Camelbak Ultra Handheld Chill flask review

I have been a fan of handheld drinks bottles for many years, starting to use one back in 2013 when training and racing in the West Highland Way Race. I think, at the time, I picked up a simple Camelbak handheld strap and drinks bottle that was in a bargain bucket in a local shop; I have been using it ever since.

I like to use it in races where you have support or the kit requirements mean that you don't have to carry a full race pack, but I especially use a handheld bottle on training runs of up to about 2 hours where, again, I might not use a pack but still want to keep on top on my hydration, equating to at least one run a week when I make use of a handheld.

Over the last couple of years I have become a big convert to soft flasks in my race vests but have always had to carry a traditional bottle in hand. I was pleased when Camelbak, offered to send me one of their new Ultra Handheld Chill Flasks for a review.

The product includes both the "holster" and a rather clever insulated 500ml soft flask.

The holster has a nicely padded and ventilated mesh as the palm contact point which insulates your hand from the cold but equally allows sweat to dissipate on hot days. There are also double pockets, both of which are made of stretchy mesh and can accommodate a surprising amount, including a phone in the zippered pocket, though this obviously adds to the weight. I usually put a few electrolyte tablets in a pocket on hot days.

What I really like is the criss-cross elastic strap configuration which is used to hold the product on your hand. Traditionally, a handheld simply has an adjustable loop through which you slide your hand, giving no alternative options to readjust your grip. The Camelbak has four elastic straps that criss-cross each other giving numerous options; changing grip is useful over long runs.

The straps also have a thin rubber strip on the back, meaning that the holster grips your hand rather than you having to grip the bottle. I like that, it's so much more comfortable than a traditional handheld.

The soft flask is a 500ml bottle with a slightly wider top than some flasks meaning that refilling is easy and even adding powders/tablets/electrolytes is simple.

In addition to a normal bite valve, there is an extra twist locking mechanism to prevent leaking. This may be a bit of over-kill, but it certainly works well. I generally run with the lock set to open all the time.

What makes this flask special is the insulation which keeps your drinks cool for longer. I'm not a big fan of warm water when running, give me a nice cool drink every time. It should be noted that, with the insulation layer, the actual volume of drink that you can get in the flask is slightly less than the 500ml advertised, especially important to remember if you are mixing powders to a specific concentration.

The flask is really well made and feels robust. I've given it a pretty good bashing over the last six weeks and the whole product still looks like new.

My only real issue with the Ultra Handheld Chill, other than the slightly smaller capacity, is that I found it difficult to remove and replace the flask. It is a tight fit in the holster which is obviously needed to give that security I was talking about previously where you don't even have to grip the bottle, this is a trade off against the ease of which you can swap bottles. When on longer runs, I usually just dip the bottle in a stream, keeping it in the holster. I have two of the Camelbak Quick Stow flasks but as I've tried to move from an empty flask to a new full one it's been quite a battle. I have come to the conclusion that, in an ultra race, I would run with the Chill flask in hand and a Quick Stow flask in my vest pack, just filling up the handheld without taking it from the holster and sipping from the Quick Stow when/if needed. I'm probably going to use this system in anger in the Hardmoors 60 in mid September. I understand the need for the tight fit, and not everyone will be swapping flasks mid race, but I like to on occasions.

With it's light weight and really comfortable grip, I love this handheld flask and grab it by instinct as I head out the door on those medium to long runs. It is such an easy way to stay on top of your hydration for the minimum amount of effort.

The Ultra Handheld Chill Flask can be found at wiggle.co.uk with a SRP of £39.99

TDS training in Chamonix

Having arrived in Chamonix two and a half weeks before the start of the TDS, I have had enough time to get in a couple of training sessions where I could get up to at least 2500m altitude. One of the lessons I learnt from last year and from again checking out the route, is that we spend a lot of time above 2000m and I want to at spend some time training at those kinds of altitude.

View from apartment

The first session took me up to the top of Le Brevant (2525m) and a second outing saw me climb past the half-way staging of the Aiguille du Midi cable car (about 2550m). I power hiked both climbs using my running poles and was pleased with how I felt on both days, especially the second session where I did a bit more running around at altitude. I'm now having a few days away from the altitude, mainly to give my quads a chance to recover from the LONG downhills.

Another important point from last year that I wanted to address was the cumulative dehydration that I suffered during the build up to the race. It is, once again, daft hot (for someone who lives in the wettest place in England) and I am determined to stay on top of my hydration. To help with this, I packed a Camelbak hydration bladder and basically carry it everywhere with me, drip feeding water constantly. So far, this seems to be keeping me hydrated.

