Tag Archives: brands

#Review: Oxsitis Hydrabelt Ace

May 24, 2017

2015, 2017, Adventure Brands, Hydration, information, kit, kit review, opinion, oxsitis, review, running, Running Brands, Sport, Trail, Trail running, Ultra runner, Ultrachat, value, Value for money, wordpress, writing

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Unless you are an avid reader of French blogs and reviews most of the people who read this are likely only to ever come across Oxsitis through one of two places, the first is via the Hoka running bag (which is made by Oxsitis) or through the countless images I’ve posted across my own social media extolling the virtues of their products.

I first came across Oxsitis when I was looking for a replacement for my original Ultimate Direction PB race vest – I wasn’t keen on the v2.0 as this didn’t look like a serious upgrade and I had recently tried the Hoka Evo bag at the London Marathon Expo in 2014 (just there for the expo not the race).

They didn’t have any for sale but they had one to try and it was amazing. Lots of pockets, incredibly lightweight and a little organiser system on the inside. I went home and began researching the bag and eventually discovered that the bag was made by a relatively new French manufacturer ‘Oxsitis’.

Reviews were limited and stockists even more so but after finding out as much as I could I took the plunge and bought the Hydragon 17l – the most deceptively brilliant race vest I’ve ever owned.

Later that year I was in France for the CCC and happened to be staying near a place called Albertville which has the single most awesome running and outdoor store in the universe Au Vieux Campeur it had everything – lots of Hoka, tonnes of Raidlight, Grivel and brands I’d never come across OMG I was in some kind of running heaven. I spent hours poring over items I had no reason to buy, I tried on everything and bought quite a few things – but the one piece that is relevant to this post is the Oxsitis Hydrabelt.

I’m no fan of running belts as I find they ride up and ultimately aren’t very comfy – I’d much rather wear a race vest and spread the load across my back but the CCC had an extensive kit list and it was being suggested we should all be carrying more water than normal as the temperature was expected to be high. I tested several Salomon and Nathan choices as well as a couple from Decathlon but my choices would be limited so close to race day. I saw the Oxsitis belt and given my positive race vest experience decided to give it a go.

The belt was secured by two thick Velcro straps that could be adjusted at either end and across the belt there were a number of interesting innovations

Magnetic clips for race numbers
A removable (velcro) pocket for rubbish or small items
An elastic triple pocket (big enough for a mobile phone and a reasonable amount of food) comes with a magnetic closing mechanism
Pole holders
Water bottle pouch with 500ml hard bottle on the reverse
A hidden inner pocket with a thermal blanket inside
Thick elastic hoops (I added carabiners to mine to attach buffs and arm warmers)
Whistle

The first thing you notice when trying it on is how comfortable the thicker straps are around your waist and the double strap allows for easy adjustment. For me it sits comfortably around the waist without much fuss and I found that while running there wasn’t much movement and thankfully no rubbing. The velcro fixing also means that this should fit the smallest to the largest waist sizes in the running community without any issue.

I would be hard pressed to say you don’t notice it but it’s not as intrusive as some of the other race belts I tested out.

The goodies!
In terms of the little goodies spread around the belt there was nothing that seemed out of place. The bottle holder itself (the main feature of a purchase like this) is angled in such a way as to make access easy both getting at the water and returning it to its berth. The wider than usual bottle is also nice and easy grip and in this situation a hard bottle is best, though a UD soft bottle also works a treat.

The pole holders are excellent and a welcome addition taken directly from the Hydragon vest. The hoops for this allow one z-fold pole to be mounted either side of the belt. The quick release is surprisingly spritely and because it isn’t surrounded by the pockets, as on the vest, the poles come to hand very smoothly.

The main pocket has three levels – a velcro, flush to the body first section that is ideal for your phone, a large elasticated topped pocket that is the main store for food or small clothing/electrical items and a slightly smaller front pocket ideal for rubbish, gels or for me it’s perfect for tissues.

Strangely the most useful thing for me though is the removable ‘rubbish bag’. This attaches to the two straps that keep you locked into the belt. The removable nature of it lends itself to two things either a) rubbish, so you have easy access for disposal and washing once its full or b) a perfect size for a medical kit (which is what I use it for).

