My fuel belt is old and needs to be replaced. I saw the amphipod system at a store near me for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It looked interesting, and I thought I’d ask if anyone had experience/opinions on the amphipod system vs others.
love mine - i rotated the clip-ins sideways and they work really nicely and are super easy to pop in and out
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Amphipod is the best belt you can buy - period. Better than the fuel belt in almost every way.
I’ve used fulebelt & amphipod. I have been mostly using my amphipod lately. It is very comfortable & can be reconfigured quickly using the same belt (with FB you need to buy different belts). The bottles snap in easy once you get used to it & work well. The “nipple” (don’t know the right word for it) on the Amphipod is plastic, so not as soft as the rubber ones on the FBs (only a minor annoyance). I would recommend it. I have also been happy with my FBs (I have the older models). The new models look nice too. I think carrying liquids this way is much more comfortable than the ultrarunners standard of holding water bottles in their hand(s).
-Tim
Gave my fuel belt away to a fellow twitcher when I got the amphipod. Absolutely love it. You can take the mounting brackets off the belt and put the on any strap. I put the gel flask on the shoulder stap of my camel back for adventure racing. Fuel belt is definitely going to have to re-tool if they want to keep market share, and fast!
Karma
I like the amphipod also but a couple of cautions:
I have lost bottles on a couple of occasions. Not sure if the bottles were snapped in good though but the last time I lost one, I swear it was snapped in right. Maybe not though. Also, you really have to push the tops of the bottle nipples down solidly to make sure that the bottles are closed. That mistake cost me a cell phone.
That said, I would still prefer it to a fuel belt or a camelback. It is a good product.
Mike P.
Love mine. Great for longer runs. Even used it for my first Half, and I swear it was the difference between finishing the run strong, and having to walk it in. (The aid stations were pretty far apart)
I tried using the smaller gel holder (that you can get as an option) on my AR pack, and unfortunately it fell off. But, on the belt, I’ve never lost anything, and it stays put, no annoying moving around.
I got the 4 bottle version, since it was only like $10 more than the 2 bottle one, and also came w/ a pouch/pocket that you can keep e-tabs or GUs or whatever in. (I wanna say $40 for the 4 bottle one vs $30 for the 2 bottle one)
I’ve only ever used 2 bottles so far, but now that the HHH weather is here, I will probably find myself racking up and bringing 3 or 4 with me.
Getting the bottles in and out becomes intuitive after your first time using it. So nice and easy.