Hydration Packs

Big Ring Adventure Team

Ride. Research. Report.

Home | Go | Gear | Top10 | About | Mix | Search Results

Hydration Packs

Custom Search

Tip: Be sure to enable ActiveX for our site if you want to take full advantage of Google features. Results of your Google searches will appear on the Search Results page.

Key Search Terms: hydration pack; CamelBak Classic; Sette Max Flopak; Hydrapak Big Sur El Borracho; Lezyne Power Pack; Outdoor Products Ripcord.

Please support our sponsors.
Big Ring Media Team, Inc. Impact! Creative technical writing and photography entertains as it explains to make your message stick. It's your story. Tell it well.	Weber Sports Serving cyclists, runners, swimmers, skateboarders, and others with the best gear and the latest information. For your active lifestyle.

Text and photos by Rich Ries.

I forget how much I hate wearing a hydration pack until I have a chance to ride without one. Then I remember how a pack adds too much weight, restricts my movement, and raises my center of gravity. Then I remember that I wear a pack not because I enjoy it or because it makes me a better rider, but because it's the only reasonable means of carrying the sports drink, tools, and tubes I need when I ride. (So when do I ever ride without one? During video sessions. At Muscatatuck County Park, where I'm never more than a half-mile from the van. At skills parks.)

A hydration pack is a necessary evil, so I'm always looking for packs with the least evil in them. I like a 3-liter (100-ounce) reservoir for my everyday pack and the option of hauling two reservoirs or a single reservoir and a water filter for epic rides. (You can drink from a “bladder” if you wish; I drink from a “reservoir.”) And I like flow. Most hydration packs have really bad flow. It's like the designers don't understand basic fluid dynamics. Each change of direction creates turbulence and drag, yet most drink tubes have at least two 90-degree bends in them. The tubes, which are too small to begin with, are further restricted by couplings whose internal diameters (IDs) are even smaller. The greatest restriction is at the bite valve, the opening of which is the size of a paper cut. And as poor as bite valves are at permitting good flow they're at least as bad at stopping dribbles. Some bite valves must be slid or rotated to stop the flow (and the dribbles); this requires two hands, which just heightens my frustration.

The reservoir should open wide to accept ice and drink powder and to facilitate cleaning. Even big-mouthed reservoirs can have problems. A full reservoir tends to be rounded in cross-section, which creates a concave lump where the pack meets your back. This negates the cooling effects of whatever magic channels the manufacturer has designed to facilitate airflow and keep you from cooking. Two steps the manufacturers could take to prevent this would be the addition of a stiffening panel to help the pack hold its shape or the addition of gussets to the reservoir so that it remains more rectangular when filled.

I like someplace to stuff a jacket or leg warmers, either a big pocket, a bungee-corded panel, or cinch straps on the bottom. I like useable pockets, which means a nice mix of cavernous space for lunch and my folding saw and clothes plus smaller pockets for my cell phone and wallet. Flat pockets are useless; they have to have gussets (side panels) so that my Alien multitool and tubes don't stress the zippers. And I like heavy-duty zippers. The water-resistant ones tend to be frail and cumbersome to operate. Give me a big, beefy YKK zipper or something similar that I can operate with gloves on and that won't fail the third time I give it an ape-yank. Water-resistant? I don't care. If my stuff gets wet on a rainy ride, I'll dry it out when I get home. I wash my packs in the washer and I expect them to come out funk-free and in one piece.

I hate hook-and-loop material (Velcro is one brand name) because it hooks to glove cuffs, the floor mats in the van, and every other nappy fabric in proximity. It also chews up everything else in the washer. So I look for a minimum of the stuff on a pack. The pack should be as light as possible without sacrificing durability - I tend to be tough on equipment. And the pack should be comfortable to wear. The waist strap shouldn't feel like a LAP-BAND®. Larger packs should have backpack-style padded waist straps that distribute the weight on the iliac crests (the tops of the hips) to relieve pressure on the shoulders. The shoulder straps should stay on my shoulders and not slide down over my upper arms like the bra straps on some bony debutant. The straps should do their job and hold the pack in place, even when I'm caroming through a rock garden.

Most manufacturers offer women-specific designs. Sometimes that's just pink material, but it usually includes some design changes. One of those changes is a sternum strap positioned higher on the shoulder straps to keep pressure off the breasts. I've never suffered from man boobs but I like the higher strap position anyway because it helps keep the shoulder straps in place.

For some reason pack manufacturers tout their products' ability to carry a helmet. Apparently this is an important feature to many riders. It means nothing to me.

Yes, I hate wearing a hydration pack. Yes, I've accepted the inevitability of doing so. Therefore my search continues for the perfect pack. When I find it I'll let you know. In the meantime here are some of the models I've tried. (Note: mass/weight values are from my packs using BRAT's digital scale. Gear volume is from the manufacturer's Web sites.)

