Waist belts

Or should I say "waste" belts.  Most runners that I know have at least attempted to use a waist belt of some sort.  My first experience with a waste belt was using a Nathan hydration belt to carry a 22 ounce water bottle and a few gels.  While this belt seemed to work fine for short runs - 8-12 mile range - I noticed that it was difficult to get it to stay cinched down, and that having a belt/water bottle around my waste bothered by stomach.

That was years ago.  I haven't messed around with belts much since then.  Shorts with pockets are becoming more standard, and I just figured that I would carry handheld water bottles.  But then I ran a 50k where I ran out of gels and since I was in the mix for a top slot, I did not want to take the time to go over to my drop bag to grab more.  The rest of the race I relied on aid station fare, and it all worked out OK, but I thought, hmmm, if I had had a belt, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

So come time for the hallucination 100, I dug out my old Inov-8 Race Elite pack and it worked great for carrying around extra food and I never felt anxious about running out of calories.  But it still bothered my stomach a little bit and I found that it probably had too much storage.  It also seemed to bounce around more than I would have liked.

So the idea of using a waist pack kinda went to the back burner, again.  Then through some fortunate circumstance I got my hands on one of Salomon's new creations, the S-lab Advanced Skin 2 (AS2) belt.  A few trial runs with it, and I was sold, waist belts seem to have come a long ways since I bought my old Inov-8 race elite pack.  They don't even look like awesome (ugly) fanny packs anymore!

After a little fiddling around I think I finally got the AS2 to be tight enough around the waste.  This brings up my one and only complaint, I have my belt tied down as small as the waste belt will allow, and it is just barely tight enough.  What about other runners who have a skinnier waste than I do?  I will never understand why some running gear (specifically waste packs) seem to have enough room in the belt to fit someone with a 45 inch waste, but skinny runners, sorry you're SOL.  Ok end rant.

As tight as it will go

The AS2 comes with a soft flask, and I bought another one to throw in there.  This allows me to carry 16 ounces of fluid, with no bounce at all.  The belt has small elastic loops that fit over the top of the bottles to fully secure them.  I've put 10 ounces hard flasks of other varieties in the belt, and while it will comfortably carry one, it seems to start to get bouncy again if I have two in there.  The AS2 also provides plenty of room for gels and a camera or whatever other small nick-knacks you'd like to carry.  My only other knock against the AS2 belt, is that there is not a great spot to secure a light shell, although if you don't mind the awkwardness, you can stuff one into a large pocket due to the stretch mesh.

18 ounces of H20

The buckle system on the AS2 is different than many other buckles, but it works nicely and I have never had a problem with it coming undone.  What is interesting  is that the AS2 essentially has 4 panels, and you can orient them however you like, depending on what you have in the pockets.  It does seem to ride up more if you put the pockets that are meant to be in the back facing forwards.

Now while I really liked the AS2, sometimes it seemed like a lot of material and a lot of storage, especially if I only needed to carry 1 or 2 gels and a camera or car key.  So I decided to try a more minimal belt.

Ultraspire Quantum

I had heard great things about the Ultraspire line of products, and wanted to see what the hype was about.  I noticed the Quantum was about as minimal a belt as they made and it was relatively cheap.  So I ordered one.  I was a little amused at first, as I hadn't noticed before I ordered it that there was no buckle.  Its meant to be pulled on just like a pair of shorts.  You then tighten the belt with a small cinching strap.  My initial skepticism quickly faded as I noticed that this meant you could put the belt in any orientation you wanted, with pockets facing whatever direction you require with little to no problem.

Pockets and cinching strap

The Quantum has two small mesh pockets that I've put two gels into each, and the back pocket is primo.  I fit a camera, my car key, and a clif bar into it without issue.  Sometimes I'll even crumble an empty soft flask and stuff it in there, if I know there is a water source down the trail.

Now between the AS2 belt and the Quantum, I am constantly forced to choose which one to wear.  I prefer the Quantum's fit and feel over the AS2, but the storage space on the AS2 is clearly superior, and it offers the nice functionality of carrying water.  Both seem to have very nice features, I especially like the zipper on the Quantum, as it is by far, the easiest zipper I have ever used, even when descending technical trail.

