Gear Review-Amphipod Hydration belts

Regardless of time of year or activity it is hard to find me not carrying some sort of container for water, especially outside. In the past I have used Camelback, I have used bottle carriers for the hands and I have used a few different types of water belts. A two bottle system that holds large bike bottles and an single bottle version that also has lots of gel and storage areas sewn into the length of it.

Recently I picked up the 3 bottle system from Amphipod and would like to give my impressions. The Amphipod is a slim line belt that comes stock with anywhere from two to four 8 oz. 'snapflask' bottles, a small accessory pouch for items like gels or radio and stretchy mesh pouch to tightly hold a key or other small item. It has a stretchy feel to it and rides quite comfortably along the hips.

The snapflask is aways something I have looked at with curiosity. They hold about 8 oz., so three flasks would be equivalent to one large bike bottle. Most of the flasks I have seen in the past use a holster to keep the bottle secure. The Amphipod created bottles with channels along the outside that fit into a special locking system on the belt attachment. I felt that the bottles would fall away if I was not careful putting them back, and they have once or twice, but always from my error and not the fault of the company's design.

These bottles are a green color which them easy to recognize in a bag or cupboard. They have a wide open top which makes pouring into and especially cleaning a very simple process. To remove the bottle from the belt attachment, you simply squeeze the sides and the pressure releases the locking bars set into the bottle to hold in place. Its much easier than it sounds.

The belt itself is modular. Regardless if you purchase a two, three or four bottle belt you can add or subtract bottles and their attachments depending on your training. At point of sale I also purchased a small gel flask which holds approximately 4 gel packets and can be added or removed to the belt. Furthermore the belt attachments can be set up to carry your bottles horizontally or vertically. These belt attachments are a plastic holder with the locking bars along the side to fit into and secure the bottle when not in use. The plastic holder is then set onto a soft square of cool max type fabric that allows the whole thing to ride up, down, sideways or placed onto another belt or strap.

The inside of the belt has a soft liner which is nice because I will run without a shirt and on other brands I have finished my training with rubs and scratches to my torso, not so with Amphipod. The stretchy material of the belt along with a generous amount of velcro to fasten it, is a much better concept than the waist pack mentality of buckling then pulling straps tight around your body.

I have used this on runs up to ten miles and with the availability of liquid, see no reason this unit could not support you for much longer runs. My full intent is to use the belt as water support for training and use the gel flask(s) to carry calories on the bike and run. I intend to modify the belt attachment to strap to my tri bike in place of a bento box. In races I would carry the gel flask in some pocket on my uniform.