What a month it’s been. Between Cade Michael landing on the Black Canyon podium, our final prototype arriving, and more, things around here are heating up.
I want to update you on a few things happening here at Dera.
Cade Michael’s Black Canyon 50K Podium
In January, I had an extra factory prototype from our development process. It wasn't great—exposed cords, a few design details that still needed work, and more—but I sent it off to Cade in Boulder to get his thoughts.
Cade was open to trying the prototype, but he was clear: he wouldn’t race with it at Black Canyon unless it was the best belt in his closet. And as a self-proclaimed “belt guy,” Cade’s closet provided stiff competition.
After Cade’s first run in the belt, he sent over a short review. The dial was “way more impactful than [he] had assumed.” The pass-through sleeve allowed him to store an extra powder flask, providing “an extra level of capacity that others don’t match.”
About a week before the race, I got the green light from him. He’d be racing in our belt at Black Canyon.
Long story short, Cade landed himself on the podium in a race that was quick right off the line. We won’t say the belt had any impact on that performance, but we were stoked Cade chose us for his race. Afterward, I got a simple text: “It was so good.”
If you haven’t read Cade’s post-race recap, it’s pretty amazing. You can read it here.
Our Final Prototype Is Here
In another exciting development, our final prototype—aside from fabric color—landed here in Mammoth a couple weeks ago.
This version of the belt is really pretty amazing. It comfortably fits over a liter of water, has the details nailed, and looks sleek to match. I’m really excited to share it with you.
Plus, we finally nailed one final feature we haven’t announced anywhere yet—but that’ll remain a secret for a little while longer.
What’s Up Next?
The next delivery we get from our factory will be a size run sample. That means we’ll get a sample of every size we’ll be releasing, from XS to XL.
In our next update, you’ll get to see photos of the belt on even more runners.
A Question for You
I want to give you more insight into our development process, what makes B01 unique, and bring you into the inside-baseball side of designing the belt.
What do you want to know about? How we chose our dial system, the custom flask we co-developed with HydraPak, or our fabric choice? It’s all on the table.
Our launch is getting closer every day. I can’t share an exact date with you yet, but I’m starting to count down the weeks.
As always, thank you for being here.
Morgan
Founder, Dera Running