Product: CamelBak Classic (noncurrent model). Fluid capacity: 2 liters/70 oz. Gear volume: Not much. Empty pack mass/weight: 393 grams/0 lb. 13.9 oz. MSRP: $48.00 (current year); purchased on sale for $29.99. Recommended? Yes.

In my opinion CamelBak quit innovating soon after they achieved market dominance. Nowadays most of their competitors deliver more features for less money. But I was looking for a hydration pack to use on road rides and model-year holdover Classics were deeply discounted. There were plenty available in all the colors CamelBak offered so I ponied up for this one. (And yes, I know the road fashion police frown on hydration packs. But if you're a roadie fashionista, you're reading the wring Web site.) Changes in the newest model are minor: a top-zip pocket instead of side-zip; a concealed reservoir instead of the exposed twist-top; and bolder graphics in case you really want to look like a corporate shill. I prefer the older design. It's a snap to stow and retrieve what little cargo the pocket will hold, and mid-ride fluid refills are quick and easy. The pack lacks a belt (waist strap); if you bend over with the pack on it slips to the back of your head. Nonetheless the pack is extremely stable while riding whether standing or seated. In fact it's one of the most stable and comfortable hydration packs I've ever owned. Part of that is due to the reduced fluid capacity - 2 liters instead of the 3 liters my other packs hold. Part of that is the result of reduced overall bulk since all but one tiny pocket have been left off. The sternum strap is placed high so the shoulder straps stay in place. I haven't worn the Classic in any hot weather yet but my initial rides suggest that the cooling is adequate to good. Overall the Classic is a comfortable, convenient, and easy-to-use pack that will double the intervals times of my road-ride refueling. Eventually the vendors will sell through all the older models. When that occurs a current-year version would be a good purchase, although probably a bit less of a bargain.

Product: Sette Max Flopak. Fluid capacity: 3 liters/100 oz. Gear volume 4.8 liters/294 cubic inches. Empty pack mass/weight: 617 grams/1 lb. 5.8 oz. Put into service: November 2009. MSRP: $70.00; purchased on sale for $24.99. Recommended? Yes.

I bought this to replace a well-used, well-worn Hydrapak Big Sur (next review). The Big Sur hadn't failed, but I prefer to replace stuff just before it's likely to fail. Unlike the computer industry which estimates mean time between failure (MTBF) numbers, there's no way to know how long your bike stuff will last. So when the sternum straps of the Big Sur lost their plastic end clips I started shopping. After buying and returning a Lezyne Power Pack (reviewed below), I found this Sette Max Flopak. Sette is the house brand for Price Point and includes everything from jerseys to tools to frames to complete bikes. My experience with other Sette products has been positive and this hydration pack reinforces that perspective. It rides well, holds a ton of stuff (far more than the stated volume would suggest), has intelligently laid out storage, and is an absolute steal at 25 bucks. Most of the little touches found on pricier packs are here. There's a loop for rear flashing light and a loop for picking up the pack at the top center. There's a headphone port although, as with most packs, it's too small to allow passage of the cord ends of my helmet light. There's a big bungee cord for trapping large, irregularly-shaped items, such as a jacket. The straps are plenty long and easy to adjust. The airflow pads look like they'll be effective. I'll know more next summer. Price Point hasn't solved the drink flow issue. I usually slip the bite valve off the end of the tube, stick it in my pocket, and use the on/off valve on the drink tube to improve flow. So did I give up anything by buying a bargain? Not much. The fabric doesn't have the same hand as better packs from bigger manufacturers. Two of the three zippered pockets have single-pull zippers; double-pull zippers are more convenient. Color choices beyond black and black-with-grey would be nice. Is the Max Flopak really worth $70, as Price Point suggests? Maybe. Maybe not. But there's no doubt I got more than I paid for, which is good enough for me.

Product: Hydrapak Big Sur. Fluid capacity: 3 liters/100 oz. Gear volume: 7.4 liters/450 cubic inches. Empty pack mass/weight: 750 grams/1 lb. 10.5 oz. MSRP: $74.99. Recommended? Yes.

Hydrapak's Big Sur model is just the right size for everyday rides. The pockets are perfect. A full 3-liter reservoir bloats the back pocket and distorts the pack but the shape is restored after a few deep drinks lower the fluid level. As far as I know Hydrapak pioneered the open-top reservoir and it is easy to fill and to clean. (Other manufacturers now offer their version of this design.) The flow is marginal and the bite valves on all my Hydrapaks have become stained beyond cleaning. The valves also slide to close, which is clumsy and cumbersome. The plastic buckles that held the sternum straps to the shoulder straps failed on mine; these have been replaced with a wrap-around design that should hold up better. Mine has bungee cords over the main pocket. Newer models lack the bungees but their utility was limited and their absence is no real loss. There's a pocket for a MP3 player with a pass-through port for headphones; it works well with a helmet-mounted headlight, as well. My Big Sur has outlasted every other pack from every other manufacturer I've ever owned and has survived multiple heavy crashes where I landed on my back. The next best unit was a CamelBak H.A.W.G and my Big Sur has outlived that bag by far. The pack is reasonably comfortable to wear and stays in place fairly well, but the ventilation isn't miraculous and my back gets plenty sweaty. If Hydrapak improved the ventilation and made major changes to the flow factor, the Big Sur would approach perfect pack status.

