Nathan Belt? Fuel Belt? Spi belt? Phone, gu, water, keys, etc. (Read 5030 times)

What do you carry with you when Running?

and how do you carry it?

Water in bottle belt, how many bottles?

PostRun drink? Endurox, Accelerade?

Keys

I.D.

Cell Phone

Wallet

Gu's

Reading Glasses

Cash

etc?

Any pro's or con's on the Fuel Belt versus Nathan Belt? Or any other Water carriers?

I'll be shopping soon.  Thank you!

When I'm going longer than 90 minutes, I carry a fuel belt (4 bottle) with a couple of extra dollars just in case and maybe a gu pack or two.

I usually bring nothing on a run less than 6 miles but if do anything longer or it's hot out (80+) I'll bring a gel pack and a few dollars but that usually fits nicely in the back of a sports bra (us lucky girls) or in that lovely little pocket that is in the front of most running shorts

Does anyone know what that pocket is really for?

Reading glasses?

Try to keep things easy to start. No idea what distance you may be going, but try a simple bike-style squeezy water bottle. Their ubiquitous. You probably already have one. How much water (or whatever) is very personal and subject to things like weather.

Post run, unless it's say, more than 10 miles, I don't have anything. Chocolate milk is good. For real.

I think a mistake people make, especially new runners, is they have to have all these bells and whistles and must superduperhydrate and fuel intake and, oh my, does this gel have the right electrolyte balance? We've been running eons without this stuff.

Yes, Gatorade- and Gu-type things have their place - heck, I had a GU on Saturday's 16 miler - but it's amazing the people I see who wonder why they're not losing weight with this running thing. Gee, could it be because you ingested more calories on your run than you burned through actual excercise? I wouldn't bother with anything like Gatorade unless I were out for an hour.

(BTW: Not saying you are in this group, I just get rant-y sometimes.)

Sometimes I take a cell phone. Virtually always my license. Twice, I've taken $ and bought a beer on the run. I have shorts w/ a pocket in the back that phone, ID and & fit in.

No experience with Fuel Belt/Nathan. Sorry. Do have a Camelbak Flashflo: www.runningwarehouse.com/descpage-CAMFLAS.html: Rarely use it anymore. Good for VERY long runs though.

The idea is to run free and unencumbered, not weighted down with several pounds of mod-cons.

For my loop run, there is a well.  So I have a Fuel Belt that has pockets and holds a 20-24 oz. water bottle.  I keep my cell, pepper spray (weirdos and bear/coyotes in the area), key, and a couple of bucks in case I want Gatorade.  It is adjustable and does not bounce once you have it adjusted right.  It is easily adjusted on the run if you don't get it right the first time.

On really short runs (but super hot days), I have a couple of handhelds for the the run that hold the cell, keys and a couple of bucks. One is a Nathan, the other is a cheapie Eddie Bauer from Target.  I like the Nathan better, but the Target one is insulated all around for ice cold drinks on the run.

I have a trail I do long runs on occasionally.  For this I have a Camelbak Flashflo and a Camelbak Charm.  The Charm was bought last season as it was announced that a General Store along the trail was to be closed, so a bigger bladder was needed for hot days.  On the trail I throw in a solar blanket, some duct tape, tiny foot care kit, and maybe an emergancy poncho just in case I get in a bad spot.  (My old cell did not work on most of the trail so if I twisted an ankle badly, there was no call home option, just a sit and wait scenario, and we have bear here.) It all fits well in the pack, but now I have found a couple of sources of fresh water just off the trail, and the new cell works great, so I don't know how much I will use it this year.  The great thing about Camelbaks is the water stays cool, which is super nice on a 20 miler.   Belts that hold single or multiple bottles are going to have p!ss warm water very quickly on a hot day.  The bad thing with Camelbak backpacks is you are going to sweat. We are talking running down dripping on the back of your legs sweat on an 80-plus degree sunny day. 

I have an Ultimate Direction fanny pack that I bought mainly for day hikes that I used on my one ultra attempt.  It is perfect for hiking, and holds two 20-24 oz water bottles so it was great for the ultra.  Plus I had plenty of room for pretzels and gummy bears.  No bounce.  Be aware that fanny packs will make the lower back sweat, so the butt of the outfit is going to be outright wet after a long run on a hot day.

I had a Coleman Camelbak knock off that lasted about 10 training runs before the strap broke.

I have a smaller Coleman fanny pack that I usually take to amusement parks.  I have used it on the run, but it bounces way too much.  It holds one water bottle/pop bottle. 

Great, listing this stuff out just confirms that I have too much sh!t.

Ok, now that I have all of that out there, you have to decide what your needs are.  Urban runners are probably not going to need a one or two liter Camelbak, especially if there are a bunch of parks or convenience stores.  (Hell, the you just need a clip on pocket for the cell cash and key...oops 'nother thread)  Trail runnrs might need a Camelbak or a 'seeding' of the trail with water bottles prior to the run.  You might need a cell, or you may run where there is no cell service.  You might need bear/pepper spray.  You might want to carry enough with you into the woods to last for three days when the sh!t hit the fan.  I don't know.  After you figure out what you need, you will have a better idea of what you want in a hydration pack. 

Me, myself and I...

 +1

That's it! Be safe, have fun, enjoy your runs.