Update – nathan hydration pack
| August 9, 2012 | Posted by Melinda under Uncategorized |
Remember the pack I bought?
I used it on my fast paced ride that I wrote about yesterday.
Bottom line? It works GREAT.
I didn’t even notice the pack, I carried it half full of water, allowing for plenty of sloshing. Here’s the results:
The good
-It didn’t bounce
-It didn’t slosh
-It didn’t leak
-I didn’t even notice it
-Even when I almost fell off my horse backwards it didn’t hit my saddle cantle
-The nozzle didn’t get dirty because it’s protected
-The bottle didn’t fall out, even when Farley bucked and jumped
-It didn’t have to be super tight for it not to bounce
-It didn’t make noise, even only half full
-elbows and arms do NOT rub against the pack or any part of the pack while riding.
The “bad” – ie things to be aware of before buying
-There’s no way I could get the bottle in and out while on a difficult horse early in the ride. The pack feels looser once the bottles out and wants to spin if you try to put it back one handed.
Why I don’t care: This is an emergency water if I get dumped, and water from when I’m running on a ride and tie. I prefer to drink from the bottle on my saddle while riding. For my purposes this is perfect. I’m pretty sure I can control my enthusiasm during a long run or marathon and not jump and skip so much that I’m not able to get the bottle back into the holster……
-My rather smallish smart phone (LG, approximately the same size as an ipod touch) will NOT fit into any of the pockets. Pockets are big enough for concentrated energy such as Gu’s, nuts, blocks and the like. Not for the person that carries the kitchen sink and looks like a kamakazi bomber running down the road with a multitude of bottles in belts and keys and catered meals hanging of their person. Also not for the person that has to be super prepared and carry EVERYTHING for herself and everyone else on the trail “just in case” (Mom….).
Why I don’t care: my phone is on an arm band, the pocket is big enough for ID, cash, and calories. If I plan on consuming 200-300 calories per hour of a run, than I’ll need more space, but that’s what sports bras and saddle bags are made for. Again, this product for me is mostly for emergencies and for ride and ties when I deliberately abandon my horse on the side of the trail for the opportunity to die further up the trail, eaten by a bear.
Here’s a picture on how the pack fits on a smallish, short women with a big butt and thighs [trust me, if you saw they aren’t there, it’s because it’s an optical allusion –> it’s where I tend to put on the weight and I’m OK with it :)]
This by the way, is the outfit I ran and rode in yesterday, before developing the condition that I’ve decided to call “fire calves”.
Thanks for doing a review on this. Been pondering getting one and this will definitely help my decision.
Is that your running skirt? Its really cute and looks super comfy.
It is SUPER comfy. I bought it on a whim from Cabelas when it was on sale. It’s a north face “eat my dust” hiking skirt. I absolutely love it, I just wish they weren’t so expensive. Keep an eye on places like Cabelas and buy it on sale when they are switching out colors for the season would be my advice. I like the hiking skirt better than the running skirts because they provide a little more coverage. It has shorts underneath instead of underwear type things.