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The New York Times Calls the Sidestream "Smooth, Easy, and Fun"

THE NEW YORK TIMES, GEAR TEST
How Dry I’m Not (Sip, Sip)

By: Sarah Bowen Shea
Published: April 5, 2007

For marathoners on hour-plus training runs, carrying water is a dilemma. A belt of small flasks gives a runner variety — water in an eight-ouncer, Powerade in another — but it lacks pockets. A single 20- or 32-ounce bottle holster bounces.

Another option worth trying is a waist pack with a built-in reservoir and a drinking tube. A runner sucks or bites down on the tube’s valve for a swig. The latest innovation is a retractable tube that doesn’t get in a runner’s way or bang against legs. Most hands-free waist-mounted hydration packs also offer storage for keys or energy gels.

“Runners can be intimidated by bladder packs at first, but then they realize how much easier they are to use than bottles — it’s like sucking on a straw,” said Dave Harkin, who with his wife, Paula, owns the Portland Running Company in Oregon.

To give the latest bladder packs a try, Steve Smucker, a Masters ultrarunner who won the 50 to 59 division of the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run in 2004, wore them while training for a 50-kilometer trail race.



MAZAMA SIDESTREAM $49.99, www.mazamadesigns.com. Mr. Smucker chose this new 27-ounce pack on a 15-mile run, stashing four energy bars and gels in the zippered side pocket. He found using the Sidestream’s retractable drink tube “smooth, easy and fun.” He liked how the “sleek” pack “fit nicely” in the small of his back, but he wished it had more storage space.