Nathan Triathlon Bag Review
The item from the product lottery I selected to use my Nathan credit toward is similar to the Nathan Quick Change bag (on the Running Free website), only it is a lot bigger. As a triathlete I have a ton of crap to bring on race day. It has really been a challenge to fit all of my gear into a single bag and still have it organized. It can be difficult to get from my car to the transition area, in one trip. Worse is post race when I am tired and trying to carry everything with me back to my car. I typically have a wetsuit draped over my shoulders, a gym bag slung across my neck, a separate bag in one hand for the things I could not fit into my gym bag and my bike. To make matters worse, the parking area is usually a fair distance from the transition zone. Simply put I was carrying a lot of crap a long way and it was not comfortable.
The best thing with the Nathan bag is that it has made the trip from the car to the transition area a lot easier. The bag is big enough to fit all of my racing gear into it and with the shoulder straps I can throw the oversized back pack on my back and comfortably get into the transition area while pushing or riding my bike. I am also impressed with the amount of compartments and storage areas within the bag. I have separate pockets for water bottles, gels, goggles, sun glasses, bike tools, etc, and I have different sections for clothes, wet suit, and running/ biking shoes. The bag itself appears to be really well made. I ram it pretty full and there does not seem to be any indication that the bag cannot handle the load. It has other nice features like vented compartments and it comes with water bottles but for me what I really value with this bag is that all of my gear fits into it. It has made transporting everything from home to the race a lot easier and it looks as though it will last a long time.
The only negative that some people might find with this bag is that it is not an all-purpose bag in the sense that I cannot use it for smaller activities such the gym or swimming as it will not collapse to fit into a locker. Its frame is meant to be sturdy, similar to a piece of luggage (which I have also successfully used it as). Also, it is a little bit expensive in comparison to a gym bag but it definitely is worth what it costs.
