weight jacket.
The Quick Grip Chill
Handheld Bottle takes the idea of a handheld water bottle to the next level. The Quick Grip Chill comes with a 21 ounce
insulated bottle. There is a nice sized
zippered pouch that has enough room for keys, gels, and smaller smartphones as
well as an additional mesh stretch pocket for a few more items. The hand strap is lined with a Velvetex
material that won’t chafe your hand. It
really is comfortable and cinches down easily with a simple pull of the strap. One of my favorite parts of the Quick Grip
Chill is the cap. It features CamelBak’s
patented Jet Valve technology. This
allows you to get water without having to push or pull a valve like many other
bottles.
UltrAspire came up with a
unique design for the Isomeric Pocket Handheld Bottle. The ultra-soft 20 ounce “Human” bottle has a
curved neck to make it easier to drink while on the run. The area between the bottle and your hand is
made with a ventilated material that keeps your hand dry and comfortable and
will keep your hand from freezing from the ice water in your bottle. The stretch mesh pocket is large and really
does stretch. It is big enough to fit my
Samsung Galaxy S6 with its case. That is
a rare thing with the handhelds that I tested.
The Nathan Speedview
is a water bottle that offers some great additional features. It has an 18 ounce SpeedDraw Flask with a
Race Cap. The Race Cap allows you to get
quick bursts of water without having to open or close a valve. There is a pocket with a see-thru conductive
touchscreen that allows you to use your phone while it is in the pocket. There is a separated back area to the pocket
where you can store money, keys, gels, or whatever else you want to take with
you. The bottle and hand loop are
ergonomic and feel great.
Waist Hydration Packs:
The Nathan Sports Peak
is a comfortable waist pack that is great for training runs or races. It comes with an 18 ounce ergonomical
SpeedDraw flask with a Push-Pull top. The
bottle slides into an angled bottle holder that is easy to use and lets you
grab the water and put it away with one hand.
There is a pocket that is perfect
for smaller phones, gels, car keys, or whatever you need to bring with you and
an external shock cord system to hold your jacket or other gear when it’s not
needed anymore.
The Nathan Trail Mix
Plus Insulated Hydration Belt features two 10 ounce Fire and Ice reflective and
insulated flasks with Nathan’s Push-Pull caps.
Not only will these bottles help keep your fluids cooler 20% longer than
other insulated bottles, but the fire and ice technology offers 360-degree
reflectivity for those early morning or late night runs. The ergonomically shaped belt offers a
multi-directional stretch that eliminates bouncing and the Speed-fit holster
makes it easy to store and retrieve your bottles. There are two pockets (the larger one can
easily fit an iPhone 6 Plus) and an elastic cord system to hold extra gear.
The Speedgoat is
about to be released from UltrAspire this month. It
has two angled holsters for easy access that securely holds the two ultra-soft
and squeezable 550ml (18.6 ounce) bottles.
The holsters lock in the bottles so they don’t fall out mid run, but
still allow easy retrieval of the bottles.
There is a mesh and fabric center pocket in the back that is large
enough to hold a jacket, another zippered pocket on the right side for gels,
and a trash pocket on the left side. The
belt is extremely comfortable and features a soft perimeter binding. You put on Speedgoat with a hook system
instead of a buckle. There are two
removable quick access front straps that you can use to secure a jacket,
z-poles, or other accessories that you no longer later on in your run.
The CamelBak Arc 2 is a
hydration belt that is made with a breathable, laser bonded mesh to keep
everything light weight and provides a perfect fit. The elastic really does a great job of
eliminating any bouncing of the belt. The
Arc 2 comes with two 10 ounce bottles that clip into the belt with ease. The bottles are 100% BPA-free and are made
with CamelBak’s TruTaste material that
eliminates any funky plastic aftertaste and keep any residual taste of
electrolyte drinks out of your bottles. There
is also a zippered pouch where you can store your gels, keys, and even a small
phone
The SPI H20 Venture features
a 2” thick elastic belt that does an awesome job of eliminating bouncing even
when fully loaded. There is a stretchy zippered pouch made with SPI’s WeatherGuard material
that will keep your contents safe from the elements (although SPI claims it’s
not waterproof, it does keep your stuff dry).
It easily fit my Galaxy S6 with the case. There are two gel loops, some elastic and
toggles to attach a race bib, and there is reflective trim around the zippered
pocket. There are also 2-8 ounce water
bottles have clips and feature a leak-free Jet Nozzle. They simply clip onto the belt. The H20 Venture recently won the “Best of Active.com Running” Award!
If you are looking
for an inexpensive hydration belt, the SLS3 Hydration Run Belt might be right
up your alley. It is designed
specifically for runners who want a comfortable running belt that won’t
chafe. It has a separated pocket/pouch
that allows you to store your phone (even my Samsung Galaxy S6 with the case
fit), gels, or whatever else you need to carry.
