A couple of years ago I was running a half-marathon out of town. I packed the ideal running clothes for a warm summer race only to discover on race morning that the shorts I had packed had world’s smallest inside pocket. I needed to carry my car key and at least 2 gel packets with me, so I compressed them into that little pocket as well as I could and hoped for the best. Not far into my race I noticed that the gel packets weren’t staying put very well. Despite my best efforts at shoving them back into the tiny little pocket, it didn’t take long for one of the gels to fall out of my pocket and into the lining of my shorts. So, there I was running along in a crowd trying to figure out how to get a gel pack out of the crotch of my shorts without being noticed. Needless to say, there was no subtle way to deal with that. Once I had retrieved the rogue gel pack, I had to carry it, which was a huge annoyance!
Since then I’ve been on a quest to find the perfect way to carry things I need while running. Everything that seemed perfect in the store has quickly been vanquished to the “not happening” pile because of being uncomfortable, too heavy, or just annoying. I’ve tried since then to ensure that all the running clothes I buy have pockets, preferably lots of pockets. But, sometimes those running shorts (or other clothing item) are just so cute, I forget about the necessary pockets. So, when asked if I would like to test out the SPIband, a wrist and ankle pocket, I knew this was the perfect opportunity. (SPI stands for Small Personal Item, so this was just the size I needed.)
I checked out the website and the turquoise/black and hot pink/black SPIbands caught my eye. I was hoping to for one of those colors to test out. Instead I was surprised with the Stars & Stripes version, which, although fun and festive, is a little bold for me.
I put the band on my wrist before I headed out to run and quickly discovered that a size large was way too big to stay put on my wrist. I tried it up higher on my arm, but I had to wear it too high in order for it to fit properly, and it didn’t feel comfortable there. So, I put it on my ankle instead. This fit much better, but I was a little nervous about putting my car key in it, thinking if it fell out I may not notice. Despite feeling like I looked like a Harlem Globe Trotter, I trotted on out for a run.
The first thing I noticed was that I wasn’t noticing the band around my ankle. It fit snugly and comfortably and my key inside didn’t bounce or move around at all. The breathable tech fabric didn’t get hot or sticky feeling either. Since I can’t stand any extra stuff on that distracts me while running, the fact that the SPIband was truly unnoticeable was a huge bonus! In fact, when I got home I wasn’t even in a hurry to get it off, which means it really was comfortable.
The one negative was trying to get it off of my ankle after I was all sweaty from my run. I had a little difficulty pulling it over my heel, but that was made easier by 1) emptying it first (I know, that should have been obvious!) and 2) not worrying about trying to keep it from turning inside out when taking it off.
After wearing the SPIband, I threw it in the washer with my other running clothes and it held up great. (I did keep it out of the dryer and just let it air dry.) What a bonus! I mean, how many carrying products can you just throw in the wash?
While wearing the SPIband on my ankle was quite comfortable, I’m not sure I’d wear it there if I was going to need access to anything while running. I’d rather have it on my wrist for easy access to things like gel packets. But, for that, I’ll need a smaller size (see size chart) I tried putting a variety of items in the band from my driver’s license to gel packets and they all fit in easily and were well-secured by the flip over pocket design.
Overall, I would definitely recommend the SPIband if you need a comfortable way to carry small items with you on the run. In fact, think I finally found the answer to my carrying mishaps! At just $9.99, it wouldn’t hurt to have a few of these around. You can check out and order the SPIband and other reasonably priced SPI carrying products on their website.
