I never run without my phone. (OK, the one exception is on the beach, but when it comes to running on trails or roads, I want to listen to podcasts, I want to feel safer, and I want to be able to use Strava or MapMyRun to get my running stats when I’m going.) So that means wherever I run, my phone is taking up one hand. That means hydration can get a little cumbersome for that 90 minute run range that I really enjoy: I don’t need a full-sized bottle for that duration, personally, I just need a few sips of water. But I also don’t love having both hands full.
Sure, that would be more even, but I like having one free. It’s a thing. Anyway, I normally would just hold a small hydration bottle in one hand, my phone in the other. Then, FuelBelt dropped the Tech Fuel and my mind was a little blown. On one side, it’s a small10 ounce flask. On the other, your phone fits into rubber grips. Your hand goes in the middle, and you’re off!
I was a little skeptical that my phone would bounce out, but I went onto some uneven terrain, I sprinting, I walked while swinging it, and it stayed firmly in place (I have an iPhone 6 but since I’m about to upgrade, I was happy that it did seem to have a pretty good stretching range so I wouldn’t be stuck with one size of phone. There are also loops to fit two gels, if that’s your thing. (I usually only start taking in calories on runs that would require a full-size bottle, but if I know I can refill somewhere, I’d use this for a couple hour run, for sure!)
There isn’t a ton to say about it because frankly, it’s a pretty simple design and product, but it’s served me SO well and solved my issue of phone/water bottle on middle-distance runs. I was also stoked that it’s dishwasher safe and BPA-free: a ton of the smaller bottles I’ve had in the past aren’t dishwasher-friendly, and that’s a big bummer to me.
When I first started running a few years back, I had tried FuelBelt and I admit, I hadn’t been super impressed. I wasn’t a fan of their original belt for women (though I do have the new one now and I’m putting it through the paces before I pass judgement: I can already say they’ve made MAJOR improvements). I also had a bone to pick with them about the old tops to their bottles: I found that they leaked a TON, so I was a little panicked about what would happen to my phone. But they’ve changed a lot in the last few years, and not a single drop was spilled, even after I would take a sip and basically turn it sideways in order to close the cap. That’s a big thing for me since it’s been a problem in the past, and I’m so stoked it was addressed: There’s no freaking way I’d use a handheld that spilled everywhere.
It’s only $15 over on FuelBelt.com, and as someone who has spent a ton of $$$ trying a lot of handhelds, that’s hella inexpensive for something that really works.
Before you go, are you subscribed to the newsletter?
