Women's Cycling Magazine Review

You’ll have to excuse me if my vanity gets the best of me but when it comes to getting off my bike and walking into Starbucks to get my caffeine fix… I’d rather not be a hot sweaty mess and blind as a bat. You and I both know, there’s a time and a place for hot and sweaty!

Have you ever heard of the Sweat GUTR™? If you haven’t heard of it you’ve surely seen the ads on Facebook and several other popular websites. In any case, I’m here to tell you first hand this simple device actually works! Up until recently I had been seeing the ads for the Sweat GUTR™ everywhere but never paid to much attention or clicked on any of the ads. As chance would have it I was passing by the Sweat GUTR™ booth at Interbike a few weeks ago and stopped to ask, what is this Sweat GUTR™ all about?

Luckily for me the person I asked was none other than president and founder Erick P. Flatt. I shook Erick’s hand and told him jokingly I had seen the ads for Sweat GUTR™ everywhere and all over my Facebook account, he couldn’t have been more delighted. Erick then went on to explain the technology behind this simple practical device that has everyone saying… “why didn’t I think of that”!

Erick then pointed out that Old Man Winter is right around the corner and a lot of people (not fortunate enough to live in SoCal like myself) will be making the transition to cycling indoors. Here’s what he had to say.

Riding indoors this winter

Indoor cycling classes are becoming increasingly popular, especially during the winter months. Whether you’re participating in a cycling class at your local bike shop’s clinics, riding on rollers or an indoor trainer with cycling buddies in your garage, indoor cycling can be a great way to stay in shape during the winter months. However, working up a sweat takes on a whole new meaning when cycling indoors. Most cyclists will drape towels over their handlebars or use bike bras to protect their bikes from the endless sweat. Even cyclists that don’t normally perspire much will drip with sweat while cycling indoors and those of us that are real sweaters will pour buckets of sweat. Needless to say saturation becomes an understatement and cloth sweatbands don’t stand a chance of keeping our eyes clear and dry.

Thinking about using a hat or bandanna? Sixty percent of your body heat escapes through the top of your head. Do you really want to trap all that heat and add to that steam bath feeling?

Enter the Sweat GUTR™ sweatband. Channeling sweat away, your eyes stay clear and dry. Since the GUTR™ is nonabsorbent, you never have to worry about it saturating like cloth sweatbands.

The GUTR’s very small profile allows heat to freely escape off the top of your head to help keep you cooler. And, when you’re done cycling the GUTR™ is basically dry and not a soggy mess to deal with. After a quick rinse to remove any salt residue, the Sweat GUTR™ is ready for your next training session.

Echo’s sweaty testimony

So needless to say after chatting up Mr. Flatt (and learning more about sweat than I ever thought I’d learn), before parting ways he gave me a GUTR™ to try for myself. I was a bit skeptical, having been the punchline for many jokes in the past because of my excessive sweat (and funk)… I was thinking to myself this is too good to be true.

Unfortunately the Sweat GUTR™ didn’t do anything for my body funk after 2 hours of trail riding but it did keep the sweat out of my eyes and face! I’m also an avid tennis player so I took it out on the tennis court with me and by George if I didn’t have one of the best games of my life! Tennis is 99% mental, I don’t know if it was me thinking I had an edge with the Sweat GUTR™ or if I just thought I was too cool because nobody else had one… either way I kicked some tennis rear-end while wearing the Sweat GUTR™.

If you haven’t gotten the message already… go get the Sweat GUTR™ it will definitely prove useful, comfortable and you’ll be the envy of all your friends. You can buy the Sweat GUTR™ at any major sports retailer.

"Some ideas are so perfectly simple that you can’t believe you didn’t think of them first. Like this one: Unlike terry cloth bands that soak up sweat, the Sweat GUTR headband, made of hypoallergenic PVC, has a patented microlip that channels sweat away from your eyes while you exercise. The perfect fit for high-intensity cardio workouts."

 

 

 

"This weekend while participating in the Houston-to-Austin MS150 I broke one of my cardinal rules of riding in a big event: I tried something new, but this time it paid off.

Have you ever been on one of those hot and humid rides where sweat is just pouring off of you, and then you get into a descent and here comes a cascade of sweat directly into your eyes? Or maybe you're like me and you have a "substantial internal cooling system" (OK, some say I sweat like a pig – potato / potahto…) – I strongly suggest you give the Sweat GUTR™ a try.

I admit I have seen the GUTR at various event expos in the last year or so but had been remiss in trying it simply because I didn't think it could have been a big improvement over a traditional sweatband or even the dry fit variants – I was wrong. Now I am not a big fan of sweatbands to begin with. Sure they tend to hold sweat initially but then dump a big stream onto your face when they become saturated, and usually at a critical moment in time. And fashion-wise they're not exactly very aesthetically pleasing. Enter the GUTR.

I spoke with an enthusiastic Greg Thurmond, VP of Sales and Marketing, at the MS150 Expo. He said that the big difference between the GUTR and the usual methods of sweat blocking is that it is very lightweight (it is), makes a perfect seal on your forehead (it does), channels the sweat away from your eyes and off the side of your face (that it does), and it's hardly noticeable when wearing it with your helmet (once again, check). I would add that when you have it on correctly you don't even sense it's there, it's that form-fitting, and it doesn't require you to crank it on tight, either.

