0 Review: Fuelbelt Revenge R20

I need to be honest about something up-front.  I used to laugh at people that wear hydration belts when they are running.  I thought they looked silly and served no real purpose.  Then I started to run further.  Now I just think they look silly.

When I started running more than 10k for my long runs, I found that I often got halfway through my workout and was desperate for a drink of water.  I found myself plotting my route to ensure that I passed near a drinking fountain at regular intervals.  Obviously this severely limited any sort of variation to my weekly runs, and certainly didn't allow for any spontaneity.  After a couple of months of running roughly the same route every week, I decided that something had to change.

Let's face it,  unless you are a professional athlete, ironman or ultra-marathon runner, it's very hard to wear something like the Fuelbelt Revenge R20 without looking a little bit of a try-hard.  Luckily I have no real shame so I recently bought the bright orange version and swallowed my pride.

Today I had my first run with the Fuelbelt, and I think it's a great product.  Anytime I've ever tried to run with a water bottle, it has bounced, sloshed and been so annoying that I wanted to rip it off and stamp on it after about 500 metres.   I was praying that this wouldn't be the case with the R20, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the curved bottles nestled snugly in the small of my back and after a minute or so were not even noticeable.  The sign of a good piece of kit is that it fits well enough for you to forget that it's there, and the comfortably padded belt, when adjusted properly, is easy to forget.

The much lauded "one hand entry/exit" actually lived up to the marketing hype, and I found it easy to take out and put away the bottles.  Returning the bottles to the holsters didn't really throw off my stride and I was certainly happy to have the hydration along.  There is something to be said for being able to drink when and where you want, and I felt that I ran better due to it.

Now let's talk about the one, rather annoying, flaw in the Revenge R20.  Why of why did Fuelbelt make the included pocket so bloody small?  You can fit one, maybe two gels into the tiny space, but you will never fit a phone, or mp3 player.  I would have loved it if the designers had provided a pocket that was able to accommodate my iphone and a set of keys.  Thankfully, Fuelbelt sell appropriate pockets separately, and I will be purchasing one post-haste.

In summary, if you have any sort of desire to look sleek and cool whilst running, forget this hydration belt.  However, if you are simply looking for an incredibly comfortable, infinitely adjustable bottle holder, then look no further. Just make sure you are happy to stump up the extra cash for a bigger pocket if you want to take your phone or music player along.