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I’m right there with you. I HATE belts.
I like the Osprey hydration backpack.
It’s got a wide mouth so you can clean it easily, and if you cinch the straps the right way the pack doesn’t move at all. The water will slosh, especially when it’s full, but that doesn’t bother me at all.
This is the one I have:
http://www.rei.com/item/847141/osprey-raptor-14-hydration-pack-100-fl-oz
I use a belt and have had it bounce like mofo and other times been absolutely hassle free… the secret for me has been getting the bottle to sit on the hips at an angle, it takes a little rotation and doing them up snug… they seriously give me shits when not in the right spot tho…
I have also used the bike bidon belts (for want of a better description), and again when positioned correctly they are fine… for me at least… with the bottle square in the middle of my arse it bounces on me arse cheeks (fat arse???)
I find the camelbacks dig into shoulders by virtue of their mass and the inherent bounce and movement of my shoulders etc…
Also i seldom run where there are not bubblers for longer runs 20kms plus, but that’s a perk of living near the beach front i guess…
if its a suburban run i also use the buy drinks method, ie plan a route that takes you past corner shops and buy drinks along the route, run with them in your hand then cuck them in the bin on the way round…
good luck finding your solution
How high did you wear it? I find it’s hydration belts etc are better around waist than the hips.
I use an old DeSoto trisuit (the current Forza suit has the same pocket placement). It has two pockets on the sides that sit just behind your hips and are perfect for a 7 or 10oz. fuelbelt flask. There are also pockets on the sides of the legs that can hold 5oz. gel flasks.
No belt, no bouncing.
One of the hip pockets is just below the rainbow DeSoto logo
https://www.desotosport.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/FTT2_4-zoom_250x346.jpg
I use the CamelBak Octane (http://www.campist.com/archives/camelbak-octane-xct-backpack-2010.html) which works really well for me. Surprisingly, I never had problems with bouncing and it carries quite some water.
As much as I can, I rely on grabbing water while out - from water fountains, stores, etc. I really prefer running hands- and back-free.
For long trail runs in the sun, where that’s not an option, I use a non-camelback-brand-camelback, and will put a bottle of sports drink in the front pocket too. I freeze the bladder 2/3 full overnight.
I don’t much like the belts either.
A lot of the guys I run w/ swear by hand-helds on medium lenght runs. I do like them more than belts.
For long-distance training, I plan my long-run workouts (bike & run) in many loops with a distance that more-or-less resemble the feed-stations at the race so I don’t need to carry all the weight and bulk around. For races, I try to rely 100% on the organizers, but obviously I check the distance between the feed-stations well beforehand so I can train for it.
For example:
a 200km bike ride: I break it up in 5 loops of approx. 40km. where after every loop I take a new bottle of ISO and a piece of banana or whatever food I am planning to use in the race. If the loop turns out to be 42km, that’s great. You don’t really notice the 2km extra per loop, but by the end you have just done 210k which makes it an even better training
a 32km run: I break it up in 4 loops of 8 km. I place a bottle with water at home and a new gel and a bottle with ISO just before the turning point at 4km. Heading out, I take 1 gel with me (I switched to powerbar because that’s what’s handed out in IM races) I place the turning bottle around 3,75km. I drink whilst running, turn around and drop-off the bottle at the same location. Just before I finish the first lap, I eat a gel and when I arrive home, drink a bit of water to help the gel dissolve. This way I can drink every 4km and eat a gel every 8km and have enough energy to stay in my target pace for the whole training. If it is warmer, I’ll place the ISO bottle a bit earlier on the lap so I get to drink 2 times before I reach home again, so 3 drinks / lap. You can play/adjust based on weather and personal needs and how the race-setup is going to look like.
Not that many races have single-loop run’s, and especially in training, it helps with the mental aspect (for me at least). Also, should you need a bathroom break, you’re never to far away from home to make it in time.
It basically comes down to breaking down the elephant and many pieces and not trying to eat it in 1 big bite…
Have fun,
S.
Have you looked at the Ultimate Direction ultrarunning vests?
I am using the following options depending on length of the run and weather:
- small handheld bottle.
