Gear Review: Gel-Bot

One of the most challenging things I’ve found about ultra running and long distance snowshoe racing is staying well nourished and hydrated. Taking in calories by way of energy gels is a very effective way of keeping your energy level topped up. However, the hassles of dealing with individual gel wrappers, in addition to the mess and impact on the environment, can make this less appealing. Throw in having to follow up your gel consumption with a slug of water and it’s easy to see that you sometimes feel like you are spending more time fueling and less time actually enjoying your run.

Gel-Bot has come up with a great solution to this problem with their two-in-one gel/water bottle system. This brilliant concept incorporates a gel canister inside of a standard water bottle, and is super easy to operate. Open the drink valve on the bottle and you can sip on water (or sport drink). Close the valve and squeeze the bottle and you get a shot of energy gel.

The Gel-Bot features a 24 fluid oz. capacity water bottle, while the gel canister accommodates 3.2 oz of gel (roughly 2 individual gels). The gel canister sits neatly inside the water bottle and comes apart for easy cleaning.  

I tested the Gel-Bot on a couple of recent trail runs, and was pleased with the way it performed. It did take some practice to get the hang of getting the gel out of the canister as you need to sip on the valve while squeezing the bottle. This may be slightly harder than using a separate gel flask, however the convenience of having everything in one bottle more than made up for this.

If you are looking for a system that allows you to easily drink water and consume gels during your workout, I would highly encourage you to give the Gel-Bot a try.

For more information on Gel-Bot, please visit www.gel-bot.com.