It’s rare you find something new in the world of portable hydration, I mean how many water bottle carriers can there be? The Salomon Park Hydro Handset really turns that thinking around and gives you a whole new method for carrying water while running. With summer rapidly approaching, there is no time like the present to re-evaluate your hydration lineup and give this one a look.
The Hydro Handset is designed to be bottom mounted meaning it sits under your arm in line with the under side of your forearm. This allows a few things to happen. First, your hand stays relaxed and you never have to worry about gripping anything. If you have run with a handheld holder prior, then you may have experienced some level of tightness or soreness as you tend to always grip the bottle. With the Hydro, your hand stays relaxed and allows you to maintain your normal running motion. In all honesty, it kind of feels like you are in some sort of video game and a few people mentioned that. So, coolness factor +1.
Next comes how you actually get the water. Most of us are you used to the squeeze method, but with the Hydro Handset you place the spout in your mouth and compress your hand from the palm upward. It sounds odd, but it’s actually very normal feeling when you do it. It’s also a bite-valve so it stays fully sealed until your teeth a certain spot on the spout which opens it. This means less leaking while you run and controlled drinking.
The bottle itself is 500ml or about 17oz, so this is designed for your shorter runs or runs where you have a chance to fill-up as you go. There is a very small pouch that will hold a gel or other, but as you can see from the photo you don’t want to go with a full ream of chews. Break the package in half and you are fine, but I figured this would give you some reference for the amount of space it has. I tried an iPhone in there as well and it fits, but barely and frankly that would worry me. The strap will fit most size arms, but I would love to see a bit more velcro on it because once you wrap it tight you do have some excess. The unit can also make your arm a little warm, but that’s very minor.
Overall, the unit worked tremendously well and while we were skeptical at first I would probably now choose this over a normal hand carry model. The Salomon Park Hydro Handset is available now for $42. You can buy it online directly from Salomon or at any number of outdoor or running stores.
