I use a flip belt. Holds phone and keys, plus if you need money and cards. I don’t feel it at all. I got the zip version and the zip pocket holds my phone perfectly https://flipbelt.com/
Flip belt is great. Buy it.
It’s That easy
+1 for spibelt. I bought mine for $20 about 7 years ago. I’ve used it for nearly every run since and I love it.
Life happens and when family emergencies occur I need to be contacted. And vise versa. I ended up in the hospital after a bike crash. Fitlectic makes great products that last despite heavy usage.
Steve
I should add that the odd time when I run with my phone (usually to take photos on cool places). I just run with a cycling jersey put phone in back pocket and tuck cycling top into tri compression shorts and I forget it is there
+1 for Apple Watch.
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flip belt
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boa 2 in 1 short, has a slightly compressive liner with pockets
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boa half tights, the ones with pockets.
Yeah, I understand all of those angles in terms of others being able to contact us in a timely manner. But my runs and swims are never much longer than an hour anyway. So I will be back pretty soon.
But in otther contexts, I also don’t bring my phone inside important meetings (ex I am giving a speech, or I am in a customer negotiation or an investor meeting, or I am on a flight anyway and I won’t be able do anything). There are many times in my life I have zero phone and its not because I don’t care about others, its because firstly if I was contacted, I would not be able to do anything, and secondly I just don’t want to be contacted because I need to focus on the task at hand.
For a run, a swim, or a ride, I think the risk that arises because I am not contactable is ultra low. My phone and email is ringing off the hook due to my professional life, so I need to disconnect from the world and if my family cannot contact me for 45 minutes, its probably OK. The likely scenario is I cannot help them anyway (It may sound fatalistic, but I am just going with odds).
I do have family I have to care for so I understand your angle. I definitely see the value on rides because they take a long time. Swim and run, they are so short and risk so low, I’ll get home fast enough and there will be no disasters on my side in those sports and if a family disaster strikes I will learn about it when I get home. If I learn about a disaster on the run via phone, I am not sure I will get back any quicker (but most of my runs are 30-60 min…my long runs repeat these loops and I swing back home for aid stations if needed.
For many of the reasons that you list above, I carry my phone with the notifications set to off. Like you, my runs are my peaceful time, and I’m not sure what I would be able to do to help if an emergency did happy while I was away.
However, I still like to have a phone because a) my sig other can use it to track me and see where I am/how long until I’m back; b) if I roll my ankle or similar, I like having the ability to call for a ride home.
As a female runner, I honestly don’t see how carrying a phone improves my safety from assault. Things would happen much too quickly for a phone to be of use. Additionally, I’ve always felt that carrying a phone in an urban environment to some extent increases my risk of being targeted FOR my phone.
Thanks everyone for the replies. Sounds like Spibelts and Flipbelts win in a landslide. My wife has a spibelt so I’ll give that one another try.
I used to wear a Spibelt and that did work fine. I would have to cinch it tight to keep it from bouncing. Then I bought small ‘back’ pack from Orange Mud that fits just a phone, keys, and maybe a gel or two. It doesn’t bounce at all and most of the time I can’t even tell it is there. The claimed weight unpacked is under 6 ounces. They do have hydration versions as well but I wanted one specifically for my phone. And just a heads up, all of their gear is expensive.
For those that don’t want to or need to run with a phone, an iPod shuffle works great and you can find instructions online on how to make them waterproof/sweat proof. I also recently found out that the 7th gen Nano is Bluetooth compatible and works with wireless headphones. You can find them used for around 100 bucks. I am going to give that a try since I typically don’t need my phone and a Nano is a fraction of the weight.
Camelbak - top pocket sitting on your upper spine - phone doesn’t move or jiggle
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If I roll my ankle or similar, I like having the ability to call for a ride home.
This. If I break my ankle or something I want to be able to call for help. Also I currently use my phone for music and running apps because I’ve not splashed out on a posh watch yet.
In the front pocket of a run hydration belt.
Otherwise, do runners ever use chamois creme like we do on the bike? Worth a try also perhaps.
I’ve tried slathering on the chamois creme. So such luck with that solution.