Which hydration vest / Camelbacks ?

[Lucyintheskywith]

Ladies... which camelbacks / hydration vests work best for you...to carry fluids and also carbohydrates on 21km runs?

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Mine’s an Aonijie one - a cheapie off Amazon. I don’t wear it much nowadays to be fair, as I found it irritating having something on my shoulders towards the end of a HM race I did, but it’s generally very comfortable and has plenty of pockets for snacks, phone etc.

There’s a knack to drinking from the straw, as well as making sure you get rid of the air from the bladder before you start running, otherwise the water sloshes around!

Have fun!

[Lucyintheskywith in reply to cheekychipmunks]

How do you get air out of the bladder?

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Lucyintheskywith]

By filling it with as much water as you need, turning it upside down and sucking the air out through the straw. Works a treat. 😀

[RunWillie Metric Marathon]

I’ve got a ultraspire alpha because it was on a crazy discount & came with semi soft flasks which is my preference. Think Salomon Active gets good reviews. Happy shopping 😍

[Kevtrev Marathon]

Try decathlon very reasonable price’s

[Cmoi Marathon]

I bought one online in the Decathlon sale, ridiculously cheap at €11.90, thinking I'd use it for walking if I didn't like it and upgrade to a better one later. In fact I used it for trail marathon training and the event itself, when I was out all day, and it was great.

If you're spending proper money and wanting to get a lot of use out of your pack I'd advise you to try on before buying so you can check fit, comfort and practicality.

[nowster Metric Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

I think I have the same model. It came with a 1 litre bladder. I wear it for all my half marathon runs and find it perfectly adequate for that.

I suspect it might be a little small for use on longer distances, especially when done solo. For organised events there are usually regular stations offering fluids, etc.

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to nowster]

I did a lot of pre-event ergonomics experimenting! We had to carry first aid kit, spare food and waterproof jacket etc, but I was surprised by how little the experienced runners seemed to have. I imagine they all had super-compact, lightweight stuff that packed down really small. Decent clothing pockets help too.

[misswobble Marathon]

I’ve got the Aonijii which I got for a solo marathon. I didn’t use the bladder but rather two 500ml soft flasks from Decathlon which fit nicely into the front pockets Plenty of cubbies/pockets for phone, snacks etc. my shorts have loads of pockets/cubbies too. Also Decathlon (Evadict brand)

I found the Aonijii fine and it didn’t catch or rub, but I wasn’t using the bladder, which is quite heavy when full.

A 250 ml soft flask will fit in the back pocket of my shorts. If needs be I’d carry another in the zipped pocket of my run jacket/top. I usually end up with the top round my waist but I can reach the pockets to access supplies 🙂

You’ll have to experiment a bit to find what suits 🙂