Forums >Gears and Wears>Running Belt Help
With backpack you mean real ones? I mean, not the Nathan type of vest with bladder?Would you mind to post the models / brands ?I don't need one right now becuase my mileage is limited to marathon distance (and I almost never drink or eat while running). But I am going to make my "entree" in the ultras in the second half of next year.
Most of my races don't have aid stations, and the 50-mi race I did went 38mi from thd to thd - carrying gear, food, and getting water from streams. Faster people go lightweight and hope they don't get hypothermia; slower folks like me prefer to be prepared - including bear spray.
The two most recent packs that I've been using are Salomon XT wings 5 for maybe 5-8 hr runs/hikes and old version of Golite Rush for longer stuff or harsher weather. I used Gregory Iso before, and that had the most accessible bladder. I believe all of them have been redesigned. I would never use the Salomon where I need to refill the bladder enroute - too hard to get at it - but it's fine for less-long runs, and I do prefer it's thinner profile, esp. compared with Gregory. If I were doing a long race now, I'd look to see what the current technology and models are. I haven't looked for a few years. Packs I use for trail work are usually heavier and some do have bladder capability, but I may still my loppers in there rather than bladder.
My next two races I'll have access to drop bag about every 1.4 hr (give or take a bit) (for 10-hr timed race) and the other (hybrid marathon) will have aid stations about every 5mi or so (hilly), so a bit over 1 hr for me. I'll use UD Strider with additional pocket for the first race, and will likely use Ultraspire Kinetic (still testing) with 2 bottles for the latter - don't need to take as much with me as I did with the bladder. Last year, I found I got confused where stuff was since I wasn't using full pack that I was used to. Hence, so more convenient access in front.