Now being a French company they’re concerned about your safety on the trails too and include a ‘space blanket’ as standard (the gold and silver version) and a stash pocket located behind the water bottle to keep it in. The obligatory whistle is the finishing touch on the safety features but would come in handy should you ever need to bang out a Bob Dylan number to scare off some wild animals.

I told you it was feature packed!

Conclusion
Ultimately this is a tremendous piece of well made, well considered kit that for about £35 seems an absolute bargain. If you want a running belt that is both comfortable and practical then this is well worth considering and if you’re looking to expand your capacity for longer adventures then you’ll find this works really well with most race vests and even sacks such as the Fastpack 20 or OMM 15.

I have no trouble recommending the Hydrabelt and nobody paid me to say that. I bought this with my own money and tested it extensively over the last 18 months. For me Oxsitis are an exciting brand making innovative, well crafted products but they’re hard to come by in the UK and I feel it’s my duty to share my findings. Therefore, I’ll finish by saying, if you happen to be in France anytime soon and love running, then stop by a local independent retailer and try Oxsitis out or find them at their website www.oxsitis.fr (and let google do the translation!)

Confessions of a (running) shopaholic and the evolution of my brand choices #UltraBoyShops

March 16, 2017

Adventure Brands, Altra Running, Brand evolution, Branding, campaign, Costs, decathlon

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In 2017 these are the brands that litter my wardrobes: Altra, Montane, OMM, Raidlight, Drymax, Rab, Ronhill, Decathlon, Ultimate Direction, Buff, Oxsitis, Raidlight, Runderwear

But in 2011 at the start of my running journey the brands that I was using looked quite different: Adidas, Nike, Asics, Marks & Spencer, Rab, Decathlon, Buff, OMM

And it made me wonder why I’ve evolved from certain brands to others and have I become something of a running kit snob?

The accusation and the defence. I have been accused in the past of being more interested in the kit of running than the running itself and while I was deeply offended by this statement there was a whiff of truth about it.

There is no denying that I love checking out new kit and usually buying far too much of it but I rarely buy things I don’t need and there has been a constant evolution in what I buy to accommodate the needs of the races I run.

For example the SW100 requires as part of its kit a thermal mid layer and this has required lots of research, lots of testing and in the end the purchase of two hybrid jackets and one synthetic down jacket. However, I’m in no doubt that my (already owned) Rab Powerstretch thermal layer would have done the job perfectly well. But I wanted new kit.

I remember running my first marathon and my kit consisted of a neon orange vest, a pair of Adidas Adios racing flats and a pair of 5 inch Nike shorts (with mesh brief) and the piece d’resistance, a pair of cotton M&S socks, I thought I was the bollocks, sadly, I wasn’t.

These days I roll up to a marathon wearing much more kit, two tops, tights, liner socks, wicking outer layer socks, a race vest/backpack, sunglasses, buff, tissues, compeed, gaiters but at least I now know I’m not the bollocks.

Have I changed, has running changed or have brands simply switched on to the depth of the pockets of this market?

I wonder if we all go through the kit gears, especially those of us who bang through the disciplines looking for that challenge that fits? Did we all go to a Sweatshop or a Sports Direct for our first pair of trainers? Did we all listen impatiently as the store staff ‘advised’ us? and did we all trawl round the high street shops looking for stuff that wouldn’t make us bulge in new and weird ways? I suspect we did.

Feeling a little uncomfortable. I recall being in John Lewis and trying on a pair of full length tights – Asics, black with blue trim – very understated. However, because it showed the clear shape of my gentleman’s region I refused to step out the changing room. The GingaNinja told me I was being foolish and that you couldn’t see anything (which obviously made me feel SO much better!) but that started me on a journey that has cost me a small fortune one way or another.

A trinity of trouble. However, how did I go from the high street to really quite niche brands and kit? The answer to that is three fold, the first part is racing, the second part is social media and the third part is ‘I love shopping’.

Turning up to my first race after I returned to running (The Grim Challenge) I wore the aforementioned plain black tights with blue trim, a black t-shirt and some grey with orange trim Asics trail shoes (size 9). I did not feel out of place in this gear, many of my fellow racers had cotton shirts on and worse. However, my eye was drawn to several names I’d never seen before, ‘Zoot’, ‘Inov8’, ‘Camebak’, ‘Montane’ and ‘OMM’. My eyes were agog attempting to process all of this information – Sweatshop and the like had nothing like this and I resolved to find out more about my kit options.

