Thursday, February 23, 2012

Simple Hydration handheld running bottle review

Attracted by its shape, I bought a Simple Hydration bottle via internet. The volume (13fl oz.) is desirable for a normal run ranging from 5k to 21k, as the adaption training made me rather a camel now. I don't want to carry a  fuel belt or hydration pack anymore. The design is such a minimalist way that could be easily hold by its shape. The price is not cheap, USD19.99.

The real bottle disappointed at first sight. The material and quality is not as good as Nathan fuel belt bottles (7 fl oz.) I used  before. (Left is Simple Hydration an right is Nathan in below pics)

The bottle material is much soft than Nathan. And I always wonder if it prone to be broken from the seam. Look at picture you will notice the difference of the clarity, smoothness of the material and roughness of the seam.

The feel of handheld is just OK and the natural hook shape really works and now I hold it for the weekly long run (21k+). I don't think it good idea to hook it on your belt or pants as it advertised.
The biggest problem during run is the mouth too tight so that I need to pull it out with teeth. While it never happened in Nathan before. Below picture you might notice how the mouth being bite badly by me after a 3 months use. And Nathan just as new even after 1years use. One more thing is that Simple Hydration's seal ring does not work well and tends to leak during run. I have no problem with it because I always carry plain water. Hope the manufacturer take note and improve in the future.

Lastly, Simple Hydration does not have scale while Nathan has. The scale help runner to realize how much water consumed in the run. Better to have
In summary, the design was good, the quality was poor (not as good as the handheld at the same price). If the manufacturer has change to the mainstream material, secure the cap and make the mouth easy to drink, I'll consider to buy a new one.

1 comment:

  1. thanks for the review! i was thinking of getting one myself. i guess its best to wait for an updated version that solves all the kinks :)

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