Monday, September 20, 2010

Product Review: Amphipod Airflow Lite

For years I have been looking for the perfect way to carry my gels and salt during racing and training. I have tried a variety of tactics. First, I tried a pair of Race Ready-type shorts (mine were not Race Ready). They worked pretty well, except the pockets tore over time. I also didn't like how as my shorts got heavier as they got wetter, the gels and wet shorts got droopier and droopier. Fail!

Then I tried a couple different waist packs, aka fanny packs. :) (One was by Fuel Belt, the other by Nathan.) The problem with these was I couldn't get them tight enough so they would bounce and ride up around my ribs instead of staying on my hips. This, of course, created unbelievable chafing. In addition, I was quite embarrassed I was wearing a fanny pack. :)


For a while I started wearing shimmels to race, which was great because they had pockets built into them. My only problem with the shimmel was that I have terribly inflexible shoulders and sometimes reaching into the pockets could be quite challenging.


After a year of nothing but spandex, I have been looking to find a way to carry my gels and wear loose fitting, comfortable running clothes, while in the running portions of tris or during running races. The week before Cedar Point I had decided I was going to wear my Fuel Belt and wanted to find an attachment, if you will, to the belt to carry my gels. I went to the running store across the street and, of course, they didn't have what I was looking for. That is ALWAYS the case. They recommended an Amphipod Airflow Lite, which to me, looked like another fanny pack. I was hesitant to buy it. I hadn't had the best experience with the waist pack, but they assured me that Amphipod prided itself on staying-put and I had heard great things too. So I bought it and tried it out on my next day's 15 minute run. I wore it with slippery tri shorts and put three gels in it to see if it would stay put. And....it totally did.


Then yesterday when I ran the 20 mile race, I loaded it up with 5 gels, a baggie of salt, and pinned my number on the front of it. It worked terrifically. It didn't move off my hips. It was easy to whip around and grab what I needed out of it. It never felt heavy or bulky.

So, I'm back to the fanny pack. But, I love it. I'm now I HUGE fan of Amphipod. I plan to try out another product very soon...

3 comments:

kizzy said...

Wow great stuff..Good thing you found this pack...Perhaps, I'll try bringing one too...
brooks shoes

M said...

i.need.this.

because jamming five gels and a pack of Clif Bloks into the tiny pocket of my handheld bottle is simply NOT working.

this post came just in time for my last long run before my marathon...

Shannon (IronTexasMommy) said...

Great review! Thanks! I've been researching products with the same issues. :)