It was around this time that I joined Twitter, the blogosphere and even developed a lazy relationship with Facebook – here I developed community relationships with my fellow runners, cyclists and triathletes who were providing a near infinite amount of new touch points for brands and kit.

But neither of these would have provided me with the drive to develop my unhealthy obsession with kit unless I loved shopping – and I have always loved shopping. Long before running I’ve adored bimbling round shops both for research (looking) and buying and weirdly it could be any kind of shopping too – shoe, clothing, craft or even grocery shopping.

This trio of elements left the perfect conditions for fostering an obsessive love of kit. Adidas and Nike apparel was quickly replaced by OMM, Ronhill, Rab and Montane. I tested dozens of sock types, changing my allegiance as new distances and challenges would change my race needs. It was in the shoe department though that I blasted through many types until I finally settled on Altra with hints of other brands. Vibram FiveFingers, Hoka, On, Scott, Salomon, Pearl Izumi, Brooks, Saucony, Inov8 and many more have been tested to destruction or been deemed completely inappropriate for my feet. I’ve owned more pairs of running shoes in the last five years than I have owned ‘normal shoes’ across the whole of my life.

Even when it comes to running equipment I make my selections only after extensive research and testing. When I first decided I would start RunCommuting I purchased half a dozen bags I thought might be suitable but none of them were ever quite right until I bought the OMM Classic 25 and the OMM 15 both of which still run a little bit today (though the 25 is definitely in its twilight years after being extensively abused). Recently I decided to look again for a RunCommute pack and while the OMM 15 was mostly perfect for my needs I felt the materials now used are nowhere near as good as it was 5 years ago and the classic has had the bungee cords removed from the side therefore removing a very useful component (in my opinion).

I started my research in December 2016 and bought a Raidlight XP14 in mid February 2017 after searching through every foreign language review I could find and then one day when I saw a runner wearing one (and I was in work gear) I gave chase. I caught up to him somewhere in Mayfair and drawing level I said ‘excuse me is that the Raidlight XP14?’ His reply initially was ‘what that fuck??’ but upon realising I was asking about his kit he stopped and let me try it on – very nice of him on a cold February morning. Job done, research over, purchase made.

Understanding yourself. What I’ve learned over the last five years is that the right kit is essential and that the right kit for each person is very different.

However, it’s important to note that the UK high street isn’t really equipped to deal with runners needs and that by expanding our search and looking at the brands that we might associate with outdoor adventuring rather than running and you’ll often find equipment more tailored to you – even on the high street.

It’s a shame that we can’t learn a lesson or three from our European neighbours who appear to have high quality high street sports stores much more readily available. (But the UK and it’s attitude to all things European is a contentious issue currently).

Should you be brand loyal? We also need to be wary of brand loyalty. Just because you love a particular item doesn’t mean you should buy everything they make! You’ll see brand ambassadors ‘head-to-toe’ in a manufacturers garb but the reality for us mere mortals is that we should be testing everything and always questioning whether something is right for us – none of us want draws full of ill fitting, unused kit just because Anton, Scott or Elisabet was seen wearing it!

Undoubtedly my kit choices cost me more and I could buy things much more cheaply but not necessarily more cost effectively. Cheap rip-offs from Sports Direct (and similar) are pretty much just that – put a Salomon shoe next to a Karrimor shoe and while they might look like siblings I believe you’d find the experience very different (and that is a test I’ve done). I could also do things more cheaply by not buying from independent retailers but I value the contribution and advice that these awesome retailers provide and want them to be there in the future.

Providing value for money. I should point out though that not all cheaper brands are bad. One high street brand name that has remained constant from day one of my running is Decathlon – the lovely French brand that covers just about every sport going. Decathlon proves quite simply that you don’t have to pay a fortune to get high quality, well developed and long lasting kit and it certainly gives a kicking to many of its more expensive rivals (though you don’t always have to ape Salomon in your race vests chaps!). I’d also give some credit to ‘Crane’ from one of the discount German supermarkets, though the lack of availability and sometimes questionable longevity make this kit a little hit and miss.