- WAA Ultra Carrier Shirt: http://www.waa-ultra.com/en/textile/63-ultra-carrier-shirt.html
This one works exceptionally well. You can fit in 2 bottles easily plus gels and you won’t really notice any bounce - Ultimate Direction AK Race Vest: http://www.ultimatedirection.com/p-628-ak-race-vest-20.aspx?category=hydration-packs
This one is lightweight and I use it for long trail runs. If fitted correctly, the bounce is negligible.
I do this one:
Fill cycle bottle. Bring with you for the first 25% of the run. Have a drink, leave it somewhere remotely hidden. Run your loop, return to bottle, drink some more, repeat if you need to run further. Bring empty bottle home.
Seriously 100% better than handhelds with straps, camelbaks, belts, etc etc. I have the camelbak octane as well and while its nice, you cant hide the fact that it is there. Its distracting and somewhat uncomfortable. And when the water is always there I tend to drink too often, strangely enough I never do that on the bike.
I use Camelbak Lobo, designed more for MTB but works fine for running for me. I hate carrying anything in my hand, and didn’t like the bottle in a belt approach as getting them in and out was much more disruptive to my rhythm than taking a quick sip from the teat. Also don’t like the idea of either leaving bottles somewhere or doing loops back past my house - disruptive again having to stop, and single loop runs allow me to get much farther from home and onto more interesting routes.
Takes up to 3L so I’m fine for even the longest run. Would prefer not having it on my back, but it’s the least bad hydration option for me, and I figure that having done all my long runs with it on I then get a nice little boost on race day being able to run pack-free (a bit like switching to racing wheels/tires on the day).
I use a Fuel Belt. No problems with it bouncing. It will usually bounce for the first 100 meters or so then tends to shift slightly around my waist and stops bouncing. Use it for all my long runs without a problem. I have an old Camelbak I tried using but I felt that it bounced on my back too much, even if I had it snugged down really well.
I do this one:
Fill cycle bottle. Bring with you for the first 25% of the run. Have a drink, leave it somewhere remotely hidden. Run your loop, return to bottle, drink some more, repeat if you need to run further. Bring empty bottle home.
Seriously 100% better than handhelds with straps, camelbaks, belts, etc etc. I have the camelbak octane as well and while its nice, you cant hide the fact that it is there. Its distracting and somewhat uncomfortable. And when the water is always there I tend to drink too often, strangely enough I never do that on the bike.
This^^^
Works best on 2 loop runs. You can even carry 2 bottles and just set one down sooner. I did a 20 miler thsi summer in high humidity this way. Used 3 bottles… but one was at my house. Ran 5 miles out and back twice. Good mental practice too since my IM was a 2 lap run.
If you don’t like a belt solution, Nathan makes a really comfortable handheld. I have this one:
http://www.nathansports.com/hydration/handhelds/speeddraw-plus-insulated
I’m right there with you. I HATE belts.
I like the Osprey hydration backpack.
It’s got a wide mouth so you can clean it easily, and if you cinch the straps the right way the pack doesn’t move at all. **The water will slosh, especially when it’s full, but that doesn’t bother me at all. **
This is the one I have:
http://www.rei.com/item/847141/osprey-raptor-14-hydration-pack-100-fl-oz
After you fill it turn it upside down and suck the air out, the sloshing will go away. The only reason why it does slosh is because you have air in the bladder
Hand held bottle, two if necessary.
http://www.simplehydration.com/
I have tried about everything, and this has been , but far, the best solution for me.
-I dont like packs
-waist belts bounce
-I dont want to hold anything, because it makes me clinch my fists and tighten up
I use a camelback Quick Grip that I got at rei (http://www.rei.com/item/830533/camelbak-quick-grip-water-bottle) for long runs on trails where I don’t have access to fluid. I like this because I can put 1 or 2 Gel’s in the little pouch on the bottle.
When I run in suburbia I try to plan my loops where I know I can hit water fountains and then I just carry some Hammer Gel.
I use a fuel belt too, it doesn’t bounce around so much but the trick is it has to be tighter than you think is necessary standing still. It looks mega-dorky and I accept that, if I had kids they would be mortified by me. However, backbacks bounce around too much and I want to keep my hands free so this is really the only option. If I am doing a speed workout I will do the hide-a-bottle on the trail but if you are doing a long out and back or loop this isn’t a great technique. Plus you can pack your gels in it too.