Night Runner Light Belt – First Impressions

The Night Runner Light Belt is an approved “illumination device” for Hood to Coast at check-in.

Running at night is a love/hate relationship for me.  The first time I ran Hood to Coast, I was really scared about running my night leg.  I had never done something like that before, and I wasn’t sure how it would go out there in the dark for me.  I worried that something would jump from the shadows and attack me more than anything.

When I did get out there on the course, I found that I loved the night running.  I could look up at the stars, listen to the night and cruise in the cool air.  I carried a flashlight because it was required, but mostly I turned it off and powered through the darkness.  There was plenty of light from the vans passing by to see the road, and my leg was on a well maintained road with a solid white line to follow.

But like all good things, my nighttime running experience would change.  Some start time shifts, and suddenly I was out there on a bumpy, pot holed road with no lines to follow and few other vans to light the way.  And then I ran a new relay out in the high desert, where there was only gravel and cougars to keep me company.  For that course, we actually had our van follow right behind me (thank goodness that was allowed on that section), but it became clear that carrying a flashlight and keeping it off would not be an acceptable lighting solution any more.

So what was I to do?  I tried headlamps, but the feeling around my head was bothersome.  I sweat a lot, and that just doesn’t seem to go with the headlamps for me.  I’ve carried flashlights, but the problem is that they move with your arm, so I’m constantly flashing myself in the face and not doing a very good job of lighting the way.  Plus, they can be heavy and distracting.  I carried a small light in the palm of my hand, which was more comfortable, but didn’t do a whole lot for lighting the way.  When my van had to leave me, I could hardly see the road.  I stumbled in holes I couldn’t see.  It just wasn’t working.  I knew that I should start looking for an alternative.

Enter the Night Runner Light Belt.  I heard about this invention when the founder of this small company contacted me about adding a link to his product.  He had invented a belt for his wife after she had run a Ragnar relay and twisted her ankle in a pothole because she couldn’t see well.  (And that happens a lot – I’ve had several team members get done with their legs with scrapes and bruises because they had fallen off the road or stumbled)  I myself love belts – I usually wear one to hold my phone and my water, so I knew that a light belt would feel pretty natural.  I offered to review his product and place a small ad in exchange for a belt; if I liked it, I would review it, otherwise I would send it back to him at my expense without a review.  I’m writing the review now, so I guess we know what I thought of it!

This belt is exactly what I’ve been looking for.  It consists of a padded neoprene belt with four lights – one in the front with four settings – regular white light, low white light, a red light, and a flashing red light (a pretty standard headlamp).  This light flips up into about 4 different angles, so you can aim it where you prefer.  On the back side is a clip-on red flashing light like you would find on a bicycle.  But the real bonus to this belt are two small flashlights on the sides.  They are very strong, small mag-light flashlights that can be moved into three different positions depending on how wide your want your circle of light to be.  I ran in some very dark spots, and I could see everything, and I only used one of the little flashlights.  You will light up the night with both of those flashlights going.  Most of the time I only needed to use the main front light to light the ground.

Four lights ensure that you can see as well as be seen.

I loved the fact that I didn’t have to carry anything, and because the lights are at your waist, you aren’t blinding yourself with your arm upswing, and you don’t have to carry anything.  I’ll have a hand free to carry pepper mace if I want to.  I also like the fact that it isn’t a headlamp; I could never feel comfortable in one of those.  Although there is no pocket in this belt, I could also attach my water bottles and GU flask if I wanted.  (I use the Amphipod water belt, which has detachable water bottle holders).  I also appreciated the fact that there is a blinking red light on the back.  The more ways we can make ourselves visible to drivers, the better.

The belt is competitively priced at $60, which includes shipping.  There are other waist belts out there (like the GoMotion Sport Runner Light Belt, but that belt doesn’t have the mini-lights that really light up the ground).  I may buy a 2nd belt so that we can gear up our runner who is about to go; I have a feeling that it’s going to be a popular accessory.

I have only two minor knocks on the belt.  One is that the waist band is quite long for me.  This belt can serve runners of all sizes; I just have to wrap up the end a few times!  The other concerns the batteries; the ones that come with the belt give about 1 1/2 hours of light, so I’ll need to carry extras in the van if everyone is going to use it.  I may be able to get more life out of the batteries if I hit Radio Shack and get some top of the line batteries.  But as I realized the other night as I ran, I probably won’t need the super bright mini mag lights that often.  I can use just one at a time and get up to 3 hours of performance before I need to switch out the power supply.

If you’ve been considering a switch for your lighting accessories, or if you are brand new to the night running of the relay, I suggest that you check out the Night Runner Light Belt.  How you want to carry your light source is a matter of personal preference, so the light belt just might be what you are looking for.

I will be sending this light belt out with a few runners to see what they think of the product as well, so stay tuned for more information!