Naked Running Band Review: A Lightweight Belt With Serious Storage

Introduction

The running belt has quietly become one of the most important pieces of kit in a regular runner’s wardrobe. Carrying a soft flask of water and a phone on every run is a sensible habit, and the right belt makes that easy without adding bounce, weight, or chafing. Over recent years, a wide range of running belts from many brands have been put through real miles, with results ranging from excellent to disappointing.

The Naked Running Band has been one of the most requested belts to test. It has also been genuinely difficult to get hold of in the UK, where the Centurion Running store appears to be the only stockist, so when new stock arrived in the right size, it was worth grabbing while it lasted. After several weeks of testing with both minimal kit and a fully loaded belt, here is how it performed.

Design and Features

The Naked Running Band is built from a lightweight, highly breathable ExoPower mesh fabric that is designed to resist chafing and bounce. That construction keeps the weight down to just 2.3 ounces, which is impressively light for a belt with this much structure.

Storage is split into three individual sections with stitch dividers, offering a total capacity of two litres. Each pocket gets a good-sized yellow pull tab for easy access on the move, and one pocket includes a micro clip, ideal for keeping house or car keys secure during a run. Two silicon-lined loops on the back are designed for stowing trekking or running poles, and high-visibility detailing adds a safety touch for nighttime running. The belt also includes a race number attachment, which removes the need to pin safety pins through expensive technical kit.

Fit and Everyday Comfort

The standout fit feature is the size range: the belt is available in twelve different sizes, which is genuinely unusual. Very few, if any, other running belt makers offer a size run that deep, and it means most runners should be able to find a genuinely personalised fit rather than compromising between too tight and too loose.

The depth of the belt is also well judged. It provides plenty of storage space without being so wide that it rides up around the waist while running. The pull tabs on each pocket deserve special mention, because they make accessing contents on the move noticeably easier than on belts without them. These are small design touches that other manufacturers would do well to copy.

Pole Loops, Race Number Holder, and Sizes

The rear pole loops have a silicone lining that grips poles tightly, so there is no unwanted movement while running. The elastic in the loops is quite tight, which makes stowing poles slightly fiddly, but the upside is that once poles are in place, there is no chance of them sliding around or falling out.

The race number holder is a big bonus for anyone who races regularly and wants to carry gels or a small bottle of electrolyte without pinning a number through their kit. Combined with the twelve-size range and the high-visibility detail, the feature list here is thoughtful and clearly aimed at runners who use a belt in real events, not just casual training.

Performance and the Bounce Test

To test how the belt handles real loads, it was packed with a full set of mandatory kit: a 500ml soft flask filled with water, a mobile phone, gloves, a buff, two gels, and even a lightweight compact running head torch. Then came the bounce test: jumping around while fully loaded to see what moves and what stays put.

The result was convincing. Even fully loaded, there was very little movement to speak of, and the belt performed on par with the best belts tested previously. On regular runs, the mesh fabric stayed comfortable and highly breathable, and the manufacturing quality is excellent, well stitched and built to hold up to years of wear and tear.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The first consideration is personal: the front divider splits the front pocket, which makes it awkward to carry a 250ml soft flask flat across the stomach with a phone sitting flat in the small of the back, a carrying style that works well on belts without that divider. This is a preference issue rather than a flaw, but it is worth thinking about if you carry in the same way.

The second consideration is price. At £53 in the UK, this is an expensive running belt, and by some distance the most expensive one in this collection. For comparison, the Ultimate Direction Utility Belt copies much of the same design, including pole loops and a pull tab on each pocket, missing only the race number holder, and retails for £34, roughly £20 cheaper. It is debatable whether the Naked Running Band’s performance fully justifies that premium.

Buying Advice

If you want a belt that combines very low weight, breathable comfort, deep storage, pole carriage, and a race number holder, the Naked Running Band ticks nearly every box and performs very well under load.

If value for money is your priority, it is worth weighing the £53 price against cheaper alternatives with very similar feature sets. Runners who carry a flask flat across the front of the belt may also prefer a design without a front divider. For everyone else, this is one of the best-performing belts available and easy to recommend on performance alone.

Conclusion

The Naked Running Band is a brilliantly made, featherweight belt with a thoughtful feature set, and it passed every test thrown at it with very little bounce. The twelve-size range and pocket pull tabs are genuine differentiators. The main question mark is value: at £53 it is expensive, and whether it is that much better than established cheaper rivals is a question worth asking before you buy.