Hydration belts tend to be a very personal choice. Many times we’ve purchased one on a recommendation only to find that it doesn’t fit our bodies and we’re left pulling, tugging, and adjusting mile after mile. Fortunately, this was not the case while testing the Nathan Speed 2R Auto-Cant hydration belt.

From our very first run with the belt we were amazed by just how comfortable it was. We never once felt the need to stop or even slow down to adjust the belt’s fit. Wearing the belt was literally as easy as putting it on and cinching it tight. Nathan claims that this naturally easy fit is due to its patented Auto-Cant disk, which allows the belt to move in synch with your hip motion during the run. Nathan’s mono-filament stretch belt also provides a soft feel that snugly hugs your body for a smooth, bounce-free (and chafe-free) ride. One of our editor’s skin is especially sensitive to chafing and rubbing, and even she reported little to no rubbing with this belt. What’s more, the belt’s fabric also proved to be very breathable and seemed to wick away moisture effectively.

Holster, Flasks, and Pockets

Nathan’s SpeedFit holsters performed as advertised—allowing for quick, one-handed access to both flasks. We had no trouble accessing the flasks at any time. The Speed 2R Auto-Cant offers 2 8oz BPA-free flasks with race caps. As for the caps, after our first run we encountered some pretty significant leakage. However, after speaking with Nathan Sports about the issue, we were immediately provided with a redesigned cap that rectified the leakage issue completely. Since then, we have not experienced any leakage with the new cap. The difference we found was a gasket that helps seal the bottle.

For the most part there was plenty of storage room on this belt. We were able to fit a couple gels along with a house key (thanks to the internal key clip for keeping it secure). We only ran into storage issues when we attempted to stuff an iPhone into the main pocket along with gels and a key. After a few attempts we determined that the main pocket was maxed out after a gel, house key, and an iPhone in an Otter Box case. In fact, our phones were really only just barely able to fit after we stretched the pocket over the edge. While we wish that the pocket allowed us to carry more, we didn’t find this to be a huge issue since we thought this belt was really meant for shorter runs. We wouldn’t recommend a two-flask belt for runs beyond 10+ miles (unless you planned on refueling along the way)—especially in our hot South Florida climate.

And when it comes to cleaning, the flasks and caps are both dishwasher safe (top rack only, of course). So fortunately there is no need to worry about hand washing after coming in from your run.

Sizing

Nathan Sports provided us with a wide range of sizes, which we were thankful for since the sizes did seem to run a bit on the small side. For example, our female editor has a 26” waist and typically wears a size small in most hydration belts. However, she needed to size up to the medium belt in order to allow it to sit lower on her waist. In fact, most of our editors found that they needed to go up a size with this belt in order to allow for enough Velcro to securing fasten the belt. According to Nathan Sports, the sizes run as follows:

Small: 26-32”

Medium: 32-28”

Large: 38-44”

Final Thoughts

Overall, we found this to be a very comfortable and functional hydration belt. Once the leakage was under control, we’d highly recommend it for shorter training runs and races. This was by far one of the best fitting hydration belts we’ve ever worn.