I’ve tried some bottle belts/waist packs in the past but have never really been a fan of them. Since I decided to start to run some longer trail races I knew I needed something along these lines though. After looking at the various options at I decided to give the Nathan Trail Mix a try. It seemed to be perfectly suited for my needs; it’s a great size for training runs and I didn’t want to be dependant on aid stations during races.
I tried my Trail Mix belt for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it. I had the 2-10oz. Flasks filled with some Hammer Heed and had a couple of gels in the zippered pocket. The pocket also had plenty of room for car keys and a cell phone or ipod etc.
When I started running I was surprised that I couldn’t even tell I was wearing the belt. The weight of the bottles was distributed evenly and they didn’t bounce at all. As advertized, the flasks can be easily removed/replaced with one hand, a great feature that doesn’t slow your pace and sets this belt apart from most others. With 20oz capacity you have plenty of fluid for a decent length training run (or race) and if needed there is plenty of space to add a Nathan clip on flask for some gel. One problem I noticed with the clip on flask is that it really wouldn’t stay clipped to the belt when trying to remove the flask. This was easily fixed with a small zip-tie to secure it to the belt. It also has two shock cords to help hold other items such as gloves. I imagine this will come in handy but haven’t had a chance to test it out with the warmer weather.
My only complaint about the belt is that the buckle system is a bit fragile. On my second time out with this belt and I went to give it a little tug to tighten it and part of the buckle snapped off. I guess this is the first one that has been returned for this problem so many mine was made on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon? Of course I had this replaced with no hassle. Now I am a bit more careful when tightening up the belt and haven’t has an issue with it since.
If you are in the market for a fuel belt I would give this some serious consideration.
