ThisNext Blog

Once a little-known secret among, as one Pittsburgh Post Gazette article tells it, “mountain bikers and counterculture types” (e.g., Burning Man partiers and “granola-eating fitness buffs”), CamelBak has now become the hydration pack of choice for everyone from hikers and hunters to Navy SEALs and police officers. The CamelBak-loving outdoorsmen and women of ThisNext most likely lean more toward the granola-eating fitness buff side of things (in a really good way), with each shopcasting his or her pack style of choice and favored use.

Travel and adventure writer Shanti Sosienski, for instance, takes her CamelBak Women’s Isis 100 oz. Hydration Pack along in her many excursions around the globe, noting that the small pack is “great for traveling because you can go with or without the water bladder and it makes a good day pack.”

Deb Schiff also recommends her CamelBak 2006 Day Star 70oz. Women’s Hike Hydration Pack for travel – along with long hikes – since the pack “holds extra socks, sandals, snacks, first aid kit, 70 oz of water, and more.” Deb dubs the Day Star perfect for “hiker chicks,” which may have to do with its women-specific design (including a harness that “curves with your body for a comfortable fit,” according to Outdoor Equipment blog).

Not just a hit among hiker chicks, CamelBak seems favored among biker dudes as well. Payne at the blog Motorcycling and Other Travelling Journies just tried CamelBak for the first time on a 1,700-mile round-trip biking trip to the Mid-Ohio Superbike Races (whoa) and shares this rave review:

“It was very easy to use while riding and was quite refreshing and kept me good and hydrated and alert, even riding in 100 degree temps with the heat index around 110. I was surprised to find that cold water I put in it stayed quite cold, especially with ice in the mixture.”

Another biking blogger, from MTBikeAZ.com, recently replaced his 1997 CamelBak Hawg – which he’d been using “since, well, 1997 when I got it for Christmas” – with the 2006 model. And although the Hawg’s price tag hasn’t changed since 1997, the new version has “nearly double the capacity for gear as the earlier model” plus many other awesome features:

“The Dynamic Suspension Harness keeps the HAWG stable on my back…no more bouncing around side to side. The Air Director back panel really does keep my back cool, in Arizona a cool back is a dream come true. My favorite feature - the iPod pocket, it’s a solo pocket with a soft inner that protects your MP3 player of choice from the elements not to mention everything else in the CamelBak.”

Our own Gordon is a fan of the Camelbak Hawg 100 oz. Hydration Pack
too, noting that it’s “the best, most durable hydration pack I have used” and “totally the way to go if you are heading out for a long ride.”

Seems like virtually any breed of outdoor athlete can soak up CamelBak’s hydration-supplying benefits. Case in point: Snowboarder Staviean uses his Camelbak Unbottle 100 oz. “to keep me hydrated during a day of catching some freshies, hitting the park or just some good ole free riding.”