I post some more thoughts prior to the race but I've got my head well and truly in the go-out-and-enjoy-it mode and that's exactly what I'm going to try and do.

If you are stuck in a cold/wet/flat place, I'm sorry about this video of some clips from these two high training sessions.

Race analysis - Lightbulb moment

My mind is now well and truly focused on the TDS race in just four weeks time. I must admit that I've had a bit of a mojo loss over the last two weeks, dropping my training back to odd days when I might go for a 30 minute jog. I can't necessarily put my finger on the exact reason why, but there are a number of factors that have come into play.

I think I probably over-cooked the training a little bit too much as we came towards the end of the school term, combined with struggling to recover from digging so deep on the Billy Bland Challenge relay. Throw in a over night Bob Graham support straight from work and a slight increase in training mileage; I should have seen this coming. My hip flexors took a bit of a kicking during this period, so I've been happy to ease right back to allow things to recover.

With a bit of soul searching, I think I've also hit on another factor which might be contributing to a lack of motivation. I've said all year that I am not going to race hard at the TDS. After the DNF last year, I just want to enjoy the day and complete the route. I don't mind any runner beating me; if they are faster than me on the day, good luck to them, but I hate being beaten by a course. I need to tame the TDS course. So far this year, I've done a number of competitive races or challenges which have maintained the fire in my belly, suddenly I'm saying to myself that this is not a competitive outing and I think that this might be impacting on my mojo at the moment.

Having said all that, the last couple of days have been better and I've enjoyed my easy runs out. Suddenly, someone has flicked a switch and I'm all excited about the day out in Chamonix.

With that in mind, I thought I'd have a look at last year's TDS results and think about my pacing for this year; I want to be a bit slower over those first few hours. I made a note of my splits for the initial few legs and, just out of interest, thought I'd take a look at what the winner did over those same few legs. The first two legs were pretty much as you'd expect when you contrast an old git like me to one of the world's top ultra-runners. However, the next section; the first serious climb of the race up to 2603 metres, boom! I was one minute QUICKER than the winner. That will go a long way to explaining the dramatic implosion that occurred in the following few hours. I was digging so deep and now I know why.

I always enjoy a bit of analysis so started pulling up some other race results, particularly those where I've had some serious problems. What about the Hardmoors 110 a few months ago? After a steady start, I ran the section from Ravenscar to Saltburn in about 5:40 hours. I did some (admittedly rather basic) calculations based on the winners splits (Jason Millward, who smashed the course record) and estimated that he ran the same section in about 5:28 hours. This is with Jason aiming to become the first person to run sub 20 hours (which he did with an amazing run) and me hoping to run about 23 hours. Too fast meant that I arrived at Saltburn feeling pretty grim and struggled for many hours after that.

During the Hardmoors 60 last September, I remember having a surge in pace from Sandsend to Robin Hood's Bay along a particularly fast trail and road section. I haven't got splits to compare, but I do remember pushing the pace at this point and then having a real problem an hour later which led to a battle over the final few hours.

Add in the ridiculous pace I started the Keswick Mountain Festival 50k last year and the Billy Bland Challenge relay from a couple of months ago where I ran with a 170bpm heart rate for 2:40 hours and, again, imploded.... I am spotting a trend here.

Over the last couple of years, there have been a number of races where my brain has been writing cheques that my body just cannot cash.

A few years ago, this was never going to be a problem; I had turned myself from a fairly fast runner in races up to 90 minutes into a diesel engine that could run all day. That has all changed over the last 24 months where I've really worked on my speed. There were a number of reasons behind this: it should enable me to maintain a steady ultra pace for longer as it should feel easier, less blood will be diverted to the working muscles when at the slower pace meaning my digestion should be better and finally, if I want to increase the run-all-day pace, I have to push up the ceiling of my flat out pace first.

During my apprenticeship years as an ultra runner, I didn't have this turn of speed. I just started at an easy pace and kept it going, appearing to race a strong second half of the races, overtaking lots of other runners. In reality, this simply means not slowing down as much as everyone else. I had no ammunition to add in mid race surges. Now I have that ammunition but I'm not using it wisely.

This has been quite a revelation for me. The speed work I've been doing has obviously made a big difference to my racing, giving me this extra ammunition but I have to question the way in which I've been using this ammo. When setting out to improve my basic speed, I had specific reasons for doing this and a plan of how I was going to implement this in races, however, I seem to have veered away from this plan during races. This has certainly not been a conscious decision, but I must admit that I have enjoyed running faster in both training and racing.

What I need to do now is get back to doing what I used to do well; hammer out a strong second half to a race. I've got two more ultras to race this year; the TDS and the Hardmoors 60 and I really want to execute a good race plan in the manner I envisaged a couple of years ago.