You also get 2-10 ounce water bottles, an earphone cord hole in the
pouch, and the pouch has a waterproof lining to protect your gear from the
elements.
The SLS3 Hydration
Belt Deluxe is another great product and is the next step up from the Hydration
Run Belt. It features a clear front
pocket that is big enough to fit larger phones (You can even fit an iPhone 6+
in this one). Behind the phone, the
pouch expands to fit keys, money, and other items that you want to take on your
run. Other features of the Hydration
Belt Deluxe include race toggles, a headphone cord hole, and there are
reflective loops on the front of the belt.
The materials are not quite as good as some top of the line hydration
belts, but you also aren’t paying $50-75 for the hydration belt either. I think you get a great product for the
price.
The Helium H20 is the
lightest weight hydration belt ever (from what Fuelbelt’s claims). Its weight is only matched by how comfortable
it is and how good it looks, with several color options. The Helium H30 is its big brother with three 7
ounce BPA-free ergonomic bottles instead of two. They fit like they used a mold of your hand
to make it. The back part of the belt is
made with breathable Hex-Foam padding, which I found extremely comfortable and
allowed my back to remain fairly dry, unlike some packs. There is a large removable storage pocket
that is big enough to pack your keys, gels, or money and an adjustable
waistband that attaches with soft-touch Velcro.
This hydration belt feels great, almost like you aren’t even wearing it!
Hydration Packs:
The Nathan Sports Vapor
Air is a very light weight (weighing only
9.3 ounces) hydration pack that uses highly breathable materials for added
comfort, even on your sweatiest runs. The
hydration pack comes with a 2-liter bladder and detachable hose that makes it
easy to clean. The bladder can be turned
inside out for drying and has a sliding clip at the top of the bladder to keep
it closed. This pack has tons of storage. You have two pockets that fit water bottles
in front, two stash pockets for gels, and two more zippered pockets on each
side of the pack near your torso. There
is a pill pocket that is water resistant for your salt pills, a zippered pocket
on the front for your smartphone (not big enough for my Samsung Galaxy S6 with
a case), and a huge pocket on the back of the pack. There are 9 pockets in all. The Vapor Air also features a whistle for
safety, soft touch edges on all perimeter bindings to reduce chafing, and
reflective markings. This is a race
style vest, which means that it sits a little higher than traditional hydration
vests.
The Ultimate
Direction TO Race Vest 3.0 was designed by, and named after Timothy Olson, a
very well-known Ultra runner. This vest
is incredibly light weight at only 8.23 ounces.
While it doesn’t come with bottles, Ultimate Direction sells the
collapsible Body Bottle Plus (manufactured
by Hydrapak), which is awesome. The TO Race Vest has more storage than you’ll
know what to do with. There are six
pocket in the front of the vest, two pockets are made for your water bottles
but can hold your phone too. There are two
pockets at the bottom of the back as well.
You can reach them easily so you can store some stuff back there and
access it without having to take your pack off. The pack can be adjusted with two sternum
straps and two side straps that help provide a bounce free fit. The back of the vest is made of a really
light weight mesh that is extremely breathable and really does make a
difference in comparison to other packs.
The CamelBak Marathoner
weighs in at a mere 11 ounces (pack only).
The included 2-liter reservoir has a quarter turn wide mouth opening for
easy filling, which is an improvement over the first versions of the CamelBak. The Marathoner has a quick connect attachment
so you can disconnect the hose before pulling out the reservoir to fill it,
which makes the filling process much quicker and easier. CamelBak make the best hydration bladders and
bite valves in the industry in my opinion.
You can get as little or as much water as you want without having to
struggle. The hydration bladder has arms
that fold down to keep the reservoir open after you clean it out. The Marathoner has 5 pockets including two
pockets in the front that are big enough to hold bottles, although I use them
to hold gels and my cell phone, an envelope pocket for used gel packs/trash,
and a sweat proof pocket for your phone.
Under the reservoir flap, there is another pocket to stash your keys and
credit card.
Here is the schedule for the more detailed reviews:
Tuesday April 19th
– Nathan Sports
Wednesday April 20th –
CamelBak
Thursday April 21st
– Ultimate Direction
Friday April 22nd
– SPI Belt
Saturday April 23rd
– SLS3
Sunday April 24th
– Hydrapak
Monday April 25th
– Fuelbelt
Tuesday April 26th –
UltrAspire
Almost every function in
the body is supported by or associated with water. Depending on the intensity, duration,
temperature and humidity, the body can lose more than a quart of water in one
hour. (1) If you don’t stay hydrated,
not only will your performance suffer, but you could end up with a trip to the
emergency room. There are plenty of
options out there to take fluids with you.
Pick up a handheld, waist belt, or pack depending on what would work
best for you and remember to stay hydrated.
Credit:
(1) Competitor.com “Hydration:
The Key To Successful Performance.” http://running.competitor.com/2014/05/nutrition/hydration_74785
Thanks for sharing such a descriptive blog. I learned so much from this blog.
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