Wild.Life Run Belt Design and Development

Role: Industrial Designer, Product Developer, Brand Founder

In Collaboration with: James Brittain of (Extra)Ordinary Design - Co-Founder, Industrial Designer and Technical Developer Timeline: Nov 2024-Present Deliverables: Concept → Prototype → Production-Ready Design Tools & Methods: Sketching, CAD, 3D printing, sewing prototyping, material testing, field testing

Summary: The Wild.Life Run Belt is for ultra and mountain runners seeking performance-oriented, modular, and durable storage without compromising comfort. Designed to disappear until needed.

Through my own runs and a survey of competitive gear, I saw a recurring pattern: belts either bounced wildly, fit only a sliver of body shapes, or forced you into one configuration for every run. Modular options existed, but they looked like a circus of dangling straps. Meanwhile, competitors touted “no-bounce” belts that still migrated south when loaded or severely compromised other key aspects.

Bounce-Free Fit - stability at all paces, even with a full load

Modular System - interchangeable components and storage configurations to allow flexibility, pre loading and quick turnover on race day

Comfort - Flexible/Adaptable sizing without excess straps and plastic hardware, soft liner and rollover seams to prevent chaffing.

Storage - Minimum 1.25L water capacity and 300+grams of carbs + ability to carry/organize and separate phone and other necessities from nutrition and trash

Durability  - materials that stand the test of time, repel mud, snow, and rain while staying lightweight

Fast Access - intuitive organization and easy to reach items without breaking stride

Visual Identity - tie into Wild.Life’s brand language: technical + approachable

User Interviews: Spoke with trail and ultra runners to identify pain points

Competitive Audit: Reviewed belts from Salomon, Naked, Raide, Terrex, North Face and Arcteryx

Field Testing: Logged 1000's of km with competitor belts to understand performance under load, in wet weather, and under race conditions

Key insights:

Binding = Chaffing

Stretch pockets worked well for quick stash but sagged with heavy items. 

No-one likes wiggling in/out of an elastic belt and many women in particular find the sizing requirements of elastic tube-shaped belts prohibitive

Adjustability and quick-release buckles ranked higher than elastic belts but lacked performance characteristics

No bounce typically means very tight, and worn high on the stomach causing compression on stomach and interference with breathing

In-line water bottles > stacked

Sketch Phase: Explored variations balancing weight distribution, ergonomics and how to eliminate bounce with a 2-Part system

CAD Models: Created 3D models to test proportion and pocket layouts and explore marketing content possibilities

Prototype 1 (Made by Manufacturing Partner): Fit and bounce test (failed under heavy load), too much bunching of material under tension

Prototype 2 (Made by Manufacturing Partner): New pocket geometry, wider back panel - custom 3D printed loops for front to prevent bunching - still failure under heavy load - realization that this particular approach is flawed

Prototype 3 (In-Studio): New attachment concept via Frankenstein hack and slash of previous protos and spare parts - Separated the need front and back components method of attachment from how the belt is secured for fit and no bounce - New design results in a "set it and forget it" highly adjustable back component that eliminates bounce, can be preloaded and attaches via one simple g-clip.  Allows only the back to be worn on short runs or days when you don't need to carry much.  Opens up more pocket space on the front piece and more room for modularity.

Prototype 4 (In production with Manufacturing Partner): Refined Pocket arrangement, increase in back depth, reduced zipper pocket size and added mesh layer for jacket storage and more ergonomic pole strap location. More robust g-clip spec'd.  Reduction of fabric and more elasticized pocket openings.

Field Testing: Robust testing of Proto 3 - 250+ km's run in all types of conditions and efforts, rain, and heat; tested with gels, soft flasks, phone, and jacket

Outcome: Significant reduction in bounce, smoother fit across waist sizes.  So far no chafe. Expectation that proto 4 will be nearly production ready.

Bounce-Free Fit - stability at all paces, even with a full load.

Modular System - interchangeable components and storage configurations to allow flexibility of use depending on run duration/needs.

Comfort - Flexible/Adaptable sizing without excess straps and plastic hardware, soft liner and rollover seams to prevent chaffing.

Storage - Comfortable 1.25L water capacity and 300+grams of carbs + ability to carry/organize and separate phone and other necessities from nutrition and trash

Durability  - reinforced elastic ripstop main material that stands the test of time, repels mud, snow, and rain while staying lightweight

Fast Access - intuitive organization and easy to reach items without breaking stride. Ability to pre-load multiple fronts for quick turnover on race day.

Positioned as a premium technical belt in the $125 CAD retail range — durable enough for multi-day adventures, refined enough for race day. Visual language draws from Wild.Life’s brand: earthy technical colours, clean geometry, and a balance of performance + personality.

Final prototype nearly approved for production

Initial manufacturing partner secured (MOQ 2000 units)

Packaging concepts in development

Early interest from trail running community and UGC creators lined up for launch campaign

Blended industrial design expertise with personal ultra running experience. Reinforced the value of ergonomic refinements and user collaboration.