I had been on the lookout for an alternative to my TNF Xenon waist pack and the Nathan Speed 4 was my top choice based on online reviews and storage capacity. The only problem was it wasn’t available in Manila. I visited several local stores in the past but they only had the 2-bottle version. I didn’t want to order this online since I couldn’t decide whether to get the small or medium size; I needed to fit this first before deciding.
Thankfully, I finally found the Speed 4 at that candy store for runners, Runnr. At Php1,595, the price is comparable to amazon.com, excluding delivery charges.
The Speed 4 is ideal for runs of 16km or longer. Its 4 bottles store up to 1.2 liters of water, more than my Xenon, but since the weight is distributed among 4 bottles, it actually feels lighter. The bottles fit snugly, didn’t bounce, and could easily slide in and out of the holster with one hand while running. With my Xenon, I had to tighten it quite a bit around my waist so the bottles wouldn’t bounce. The Nathan’s belt is wider compared to the Xenon and is made of stretch material so it felt a lot more comfortable. No more chafing around the waist!
The Nathan has 2 pockets: a small pocket in front that will fit your keys or a gel pack and a larger one in the rear that will fit a cell phone, money, ID, and a couple more gel packs. I like that the rear pocket had a divider to keep stuff organized. I once experienced powdered fig newtons in my Xenon that found its way into every nook and crevice of my cell phone- my car key bounced around in my pouch, punching a hole in the plastic bag where I kept my snack and slowly grinding my fig newtons. I found out too late many kilometers into my run! No chance of that happening with the Nathan though.
The only feature I would’ve wished for is a roomier rear pouch. Although there is sufficient space for most supplies, I sometimes bring along a camera separate from my cellphone, for you know, snapping pics at the races so I could post them in the blog.
Overall, I’m quite satisfied with the Nathan Speed 4 and I’m glad it’s finally available locally.
They’re now out of stock. Runnr, Athlete’s Foot and Planet Sports are not sure as to when they will be available.
Do you know other stores where I can buy?
I read in another blog that Toby’s also carried this model. Given the popularity of running, I suppose they’ll be ordering more.