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Ultra gear . Whats missing?
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Cragc thats a good idea threading it under your top. i havnt had any freeze problems as yet but like you say its rarely that cold it happens.i have worn x2 gloves and socks when out
I was scratching my head at this just t'other day. What's the point of ladies compression shorts that barely cover any of your quads? Does any manufacturer make womens ones that are just above knee length, like they're supposed to be? Pathetic that fashion takes precedence to purpose. Grrr!
I did the Endurancelife CTS last weekend in South Devon (29 miles) and used an Inov-8 pack (12 litre racepro?) with the internal horizontal bladder. I started carrying 1.5litres of fluid and ran through the first couple of water stops. The problem was I didn't know how much fluid I had left and how much to take on board at subsequent stations. Due to this I overfilled and probably ran carrying more weight than I needed to. I have just ordered an Ultraspire Kinesis pack which uses 2 x 26oz (round 750ml each) bottles for my next race a 50k.
This will make filling up at water stops much quicker and I will know better how much fluid I have left. Will report back on how comfy the Kinesis is as this will be the first race vest system I have had. I have used a Camelbak Octane, and Inov-8 waistpacks previously for shorter distances.
I tried adding a pair of OMM i-Gamy bottle holders, with their specifically designed bottles to the front of my OMM Last Drop, which in theory is designed to work well with them - it has all the gubbins to connect, etc. Started running, kept hitting myself in the fact with the bottle tops, so emptied one and stuck it in the pack, handheld the other. Most annoying.
Currently using a 2l bladder, but reckon it's a faff to refill once inside the bag. Ran the Kielder Marathon with a handheld and a pouch to stick it into on my belt - that worked fairly well, but the further I run, the less I like handholding anything.
Think if the bladder / Last Drop combo was less of a pain to refill, I'd be happy with it, but as it is I don't think I've found the right solution (for me) as yet. May have to learn to run balancing a jug on my head, or maybe one of those beer hats?
A bladder is useful as it so easy to take a sip when you want to. However it is the faff of refilling it at water stops and never really knowing how much you have left. The Inov-8 horizontal bladder is a bit tricky to get to in their back packs. Although they might have changed the design recently. My camelbak is much easier to access however it's no easier to know what it contains.
I received my Ultraspire Kinetic yesterday and it looks good. Nicely made with plenty of storage and 2 x 750ml bottles which sit nicely at the rear, sort of kidney area. I had no trouble fitting in a phone, Montane featherlight jacket, small first aid kit, gloves, buff, 10 gels, pack of tissues and there was still space for other kit. Will give it a run out at the weekend.
Hi Touie, which salomon vest is that? I've just got SLAB-5 and tube de/attaches from bladder via an easily accesible clip for refills. Good feature I thought, maybe its only on certain Salomon packs.
Great pack and worth the money if you can hunt out the deals (£85-100 ish) - fit is a revelation compared to old fashioned shoulder and waist strap bags (and I thought OMM ones were pretty good and did me ok for some long ultras). Front pockets fine for bottles too if you prefer - like SerenN I've been through bottles / bladders / bottles cycle but since getting this pack the design/accesibility of bladder is so well thought out that I'm going to use it for all shorter ultra's. Only limiting factor of this bag for long/kit heavy ultra's is the kit storage space, guess the 12L variant will be ideal and waiting patiently for a slight price-break on these.
I have the s-lab 12 pack DEOT
It would be perfect if it was less fiddly to undo and about 1cm shorter in the body!
touie2 - I can live with the undoing especially as I can store many bits of food, gloves, hat, etc... in the various front pockets so it doesn't come off as much (I hope) and its still easier off/on than my OMM packs were once straps adjusted, etc... The 5 is quite short on back, couple of inches shorter than the 12 (if your ever in market for a smaller pack).
I do like the look of the Ultimate Direction signature series (mentioned earlier on here). May save for the PB Adventure or SJ Ultra, particularly the former looks as much a complete larger capacity vest (10L+) as I've seen (assuming you want to store bottle up front) - even more pocket options than Salomon bags. May make a good fellsman pack
I reckon I could get a tee, trousers and jacket for under ??1800. Stick that in your pipe Aldi !
Yikes, whats it made of, crushed and then knitted together precious stones
Though I might fork out for a t-shirt if it made my abs and pecs look like that
ooops! sorry didn't mean to post!
dropped something on the keyboard
Ive got the Ultimate direction AK coming
My brother in law just got the SJ vest, if you go for one of them watch the sizing. The size on the site and the label are different! If you think you may just about be a medium get the small
Touie, i love the Nathan vest-so glad i got it. will be coming with me to NDW50
Here's something I found really useful during a very cold Hardmoors 55 at weekend. Not really intended for runners, but great on a really cold and super windy day. Offering fingerless glove dexterity when needed (i.e. self-clip operation) and then a mitt to whip up over the fingers when they get too cold, which always warmed fingertips pretty quickly.
Hi Lirish, really warm, it was cold enough in windchill that fingers only had to be out a few mins and would be numb (I've heard it was below -10 maybe -20 in places with windchill). Pulling the mitt end over fingers, although this bit not as thick as material around fingers and hand, always warmed my fingers up quite quickly. In fact I was often pulling mitt ends off even when not needing to use fingers, just to cool hands down a bit. Not sure about liners as was quite a tight fit around lower fingers, but I bought a small size as like a snug fit.
DE: they look good, but I'm concerned about the magnets re. use of a compass - I already had to take magnets out of another pair of gloves (they were only for holding the two gloves together) for this reason. Your experience?
Agree with Debra. The magnets could be a problem . I used the light weight Ronhill running gloves with the pull over Pertex mitt on the less severe Spine Days. Also used really thick fleece gloves when it got colder. Finally when running in blizzard conditions I had Paramo Over mitts which were a loose fit over the thick fleece gloves. Gloves ,even lined ones are not as warm as mitts in severe conditions.
Debra - Did read that on packaging (or somewhere) that magnets may effect compass, so not recomended if you do. I rarely do compass nav so no biggee for me.
I came up with a clothing idea/design that I've not seen yet. My mother actually made a prototype for me which works well. Got in contact with a well-known company that specialises in xc clothing+backpacks. They told me they would welcome the idea, and if it worked out I would get a free product. Big deal.
Elite Ironman, Ultra Trail Runner