Importantly though, I don’t want to be unkind to major high street names like Asics, Adidas and Nike – they have their place.

In truth I still love my Nike commuting shorts (4 pairs, 3 still going strong) which I’ve worn pretty much every day for five years. I’m simply suggesting that there’s a great big world of exciting kit waiting to be discovered – don’t limit yourself.

The snobbery question? Am I kit snob? I like to think not as I try to find the kit that works – it’s true that I would love to see Sports Direct closed down because I feel they provide a path of least resistance to runners who can’t be bothered to look for more effective kit. So if despising Sports Direct makes me a snob then so be it.

So what am I asking you to take from this?

Research extensively
Test extensively
Evolve your kit and knowledge
Ask questions…
…but remember you’re only getting an opinion
Question brand loyalty
Support independent retailers
Buy cost effectively not cheaply
Avoid Sports Direct (it’s associated stores) and Karrimor

The evolution of the ‘favourite’ runner & why I don’t fit the mould #Guerilla #Brand #UKRunChat

October 10, 2016

Blogging, Branding, celebrity, community, Community Needs, Facebook, Honesty

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Who am I talking to please? Am I talking to you or am I talking to a mouthpiece for a brand? To me it appears that it’s becoming harder to distinguish.

We all know about sponsored athlete – those that will be photographed and support the brands that provide them with the required cash or kit to ensure competing makes economic sense. They’ll do TV, advertising, etc while ‘on brand’. However, growing in that shadow there appears an underbelly of less visible brand development in the amateur athlete / excellent fun runner field and to me some of this seems a little less honest.

What do I mean? You see a picture on Instagram, Facebook or other platform and you ‘like’ it, share it, engage with it – that’s fine and I myself do it but usually because I enjoy the subject matter or I think it’s a well composed photograph – never do I knowingly ‘like’ brand promoting/advertising on social media. Unfortunately recent advances in brand development through new technologies mean it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between what a person really thinks and what might be swaying them in terms of ‘the brand factor’.

To be clear I’m a not against amateurs promoting brands in a paid for manner – I just want to avoid it because I don’t like what I consider to be brand duplicity.

Perhaps I’m sensitive to this because I work in the creative industries & marketing. I’m assaulted daily by a cacophony of brand and seemingly have become rather immune to it. But I see people in their everyday lives setting themselves up as guerilla brand ambassadors and find it frightening.

Listening to an old episode of Robin Ince and Josie Longs Utter Shambles and hearing JL had been offered £4,000 to surreptitiously drop into a radio conversation ‘how good’ an unnamed coffee house is, proved somewhat worrying. She told the podcast she had turned down the offer. Easy money turned down in favour principles – I very much approve.

In sporting terms though I’m increasingly suspicious of my social media interactions where a terrible photograph with no content interest is receiving hundreds or thousands of likes and when you take a closer look you see it heavily tagged and heavily hashtag branded.

In the grand scheme of world problems I’m sure that nobody would really consider this a serious issue but consider that we may soon be in a position were we are faced with a constant barrage of sales no matter where we are, what we do or who we interact with – our day to day lives will be underhandedly influenced by businesses that we may not want influencing our daily life. Some would argue that we always have been manipulated by influencers but now it’s on an unprecedented scale. Billions of people vying for attention – it’s terrifying.

In a world where social media is king we are seeing people like Kate Moss start up ‘talent agencies’ where the idea is to grow brands – personally I’d rather see people grow. As a branding designer with nearly 20 years experience it frightens me how we’ve adopted this phrase to create a self marketing culture that business is now tapping into on an unprecedented scale. Phrases like ‘Brand Beckham’ or ‘Brangelina’ are only the celebrity tip of the iceberg and part of the serious issues modern society is facing. I remember a time where talent was needed not fame.

I don’t want runners to follow this trend and I don’t believe I’m alone in that thought. Yes we have famous runners and yes we are seeing the everyday runner adopting brands and promoting them but I’m hoping the talent and desire to do the running remains and it’s not just about leaping round in new trainers to show off on Instagram. And I would always want clarity on when a runner is promoting a brand or being incentivised to talk about it – it’s the stealth element I want weeded out.

Now I can hear you ask about OMM and the hypocrisy of this blog post in light of my application to be an ambassador. Let me address that.

