Monday, September 12, 2011

Review and Giveaway!—iFitness Hydration Belt

My iFitness Neoprene Double Pouch belt is one of my favorite things. In fact, it made it on my "favorite things” list last year. I also have purchased it for two of my friends and told a friend’s husband to purchase one for a third. I wear it on nearly every run and wear it whenever I don’t want to carry a purse (which is most of the time these days).

When I found out that they were coming out with a hydration belt, I was thrilled. I  have recently started disliking my belt,* but for long runs, it is a necessity. I have been using my handheld a lot this summer, but I really want to carry both water and Nuun on my long runs. I was eager to try a better belt.  Enter the iFitness Hydration Belt (16 oz size).
ifitness hydration belt
The iFitness Hydration Belt features:
    • Water resistant pouch, stretchy and sturdy, made of neoprene will keep your cell phone or iPod (any size) dry. 
    • Two 8oz  bottles (BPA free)
    • 2 elastic slots will hold your gels on your belt, for easy access.
    • A special inner pocket will keep your ID/credit cards or room key securely.
    • Comes with two reflector strips in the front and one in the back, for night time safety.
    • Also featured are two toggles to hold your race number, under the pouch.
In addition to getting the belt, I purchased two add-ons. These are holders and bottles that slide onto any iFitness belt. Currently, iFitness only offers a two-bottle option and I need more liquid than that on a very long run.  The add-ons are a great option!  I can run with two, three or four bottles.  In fact, I have put a single add-on onto my double neoprene belt for a short run in the heat.  iFitness add on
iFitness rear view2
Here is a picture of my double pouch with an add-on.
iFitness pouch with add on
I received both items quickly.  In the past, other belts I have ordered have arrived in a timely fashion as well. There is no set up and while I did rinse them, the bottles did not appear to need to be washed before use.

I have now worn this belt on two long runs (20 miles and 22 miles) as well as during two legs of Hood to Coast
. ifitness HTC
Here are my thoughts.


Pros:
  • The belt fits just like my pouch belt, nice and snug. If I have it adjusted correctly, it doesn’t bounce at all. I prefer it to sit down on my hips where I just forget about it.
  • The bottles fit tightly into the pouches. In the past, I have had bottles fall out of the belt.  A couple times, this happened in a race! Once, during a half marathon, one of my bottles was knocked out by my arm during my sprint to the finish.  I just left it. I have actually used rubber bands to secure the bottles during a key race—pretty junk-show. The iFitness belt also has some elastic loops to secure the bottles, ensuring that they never pop out.  They are easy enough to get out to drink, however.
  • The pouch is nice and roomy without being too bulky. It is big enough for my phone, cash, a packet of flushable wipes and a Gu. Saturday, during my twenty-two miler, I also stashed a Honey Stinger Waffle in the pouch.
  • There are two elastic loops that fit a Gu packet. iFitness with Gu
  • The pouch seemed to keep everything dry. On my long run Saturday, it rained pretty hard. My phone stayed dry and protected.
  • They have reflective stripes for safety. I don’t always run in the dark, but it was pitch black Saturday when we started. I also used it during my night leg of Hood to Coast.
Cons:
  • I like having ten ounce bottles. The eight ounce bottles aren’t quite big enough and I think I might have to refill during the marathon. When I ran marathons with the other belt, 40 ounces lasted me 26.2 miles. I am not sure if 32 ounces will last.  We’ll see.
  • While I didn’t notice it during my long run, the belt gave me a little bruise on the front of my hip. It was a little tender Saturday night, but don’t even notice it today. To be fair, this happens with any hydration belt I have tried.
  • The bottles are a little too far apart to fit exactly between my hips. If I wear it straight on, the bottles lay directly on my hip bones. Ouch. I have to turn it a little catty-wompus (is that even a word?) so it lays flat. One of the bottles sits directly in front of my hip bone and the other one sits right behind my other hip bone. This puts the rear bottles in a strange place.  It is ok because I drink from the front bottles, switching them with the rear bottles as I empty them.
Pricing**:
The iFitness Hydration Belt is priced competitively with the other belts out there. It retails for $39.95 for the 16 ounce belt. The 12 ounce belt (using two six ounce bottles) sells for $36.95. There are belts out there with ten ounce bottles that sell for the same price as iFitness.

Where the iFitness is not as competitive is when you jump to four bottles.  The two bottle add-on is $19.95. That makes a four bottle set-up a $60 investment. There are cheaper options out there. The thing each person has to decide is—is comfort and convenience worth the extra $$.  For me, I think it is. The add-ons offer me a lot of options, so they are worth it.

