As per usual therodfather is way ahead of you guys when it comes to the latest trends in mountainbiking. While you guys are still trying to decide if you can pull off a fanny pack without looking like a TWAT, I've been secretly designing and testing under-the-jersey waist belts. WTF? Yes, while you were agonizing over what length socks to wear I was in the top secret rodfather laboratory (the wife's sewing room) coming up with the perfect stealth way to carry all my trail riding necessities.
You may already have seen my incredible prototype kidney belt back in 2016 that the Batman and I collaborated on, but just before I was to go into production...bloody Dakine took most of my tricks and whipped up their own version... Bastards. But holy crap they did a good job and the price?...from $50rrp... I can't believe I wasted two years of product development. Here it is.
The 2016 OG of waist bags, my prototype BatBelt. I'm pissed at the money I wasted too. I had to buy a whole yard of that curtain mesh for the waist sash, and those pencil cases were $2 each...and I had to buy 6 before I got my design perfect.
The main velcro removable zippered unit held all my shit for trailside repairs and the front one my sugar stash. The Batman and me are like homies now.
Before I show you the goods, I have a few rules for a under-the-jersey-against-the-skin waist belt. Silky smooth material. An elasticated belt. A front food stash pocket. Ease of rotation to the front for access... All features the BatBelt offered, but Dakine ignored all but one of that and still came up with a winner... Bastards! Here's their knock off version.
The Dakine BatBelt rip-off...A tidy little unit that packs a lot of punch.
What we have here is a flat pouch with a waist belt. The pouch sits in the small of your back, has one main compartment with two open pockets inside and some elastic "ammo" style loops to hold tools and CO2. Each side of the main pouch is a small storage pouch, one with a zip and the other with a slit for quick access (and quick loss of sugary baked goods as I was to soon discover). Then attached to the outside is a long flapped pocket ideal for a tube or small packable jacket. Wear it under (or over) your clothing.
No kitchen sink in there, but still good for a decent mission.
Super soft like a babies bottom and it stays pretty dry.
And that's it! Doesn't sound like much does it? and it's not. But thats the beauty of this thing. It makes you pare down what you carry and ride almost free of stuff you never even use. The great features are the slim profile for minimalist accessories yet puffs out to carry more than you would think.The lovely soft breathable material against your skin, and the antibacterial fabric that keep it smelling sweet. Yes...it's comfy and its hidden and needs no micro adjusting while riding.
Loaded up with my toolkit and CO2 it remains a tight unit
Loaded up with my packable jacket as well.
I can carry my keys, bandage, repair kit, multi tool, CO2, a few meusli bars, tube, phone and even a fist sized packable jacket. That's some good loading for a slim item like this Dakine Hotlaps waist belt.
A secure seperate pocket is a must for us idiots who lose shit.
A bit of a design fail with this pocket...I lost 28 grams of valuable carbs from here last week
The perfect shape for a tube or this handy little SantaCruz first aid kit I pinched from the Nomad4 press camp .
So in a nutshell, Dakine ripped me off with the Hot Laps Stealth waist bag...(Bastards!). It's well made, works great, comfortable and a fantastic price. Now that they've seen my BatBelt properly I just bet their next iteration will have all those missing features.
The good; price, profile, comfort, design
The bad; food stash pocket needs more flap overlap
The ugly; I still have to work for a living after those BASTARDS took my potential millions away from me.