It’s true that I made a very public request to be considered for the 2016 OMM ambassadorship and failed to be selected. Does this make me a hypocrite? I hope not, I had very specific and genuine reasons for applying. In my defence I was quite clear in my open letter / application / blog post to them that I was an existing user of their kit and would continue to operate independently in my opinions of their kit and their events – probably part of the reason I wasn’t selected.

I wasn’t looking for kit supplies or reward I was genuinely interested in testing and using kit for the purpose of providing support to a brand that I really love using and the running community at large.

It’s worth noting that despite not getting the role of ambassador I still use OMM kit daily and have paid for it all myself. No freebies means there’s no compromise and never will be.

Reviewing for free or a fee? It’s the same with every review I’ve written – be it for an event, piece of kit or some nutritional aid – I’ve paid for it.

Perhaps this is why I like DC Rainmaker so much – he makes a point of being thorough, honest and as a point of principal paying for the kit (eventually) that he uses. I believe it’s one of the key reasons he retains the respect of the sports review community, it’s not just that he writes tremendous reviews.

There are people who walk this line better than others with clear indications when they are ‘on brand’ and there is no deliberate stealth marketing but it’s a very murky area.

However, to my mind, brands would always be better pouring less money into ‘sporting galacticos’ or developing ‘social media superstars’ and spending more time in building genuine relationships and connections that will offer longevity.

Sadly we all know the power of names like ‘Beckham’ or ‘AirJordan’ sell product enmasse and I don’t blame brands for bringing them on board but you can blame them for buying ‘likes’ and ‘fans’ lower down the social media strata in an attempt to inflate sales or worse create illusions, this takes the idea of member get member too far.

Sadly we’re a material society and an endorsed product will sell. That an endorsed product will sell better than one that isn’t says much about ‘today’ but the fact that a brand feels the need to have members of the public hammer home these sales messages tells much about brand greed – it just feels a step too far into dishonesty.

It’s a marketing tactic that feels insidious and underhand. Perhaps that’s why I don’t fit the mould? When I add an Altra hashtag to an Instagram post it’s because it’s a photograph of an Altra product I’ve bought and love using – it’s not because the company is incentivising me to do so.

When I was asked by Mountain Buggy to write a piece for their blog I did so willingly and without any incentive because I liked the idea of promoting the ‘parent and child running in any environment’ angle. Mountain Buggy, to their credit, left my ramblings pretty much unedited and subsequently I’ve featured on their social media feeds several times – but interestingly my original review of the Mountain Buggy Terrain was written long before they made contact.

Would brands therefore be better cultivating genuine connections in the way Mountain Buggy did with me? I’ve spoken with hundreds of people (both real and digitally) about my buggy running adventures and I do the same every time, I give an honest recollection of my time using the running buggy.

It’s not all negative though, some brands are engaging with users via social platforms to create more honest ways to sell.

As an example we have an uplift in independent running shoe retailers (Hoka at George Fisher for example recently) offering test evenings for new kit – surely this is a great way of winning new converts without it feeling like you’re buying fans. Surely the smarter brands can develop more connected, less underhand ways of marketing and yet still hit the broad spectrum they need to achieve the required sales?

I’m still an idealist I guess – I like the Star Trek idea that we do things for the benefit of humanity but I know there is almost always a commercial imperative. But I’d hope that if enough people fall out of love with guerilla marketing we might see more genuine attempts by brands to engage with their current and potential customers.

So what now? Well if I don’t add you as a social media connection, if I don’t favourite your photograph or post some witless comment then it could be because I’m no longer sure who I’m talking with (although it’s more likely it’s because I just haven’t checked my requests recently 😀). Ultimately in conclusion I’m not against marketing (my job depends on it) but I want it to be a little more transparent about how it’s reaching out to you/me/everyone and who it’s using to reach out.

Adios for now

The #Running shoe costs are running high

March 6, 2015

kit, London, retail, running, shopping, Sport, trainers, ultraboyruns, Uncategorized

—UltraBoyRuns

Saving the world one run at a time

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Tag Archives: brands

#Review: Oxsitis Hydrabelt Ace

Confessions of a (running) shopaholic and the evolution of my brand choices #UltraBoyShops

The #Running shoe costs are running high