Hydration wasn’t always an issue for me while running, but lately I have discovered that I just can’t find the perfect bottle to carry with me on my runs. With shorter runs, I don’t need my belt hydration system and I don’t like carrying a water bottle without it at least connecting to my hand in some way. Hydration is critical to athletes, including myself, and especially since my blood clot last year. Dehydration is one of the risk factors associated with blood clots and anything I can do to decrease my risk, will not only keep my healthier, but bring me peace of mind as well. Unfortunately, over this summer, I didn’t stay as hydrated as I should, especially while running and walking. Carrying a bottle became cumbersome and annoying, not to mention I forget to carry a bottle when I don’t have one I love. This Thanksgiving, I was racing with the FLEXR Sports Bottle.
I was excited to try the FLEXR Sports Bottle. FLEXR is a new, revolutionary BPA-free sports bottle with a disposable and fully biodegradable liner. Yes, you heard that right and as far as I know, it is the first sports bottle of its kind, which immediately gained my attention. I was grateful to receive the FLEXR Sports Bottle (go see the pretty colors!), the FLEXR Sports Bottle Hand Carrier with Pouch (it’s pretty much weightless) and the FLEXR Sports Neo Running Pouch (how they knew my favorite color was purple for the zipper is amazing) to try out in the Flying Feather Four Miler on Thanksgiving Day.
I love the sleek design of all the accessories I received, everything fit and felt good for running on the morning of the race. The FLEXR bottle came pre-loaded with the biodegradable liner (and extras for me to change it or a plug if I decide not to use the liners).
Things I Love (about the FLEXR Sports Bottle)
- It’s extremely light-weight and the ergonomic shape make it easy to carry over any distance, short or long
- It’s completely flexible
- The nozzle has a patented one way jet stream valve, for accurate and precise flow, and I don’t have to squeeze too much or tilt it go get water out
- It fits perfectly in my hand
- The nozzle is twist so I don’t have to bite down on it and pull with my teeth, which is annoying
- The liner makes me feel a lot better about not ingesting the germs that may have been lurking in previous (non-lined) bottles
- The liners are BPA free and leave no weird aftertaste like some plastics
- Technically I wouldn’t have to clean this bottle, I can just change the liner
- Affordable ($9.95 for the 16 0z)
Things I Don’t Love Quite As Much (about the FLEXR Sports Bottle)
- My water still sloshes even it is drastically reduced with the liner inside, but that’s not important to me to begin with
- While the liners are really inexpensive ($2.95 for 25) and easy to change, I probably wouldn’t take the time to change them on a regular basis (I’m more likely to plug the bottle and throw it in the dishwasher)
- Changing the liner is not very convenient, I think because my habit is to wash my bottles, not change a liner (the bottle is great liner or not)
Things I Love (About the FLEXR Accessories)
- The fabric is quality, sweat-proof neoprene and feels great on
- The race bib holders are removable on the running pouch
- The hand carrier is comfortable and not too bulky
- Both accessories can hold everything I would need on a run or at a race (ID, cash, card or two, phone)
- They are sleek and appealing to look at in design
- Reasonably priced ($16.95 for the pouch and $8.95 for the hand carrier)
Things I Don’t Love Quite As Much (about the Accessories)
- I love it all
FLEXR Sports Bottles are Made in the USA and are designed by athletes, for athletes, which shows in the superior craftsmanship, sleek design, light-weight accessories and functionality. This is definitely a bottle I would invest in (even if I don’t use the liners) and is a serious competitor for iFitness Belts and Fuel Belts.
It was totally awesome racing with the FLEXR Sports Bottle and I was thrilled to have Dad join my sister and I this year!
It was totally worth the Finisher’s Prize too (I wonder if super fruit Sangria works in the FLEXR…..)
Connect with FLEXR on Facebook and Twitter or visit their webpage.
Tell me about you. Do you run and/or race with hydration? Do you have a hydration system you just can’t live without? Will you give FLEXR a try?
Until the next mile marker,
Follow
Hmm, sounds interesting. I probably wouldn’t like the liners either. I use a Nathan handheld, but I’m at work so I don’t remember the name or have it nearby to look at. Something like Quick Shot or something…it’s the small one. I like it, but I have a hard time getting it to close properly without leaking sometimes. It’s very particular, so it might be worth checking out another bottle.
Hi Courtney! I like Nathan a lot too. I would like to try one of their handhelds someday. I have one of their belts and it was a little uncomfortable to me, but I did like the bottles. I am really happy with the FLEXR bottle too so I can see myself using that one for awhile. They have a mini FLEXR bottle I saw, and I was also thinking that would be a good one to carry. If you try the FLEXR I hope you like it, and you will have to let me know. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! As always, thank you for reading.
Thank you for the description of this hydration option. I’m beginning to train for a marathon, and have discovered that I’ll need to learn to hydrate during runs. For any distance up to half-marathon I tend to avoid drinking during. The long training runs in my near future will need hydration for (A) health and (B) practice for the race. Your article gives a good overview of the product.
Hello! That is so exciting to hear you are beginning marathon training! I wish you all the best – there is no experience like the first one. 😉 You are right, some sort of hydration is definitely needed, especially on the longer runs. If you don’t know where to start, check your local running store (as I am sure you know) or consider checking out FLEXR. You can always use the liners that come with it and then plug the bottle, if you don’t want to keep changing liners. I think you can get more than one use out of a liner, but I am not exactly sure if that is the point. For me, the most important part of it is the bottle design, that it is flexible and very lightweight. That is why I am going to keep carrying it. Thank you for stopping by my blog, and make sure you come back sometime and let me know how your training is going! Take care.