I have googled some version of “water bottle that fits in sports bra pocket” more times than I’ve googled anything about running. Here’s the answer so you can stop.
The bottle
The Feed soft flask by Hydrapak, 250ml. Soft, so it collapses as you drink and there’s nothing to slosh. Small, so it fits where a hard bottle never will. The 500ml does not fit. The 250 does.
Where it goes
The phone pocket of a Bandit zip crop, with the phone. Phone against your back, flask on the outside of it. The pocket is snug enough that neither one moves, and because the flask is flat against a flat phone it doesn’t feel like a bottle, it feels like a slightly thicker phone.
Getting it in and out is a little annoying. You have to reach back and kind of thread it. That is the entire downside, and it’s a much smaller downside than a belt on my hips or a bottle in my hand for 15 miles.
Why I do it this way
I don’t like anything on my hips, so belts are out. I don’t want to hold something, so handhelds are out. Everything I carry goes on my back, and the Bandit zip crop is the only top I’ve found with a phone pocket big enough to take a phone and a flask together. The mesh Bandit crops don’t work for this, the pocket is too small even for the phone alone.
A note on the new folding iPhone
Apple just announced the iPhone Duo, which folds in half. Folded, it’s a 5.4 inch phone, so in theory it slides into the pocket easier than a Pro Max and leaves more room for the flask. Unfolded, it’s a 7.6 inch tablet in your bra. TODO: needs testing. Apple, if you’re reading, I run twice a day and I have a lot of pockets. Send one.
How far does 250ml get you
[FILL: how long the 250 lasts you, and what you do on a 20 miler. Refill at a fountain? Second flask in a gel pocket?]
What I’d tell you to buy
The 250 flask and the zip crop. Put the phone in first, then the flask. Then go run 90 miles a week and don’t think about water again.
What I wore
| Brand | Piece | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Feed | Soft flask by Hydrapak, 250ml | 250ml | in the phone pocket, with the phone |
| Bandit Running | Zip crop |
All my measurements and every size I wear are on the sizing page.
Questions I get
How do you carry water on a run without a belt?
A 250ml Feed soft flask in the phone pocket of a Bandit crop, next to the phone. It's soft, so it squishes flat as you drink it.
What size soft flask fits in a sports bra pocket?
250ml. The 500ml is too much. The 250 sits flat against your back next to a phone and you forget it's there.
Does a soft flask bounce?
Not in a back pocket. It's pressed against you by the phone and it collapses as it empties, so there's nothing to slosh by mile 3.
