All throughout the hot and humid summer, I experimented with different methods in carrying water. A regular water bottle was a bit cumbersome to carry in my hand. I did it in a pinch, but I didn’t really enjoy carrying it. A Camelbak had several nice advantages: I could carry all the water I needed, the water remained cool, and I didn’t have to carry anything in my mind. But in a sweltering heat, wearing something that trapped so much heat on my back made the run even more oppressive. I wanted something that made my run easier, not harder. Ben offered to let me borrow his handheld water bottle. Several bloggers had nice things to say about Nathan Sports handhelds, so I tried it out. I thought that with a strap that perhaps holding a bottle in my hand would be easier. I still didn’t like carrying something in my hand. I didn’t want to wear a fuel belt, ’cause, well, it’s way too dorky, even for me, Ms. Never Cool. Having Ben carry my/our water works really well because I don’t need to carry it and it’s available whenever I want it. Unfortunately Ben isn’t always available to run with me and be my water sherpa.
I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled upon Simple Hydration‘s Kickstarter page, but when I read its description and saw its simple sleek look, I thought I found what I needed. The concept seemed so simple. Just like its name. A small lightweight bottle that snugly bit the small of your back that would let you run unimpeded and unencumbered. Simple Hydration had already received its funding a couple years ago and was in production. I bought myself a bottle and took it out with me on several runs.
The Good
It works as advertised! Its unique design of a bottled curved to nestle snugly against the small of your back ensures that you carry it easily on your body. The hook fits over your running belt or short, so the bottle doesn’t slip down or off. I experimented with carrying the bottle in the front, side, and back. I found the back the most comfortable. I worried whether I found find reaching for the bottle around my back to be distracting and/or difficult, but after a couple of tries it was a piece of cake. While running my right hand reaches over and the bottle easily slips right out. After taking a drink, I use my left hand to pull the belt out a bit, and my right hand slides the bottle back into place. I’ve mastered this little technique, so it doesn’t slow me down at all. There’s a perfect spot on the small of my back where the bottle fits easily and doesn’t budge no matter how fast I fun. It took a couple of runs to find that spot and now I can get it there all the time. Even while I was testing out the bottle and the bottle wasn’t in its ideal location for me, I still found carrying the bottle quite comfortable.
It carries 13 oz of water, which is enough for a tempo run for me. Even when completely full, I don’t notice the weight of the bottle. Some people complained in their Amazon review that a full bottle drags down by its own weight, but I didn’t find that at all. Maybe its because I always use my running belt to hold my water bottle, but for me, it always stays in place.
The nozzle is quite easy to open and close. It’s made out of sturdy plastic, so I worried that I would find it difficult to open it up with my teeth and drink. Nope! It easily slid open and just as easily slid closed.
Quality construction and material. ‘Nuff said. I don’t worry about destroying this bottle. The plastic is BPA-free.
The Bad
It may seem outlandish to spend $19.99 for a plastic water bottle, especially since its closest in design competitors’ prices are similar or a bit cheaper (and comes some sort of capacity to hold other things, such as ID, phone, etc). But I think Simple Hydration is fairly priced in terms of what it can do right now. This is why I’m proclaiming my love of Simple Hydration, so more people will buy it, they’ll make more, and prices will come down.
The Ugly
Absolutely none!
The Verdict
I LOVE Simple Hydration! It’s the perfect way for me to hydrate on the run. I love Simple Hydration and I hope that you’ll be intrigued by my review to go out and buy one to test it for yourself. You can buy Simple Hydration online at their site or on Amazon, especially if you’re buying something else to take advantage of Amazon’s free shipping when you make a purchase of $25 or more. I haven’t seen anyone else using Simple Hydration in any of runs or races, which I think is a pity. I would love to see more runners using Simple Hydration and having this become a Simple Hydration world.
A Fast Paced Life 
I wrote about Simple Hydration when they were just launching in 2011: http://www.runkarlarun.com/2011/08/04/simple-hydration-brings-new-water-bottle-to-runners/ My husband LOVES it too. It’s his go-to bottle. Depending on my waist band, sometimes it flops around a bit, but it definitely beats carrying a bottle when you don’t need a full hydration belt!
I never tried running with the bottle in my shorts. I always use my FlipBelt, which I also love. I’ll be doing a review of FlipBelt as well soon.
I was wondering what kind of belt that was your were wearing!
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