Great in theory, but not in use.

I bought the Flip Belt for the LA marathon, so I wouldn't have my phone and energy gels bouncing around in my shorts. For that purpose, I would give it 5 stars. The belt is comfortable to wear (choosing the right size is important though) and it kept things in place...even when I was pushing the pace down hills. Or so I thought. Read on...

Here's where the Flip Belt falls short... it was a real pain in the arse to try and get my iPhone 7 in/out of the little "birthing canal" pouches with one hand. Finding where the holes are with one hand (I had a hand-held water bottle in the other) while you're running fast is tough! I tried to use the voice activated feature on my headphones as much as possible to avoid having to deal with this too often, but when I wanted to check texts from running coach, etc. it was necessary to take the phone out and put it back in...which was a really big challenge. So, it's best to leave things put (and/or have two hands to put them back in if you're taking them out).

MOST IMPORTANT FOR CONSIDERATION... I started the race with the following in the belt... iPhone 7, 2 energy gel packs, 1 full pack of Tailwind (pretty good size), my car keys (luckily attached to the clip in one of sections which is noted on the product packaging as "for added security"... ahhhh, foreshadowing), my driver's license, one credit card and $30 cash. So it did carry a lot of stuff in the belt. Another plus.

BUT...and this is a biggie... after finishing running 26.2 miles, I found that somewhere along the way my driver's license and credit card fell out of the belt. And the $30 cash was hanging on for dear life out of another hole. That's the last thing you want to see after a long run. No beer garden. No credit card. Go straight to the DMV!

So, if you're considering buying this belt vs. another with a zipper... I would strongly encourage you to go with the other option with the zipper (or at least not put stuff in it that you don't care about losing).

Dear makers of Flip Belt. Please add a zipper to just ONE of the holes so it will better secure things we can't afford to lose... like cash and driver's licenses. I don't think it will affect the experience (or cost) that much. And I might even consider recommending the product to other people.