Nice mesh on both

Overall, I don't think anyone would be disappointed with either, as long as the specific purpose of each belt. The AS2 belt has the downside that if you are too skinny, you might not be able to get it to fit tight enough. Both have a nice mesh material that does not bother me at all when I am shirtless, which is certainly appreciated.

Quantum

S-Lab Advanced Skin

Review of Ultimate Direction AK Race Vest

Like a lot of my ultrarunning friends, I am a sucker for anything Anton related.  Something about that guy just oozes cool.  So when I saw that he was designing a race vest I knew that I would end up buying it.  I ordered it wayyy back in December, the second I saw it was available, which is lucky because it sold out FAST.  I think you can find them now, or at least pre-order them.  As spring approaches and the weather heats up, it will be time to start thinking about carrying bottles again, and the Ultimate Direction AK signature vest certainly offers up an alternative method for carrying two 20oz bottles.

Making it look cool

I think the main utility of this vest is the opportunity to use bottles, but not have to carry them in your hands.   I've definitely run into problems carrying handhelds during races before; lack of dexterity is MY major issue during a race.  Other problems include falling down and not having free hands to catch myself, sweaty sweaty sweaty hands glued to bottles, and tired shoulders and arms after 12 hours of carrying bottles.  So why not wear a pack?  Well I have also been at races, rather exhausted and pulled off my hydration pack, been unable to get it open myself, or handed it to a volunteer to be filled, not realizing they had no idea how to open it, fill it, or close it (not their fault, its just confusing sometimes). 

UD stock photo

So when I saw the AK vest, I was very intrigued, the Eurostyle bottles in the front definitely has application for us Americans, but you generally see US runners carrying bottles or wearing hydration packs with bladders.  

I was very excited when I first opened up the package and put on my size S/M vest.  It fits very well.  Super snug, incredibly lightweight, and it didn't seem to rub me in any strange places.  And then I put the bottles in - Sweet!  This is going to be a great piece of gear for race day.  One problem, the bottles weren't filled with water yet.

Filling the bottles with water soon revealed that it was not as comfortable as I initially thought.  There was quite a bit of bouncing.  I tried to adjust the pack in multiple different fashion, and eventually settled on a fit that seemed to work out OK.  The one thing I quickly realized is that the front of my pack (and thus the bottles) looked to ride quite a bit lower on my chest than it did when Krupicka is wearing it in pictures. 

I went for an 18 mile run in the winter with 2 filled bottles, more to test out the pack rather than actually needing the water.  Besides the slightly annoying bouncing and sloshing noises, it seemed to work ok.  Then towards the end of the run, I noticed myself getting more and more sore across my chest.  My man boobs were really not liking having full water bottles strapped across them for miles and miles.  I quickly drank down the bottles, and once they were empty, I wasn't bothered anymore. 

I feel like this chick is about to be in a world of chest pain

I ended up with some bruises on my ribcage/pectoral area, and haven't tried to run with full 20oz UD bottles in the pack since then.  Maybe its my running form, maybe its my build, maybe its the fact that its sold as a S/M size, rather than allowing for someone who needs a small to get a small, but I just can't get it to fit quite right.  I dunno why, but its a serious flaw and drawback.

Back view

What I have used the pack for is to carry stuff (camera, gels, jacket, etc.) because it is so light and fits great.  Further experiment has lead me to conclude that I can get away with either small 10oz nutrition flasks in the chest pockets, Salomon softflasks, and I have heard other people (who have had similar bruises as mine) mention that the Amphipod style bottles seem to work.

Notice the lack of bottles

Stuff anything you dont want into the back sleeve

In the end I am kinda disappointed, If I'm stuck using two 10oz bottles, that's not really enough water to get between aid stations that are spread out.  Perhaps it will suffice as a training tool.  The vest has nice pockets, including 2 zipper pockets in the back and Velcro pocket in the front.  There are also two sleeve-like pockets that can be found in the shoulder area.   These are great for stuffing gel into.  Be warned using the Velcro pocket, car keys can fall out!  The back of the pack also features one giant pocket, which is what I generally stick things in if I know I don't need them for a while.  Part of me is considering putting a 1.5L hydration bladder in it, and using that, combined with two 10oz bottles up front, could provide ample hydration for long outings and also allowing me to customize fuels in the front bottles.