I'm thinking of getting myself a new hydration pack. I've found that by not throwing my money away DH racing, I actually have money to spend on my bike, and it's working out pretty well. Right now I have a Camelbak Octane 14+ which I bought for an adventure race but use it entirely for biking now. It's a decent pack, I like the side pockets, but there's no internal storage compartments and virtually everything is worn out (Zipper flaps, cord pulls). The reservoir has been decent but it's tough to clean all up in there. It's also ultra light, which is cool but I'd rather have better ventilation on my back than light weight. I currently ride about 3 hrs max, and most of my rides are sub 20 miles. I doubt I'll ever do much beyond that without getting back to a car or something.
What are people riding that doesn't suck? Hydrapak has really good reviews on their bladders, but some of their pack reviews are so so. The MULE has been around forever, but that doesn't inherently make it good. I've read some good things about deuter packs, which aren't too expensive and have a decent ventilation system which looks cool. So what gives?
What are people riding that doesn't suck? Hydrapak has really good reviews on their bladders, but some of their pack reviews are so so. The MULE has been around forever, but that doesn't inherently make it good. I've read some good things about deuter packs, which aren't too expensive and have a decent ventilation system which looks cool. So what gives?