Positioning of the GUTR is important. While the business end is self-explanatory (i.e. put it across your forehead), Greg explained that the rear needs to ride a little higher on the back of the head. This stops the band from working it's way down where the edge of the silicone band can get a little annoying rubbing where your ears attach to your head (again, true as I found out when I didn’t follow instructions during one section of the ride). Time Trialists / tri folks may need to do the opposite (front higher, rear band lower) as their head position is different than normal riding and it's basically a gravity thing when it comes to sweat dripping down.

At about $16 the Sweat GUTR does what it says: it channels sweat away from your eyes and it does it very well. So no matter what your sporting / working perspiration needs are, you might want to give it a chance – I think your eyes will appreciate it! Check out more info at their web site, www.SweatGUTR.com or look for it at various bike shops / expos wherever you may roam. Ciao for now – Chris Brewer."

"Though it's the 21st century, Neil still sports the Laurent Fignon headband on local rides. The weird thing is that the 80's are back so Neil kind of looks cool. Go figure! If you are a Sweathog, then the GUTR is for you. With a patented microlip, the GUTR captures and channels sweat away from your precious "bulbs". Now you can stop futzing with your eyes and focus on the road. The modern headband is resistant to saturation, comfortable, lightweight, adjustable, easy to clean and built to last. Throw away that Travolta-esque band and tear up that goofy dew-rag and try sporting something invisible and efficient."

 

"Nobody likes sweat dripping into their eyes during a long bike ride. At best, it’s extremely uncomfortable and annoying, but at worst, the problem can have grave consequences if the sweat temporarily blinds you. The best inventions are birthed at the crossroads of necessity and simplicity. That must have been the intersection that adventure racer Erick Flatt was passing through when he decided that there had to be a better way to keep sweat from running into his eyes and ruining his bike rides. Erick’s ingenious product, appropriately named the Sweat Gut’r, was the revolutionary solution. Constructed of comfortable PVC (most people would refer to the material simply as “rubber,” but there is no rubber or silicone in the band), the Sweat Gut’r is a headband for the 21st century. About the width of a pencil, the product channels sweat that rolls down your forehead and deposits it off the side of your face. Unlike a terrycloth sweatband, the Sweat Gut’r doesn’t absorb sweat—it moves it. Another distinction is that the Sweat Gut’r is much easier to clean—just rinse in water, and you’re set. When we first considered reviewing the Sweat Gut’r, we had concerns about fit. Not everyone has the same head circumference, but the Sweat Gut’r has that figured out, too. Each unit is supplied with three different-sized bands that make customizing the fit a snap. Thanks to its low profile on your forehead, you’ll find that the product fits well under a bike helmet or other headwear. We tried it during a run, under a baseball cap on a 100-degree day, and the sweat was channeled to the side as easily as water off a duck’s back. In short, the Sweat Gut’r is an ingenious solution to an age-old problem. As a bonus, it’s not going to make a big dent in your wallet. At just $14.99, you can afford to pick up an extra band as a spare."

"Texas company Tunnel Vision has developed what it calls the "ultimate sweatband solution". The descriptively-named Sweat GUTR uses a unique lip to channel perspiration out to the sides of a rider's face, and away from your eyes and glasses. The GUTR easily adapts to fit with most helmets and head sizes, and the stretchy and soft PVC material is said to be completely hypoallergenic. As odd as the concept may sound initially, pro riders have clearly taken notice. The Rite Aid and Team Orbea professional squads are both already using the GUTR in competition, and Team Jelly Belly is currently evaluating the product. In addition, according to Greg Thurmond, Tunnel Vision's VP of sales and marketing, the company is also trying to break into the world of mainstream professional sports, such as basketball, as well as industrial uses and multiple application patents have either been already granted or are pending. We've been using the GUTR ourselves quite a bit over the past couple of months, and have been surprisingly impressed. In spite of our initial doubts and hesitance (along with a giggle or two), the GUTR not only works as advertised, but has been almost completely unnoticeable from both a comfort and visual standpoint once it's properly positioned beneath a helmet. It seems like the boys in Texas may be on to something here…/JH"

"Got a problem with sweat running into your eyes during workouts and other activities? Dallas-based Tunnel Vision thinks it has the solution. It's called the Sweat GUTR. Manufacturers say this modern and lightweight headband priced at $14.99 works like a gutter for your head by channeling sweat away from the eyes. The idea was spawned by Erick Flatt, an adventure racing athlete who is Tunnel Vision's founder and president. The headband contains a patented design and is made from a soft, flexible PVC compound. "

"This patented sweatband replaces fabric sweatbands, which only work well until they get saturated. The Sweat GUTR is like a rain gutter for your head - it channels the sweat off your forehead and lets it drip down the side of your face and away from your eyes. The headband is completely resistant to saturation, fully adjustable, easy to clean and long lasting."

 

 

 

"The Texas summer is around the corner, and if you're working out outdoors or just working outdoors you're in for some hot sweaty days ahead. If you are looking for a better solution to keep sweat out of your eyes, then try the Tunnel Vision headband. It's like a "gutter for your head" and works by channeling sweat away from your eyes. This modern headband is completely resistant to saturation so it'll never let you down! It's extremely comfortable and lightweight and works great with bike helmets. The Tunnel Vision headband is used by adventure racers, cyclists, runners and almost anyone who needs to keep their eyes clear of sweat."

"The Tunnel Vision Headband that channels sweat away from your eyes. Invented by Dallasite and athlete Erick P. Flatt..."