I was recently contacted by the team at Freetrain to ask if I wanted to try out their new range and to be honest I had never heard of them. But that makes sense since that’s why they would contact the likes of myself, to try and get a bit of exposure for their products, I did my usual and had a wee look to see if there was anything interesting and indeed there was.

The Freetrain VR.

What even are Freetrain? Well it isn’t going to float all of your boats, but it tweaked my interest straight away because I simply do not like carrying my phone with me on runs when I should. I hate things round my waist, the bouncing about, restriction of movement, not a fan. I have done the old phone on the arm thing in the past and it annoys me in the same way. The Freetrain as you can see below is a means of carrying the essentials with you on a run without having stuff round your waist, on your arm or carrying a bag. Now THIS appeals, let’s give that a go. I chose to trial the VR version as it is also reflective so ideal for the winter dark runs too. Their specs for this one are as follows:

FREETRAIN VR VEST

Bringing practicality and safety together. The VR is the counterpart to the V1, made from ultra-reflective material that lights up the dark. Created with you in mind, the VR is the product you don’t know you need, until you have it.

With over 100,000 satisfied runners & trainers, the VR has finally given you the most streamlined & balanced way to take your small essentials with you whilst you train. In the age of the smartphone, people now like to track their workouts, listen to music, or even keep in touch with the rest of the world whilst they exercise. Carrying your phone, keys & energy boosters can be distracting when you have something bouncing around on your arm or pocket or even riding up your back. Now you have the solution.

Now I am no ultra runner, but my long runs will be anywhere up to 16 miles. I carry keys, a gel, and should more often than I do take a phone, so this is suffice. You want multiple gels? This won’t be your all in one solution. Most of my runs through country roads etc so don’t need a bank card with me, but there is space for that. So gel loaded up, keys inserted and phone put in and looking for one thing out of this, to run without being hassled. Simple thing. Over the last few weeks I have put this through its paces in different scenarios and that’s what appeals to me about it. I did the long runs with the phone and it didn’t move – neither the phone part or the Freetrain vest itself moved at all. I didn’t notice it was there, with the phone being centre I notice no untoward redistribution of weight. If you wanted to, but I don’t, you can unpop the top button and check your phone as you go as the reverse side is clear so you can check it if you so require. I have also used it for doing my evening efforts and tempo sessions with my club in the dark nights. As I say it’s dual purpose because I don’t carry my phone in efforts sessions but I am using it as a lightweight reflective top over my T shirt or jacket on the roads where we train and when I am wearing it it isn’t noticeable for me that I am wearing anything extra, but it is certainly visible. The reflective materials are on both sides, front and back. It’s light, it doesn’t move and its shiny. Job done.

So there you have it, some people will get this, some people won’t. It works for me and a month down the line the quality has remained the same, no loss of elasticity, no bounce, no fading in the reflectivity and post trial I will continue to use this, both for long runs for my phone and for evening runs for safety. That for me is a success.

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Freetrain can be found on https://freetrain.co.uk/ .

It is important to note that this is an honest, independent review based on a sample provided for me for purposes of a review. It retails for around £29.99 but keep an eye out for black friday deals.