Gear review: Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab Belt

June is bonus season at my workplace. And this year, I've worked damn hard and I'm going to spend a little of it on me instead of the boring 'mortgage' option.

And it just so happens that I was looking around for a hydration belt, because my 2 litre Camelbak Rogue is a bit over the top for some of the shorter trail runs I'm doing, and even my 26km Friday run to work now that winter's here, and carrying more than ~500ml of water isn't really necessary. 

Whilst there are plenty of good options out there (check out thisfishcanrun's review of one of UltrAspire's models), a non-negotiable for me was the ability to carry my Ay Up head torch for when my run will cross over from dark to light conditions. (The Ay Up was another 'bonus month' purchase. I'd review it but I don't know what else I'd say except that it's really frickin' bright and if you can afford one, get one.)

'Headtorch compatible' somewhat limited my options. Enter the Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab Belt. Like the Ay Up, though, it's pricey. I got mine at Footpro in Malvern and it was $80 including one 237ml bottle, with another bottle costing $25. Subtract my 10% repeat customer discount and all up it cost $95.

The belt itself is made from the same lightweight material as the Advanced Skin packs everyone is raving about. It comes with six pockets in total: two larger ones at the 'back' (although the 'back' could easily be worn at the front), and two smaller zipped pockets plus two more pockets in front of them, at the front.

The 'back'

The 'front'

The inside

The back pockets are designed to take the 237ml bottles, which are the new 'soft flask' models made for Salomon by Hydrapack. The beauty of these bottles is they collapse as you drink from them making them (a) quite light and (b) small enough after a couple of sips to fit in the smaller front pockets, meaning my head torch can fit into the larger rear pocket when dawn breaks and I don't need it anymore.

With the first Salomon Trail Series race at Studley Park this Sunday, I switched my long run to this morning and tried out the belt. 

I loved it.

First, this is what it carried, with room to spare:

The feel was terrific. Once on, it settles into a tight fit, with no bounce. I didn't even register it being there, really. In fact, at one point, I reached behind me to make sure my head torch and bottle were still there because I couldn't feel them! Getting items in and out of pockets took a couple of tries, but I figured it out pretty quickly and after that it was a breeze accessing the water bottles. When it came time to take off my head torch I was able to quickly rotate the back to the front, stuff it in a pocket and rotate it back again, without breaking stride.

The only fault I can identify is the way the front and back attach to each other. There are these two loops and two clips which are a bit fiddly, especially with cold fingers. If you were in a race and needed to take it off and put it back on at a checkpoint, you could lose a bit of time.

The two clips (bottom) and two loops (top).

But really, that's a small complaint, because you wear a hydration belt to have it on, not to have it on, take it off, put it back on, etc.

Overall, I'm a big fan and I'm pleased I got it. Like the Ay Ups, if you can stand the price tag, I'd definitely recommend getting one.

Pros:

Light, 'don't know it's there' feel
Versatile front and back fit, and easy to switch between those two options on the run

Plenty of storage

Soft flasks

Cons:

Price tag

Clumsy attachment clips