Custom Search

Product: Hydrapak El Borracho. Fluid capacity: 3 liters/100 oz. Gear volume: 21.3 liters/1,300 cubic inches. Empty pack mass/weight: 1,290 grams/2 lb. 13.5 oz. MSRP: $109.99. Recommended? Yes.

This is the pack I take when I'm going to be gone for a while. It's huge. But a huge pack stuffed with gear has to perform well, and El Borracho does. The waist belts are wide and comfortably support the pack's weight on my hips, as would a quality backpack. The shoulder straps are also wide and well-padded. The sternum straps have the same puny plastic buckles as did my Big Sur. They haven't broken on El Borracho - yet. The outermost pocket is semi-rigid and has bungee cords and straps for carrying a board or a helmet. The rigidity further enhances El Borracho's ride characteristics. I can cram this bag and it rides well all day long. Yes, it's hot, but that's to be expected from a pack that covers essentially my entire back. The gear space is intelligently designed with a nice mix of high-volume areas and smaller pockets, including an MP3/battery pocket with a pass-through port. Mine came with a cell-phone holder on one shoulder strap, but it's not clear that this is still a standard feature. The reservoir is the same as on the Big Sur, which is good. The drink tube is also the same, which is bad. There are D-rings and cinch straps and bungees so that anything that doesn't fit inside the bag can be hung on the outside. Few bags carry as much gear as El Borracho. None I've used carry this much gear this comfortably. If only it had better flow.

Product: Lezyne Power Pack. Fluid capacity: 3 liters/100 oz. Gear volume: 8.0 liters/490 cubic inches. Empty pack mass/weight: 870 grams/1 lb. 14.7 oz. MSRP: $89.99. Recommended? No.

We've been impressed with other Lezyne products (here's our review of Lezyne Compact Pumps) and I had high expectations of their Power Pack. In some ways the PP exceeded those expectations. The waist straps were wide and well-padded. The sternum strap was easy to use. The best strap feature was the Y-configuration of the shoulder straps. Rather than going up over each shoulder and attaching to the upper corners of the pack, the PP's straps met at the upper middle of the pack. This is a clever, simple design change that made a world of difference in the comfort and stability of the pack. The Y-strap had the further benefit of being adjustable for length, but I found that at its shortest length it was plenty long enough. If I was wearing the pack over a jacket I might find the extendable strap useful, as might taller users. The reservoir has a full-open top, similar to what Hydrapak offers. Rather than a slide closure on the bite valve, the Lezyne uses a swivel; rotating the mouthpiece 90 degrees opens and closes the valve. How was the flow? I have no idea. I knew soon after I opened the PP that I'd be returning it and I didn't want to test what would ultimately become someone else's bite valve. (In fact my stability and comfort tests were limited for this same reason.) And why did the Power Pack go back? The storage was virtually useless. The main storage area had no way to secure items such as my folding saw. The two zippered pockets had no gussets and therefore offered almost no storage. The individual gear pockets inside the larger pockets were so small and tight that I could not possibly have gotten my multitool, cell phone, or tire levers into the spaces intended for them. There may indeed be 8 liters of storage in the Power Pack, but it's configured so badly that there's effectively no storage at all. Too bad. The Y-strap and the prospect of high flow (as claimed on the Lezyne Web site) would make the Power Pack a winner if only it had useable storage.

Product: Outdoor Products Ripcord. Fluid capacity: 2 liters/70 oz. Gear volume: 11.8 liters/720 cubic inches. Empty pack mass/weight: n/a. MSRP: n/a. Recommended? No.

I bought this pack because it was on sale. Here's what I liked about it. Although the reservoir didn't have the full-open top offered by Hydrapak and others, the twist-off cap was easy to use and the opening was big enough to dump in some ice cubes. The best part of the reservoir was that it had a neck ring around the opening that made it really easy to hold the bag in position as I added drink powder and ice. The storage space was well-designed and for a 2-liter pack there was a lot of storage. My big complaint about the Ripcord was that the slit in the bite valve was sealed shut when I received the pack. Outdoor Products must have anticipated this problem because the instructions said to roll the mouthpiece between my thumb and forefinger until the slit popped open. I rolled and rolled until my knuckles ached. No slit appeared. So contrary to the bold face instructions against the procedure I used a razor blade to open the slit. The instructions warned that doing so would cause the mouthpiece to dribble, which it did. I wrote to Outdoor Products to express my displeasure and inquire about getting a replacement mouthpiece. Their response was essentially, “Tough luck, loser.” I would have been even more disappointed if I'd had to put up with that leaky mouthpiece for long, but before the season was over the Ripcord had lost a couple of zipper pulls and some stitching was letting go so the whole unit went into the trash.