Final Word:
Overall, I really like this belt. I don’t think I will ever LOVE a hydration belt.  However, when I want plenty of options for my hydration and fuel, this is a good option for me. I will most likely be wearing this for St. George. I originally was planning on running with my handheld bottle, but I like the idea of having both water and Nuun with me (I prefer to wash down my Gu’s with water over Nuun) as well as the ability to carry 32 ounces instead of the 20 ounces that my handheld holds.

The Best News:
I have the opportunity to give away a hydration belt to a lucky reader! Please find all the ways to enter below.  In order to be eligible to win, you must be a follower and must go to iFitness and check out their products, leaving a comment about your favorite. There are a bunch of other ways to earn entries. See below for how to enter. The giveaway will end on Sunday, September 18 at 9 p.m. PDT.



Happy Running…

*I have used the Roadrunner/Nathan four-bottle hydration belt. The one I have is three years old and might be a bit different than what they sell today. It has a velcro closure and after losing some weight, it doesn’t fit well. It bounces and I have to jerry-rig it with rubber bands to fit me at all. It ends up looking pretty gaudy.
**I was given the iFitness Hydration Belt (16 oz.) free to try, but purchased the add-ons myself. My opinions are all my own.


27 comments:

Finallyfit2011 said...

I'm a follower!

Finallyfit2011 said...

I like the Neoprene hydration belt...but your script on other ways to enter isn't visible??? :( Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I went to the iFitness site. I've been eyeing a red/black non-hydration belt for my first Half that I am training for. I think I would benefit from a hydration belt over my handhelds but not ready to fork out the money to give one a try. I'm worried it won't fit well with my belly!

Stephanie said...

I am a follower!

Stephanie said...

I went to the iftness website. I need the belt. this could not come at a better time. i can't find one that works for me. it is soo aggravating, i just need something that works!

Stephanie said...

I am trying to press the enter giveaway button but it keeps telling me i have to do the mandatory ones, i thought i did. eek i am confused. help! thanks

Kerrie said...

I have the single pouch neoprene belt. I use it almost every run. LOVE it. I would love to try the new hydration belt!

Kerrie said...

I follow!

Kerrie said...

OK. I don't think I need to leave a comment here every time if I clicked the "I did this" above, right?

~K~ said...

i think the neoprene hydration belt looks like the handiest thing for me on their website. I would use it for running and would run without carrying a water bottle for a change if i was wearing a belt!runner_girl5k(at)yahoo(dot)com

Elle said...

I really like the pink hydration belt.

Aka Alice said...

First...I really like the name change (although I liked Stonehenge too...but I understand the reason for the change!)

I just bought an iFitness pouch-belt-thingy when I was at Napa. I LOVE it. I'd been using a Spibelt to hold my phone and keys and it just bounced around too much. The iFitness belt stays put. It was bugging my hip too, but I found that I just needed to loosen the hip. I was so used to cinching up the Spibelt so that it wouldn't jiggle, but the neoprene belt doesn't need to be as tight.

Good luck!

Mac said...

I'm a follower! I love the neoprene hydration belt (in pink :), I already have a regular one with a pouch, but I want to try one with nice water bottle slots like that one has.

Mac said...

Ooops! I was supposed to leave a separate comment telling you I'm a follower :)

Unknown said...

New Follower :)
Great review-I am not too happy with my current hydration belt and would LOVE to try this one!

catty-wompus. awesome. gonna find a way to use this today

Unknown said...

oh, I would pick the 12 oz hydration belt with PINK! I loved the pink add on's too CUTE STUFF

Unknown said...

duh! not 12 oz--16 oz

Unknown said...

I've been dying to get an iFitness belt but, well, with work cutbacks it's been hard to justify the purchase when I recently (before I heard about iFitness) got another $40 belt. Im not happy with my other belt. I really like the Black hydration belt with the blue zipper but may opt for the black and grey since it comes in 16 oz.

Tricia said...

I follow

Tricia said...

hmm after shopping around I think I should buy my husband one of the arm gel holders. Very cool

and they hydration belts look great

Corrina said...

I'm a follower!

Corrina said...

I am in definite need of a hydration belt, so I think that's the way I would go!

Ros said...

I have a double pouch and love it but I'm in need of a hydration belt!

Gerard Butler Workout said...

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Vancouver Chiropractor said...

This blog is awesome full of useful information that i was in dire need of.

Anonymous said...

ifitness makes a belt called the quench it holds any bottle you want 16-24 oz TWO of them if you don't want to use both the holder zips up and is secure to the belt.

getactiveinstgetactiveinstagramfollowers.comagramfollowers.com said...

I'm glad you liked the Ifitness and you are right, it truly is shocking that it doesn't bounce at all! :)
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