Good versatile hydration pack

I bought one of these about 4 years ago and it has been some of the best money I have spent on outdoor equipment. I use mine for a wide range of activities and am planning to use it for more in the future.

The primary reason to get one of these is to make carrying your water easier. I have used mine for hiking and cycling, and plan to use it for adventure racing soon. The water bladder works well and is easy to work with. It makes drinking very convenient which is great if you're busy watching other cyclists or trying to watch a trail and compass but don't want to stop to get a drink. Refilling the bladder requires at least partially removing it from the backpack so I never plan on doing that in a race situation.

A secondary reason to get one of these is for use as a normal backpack. While these do work well carrying whatever you decide to pack in the various pockets the overall available space is largely determined by how much water you put in the bladder. At full capacity the available space drops by nearly half. This is crucial for deciding which model you want to buy as the same will hold true across the range. Larger models won't be effected quite so much but this needs to be considered based on your planned uses.

One major plus for this backpack is how well it holds to me while doing some very active work. When mountain biking at night it has to hold the large battery for the lights. At 5 pounds it has the potential to swing around but this is able to keep it in place through some pretty bouncy situations. For hiking and trail running it holds tight as well and I'll forget it's there. The specially shaped back still allows for some airflow which helps. Other backpacks I've tried allow too much movement of the contents which can be distracting.

This is a good, durable backpack. After 4 years of use in all kinds of conditions I can't see any signs of wear. This alone makes it a good buy. Caring for it is easy too. I would recommend getting a cleaning kit for the long tube as simply running soapy water through it doesn't get it clean enough. Hang out the water bladder and drink tube to thoroughly dry between uses as well. Many users like to use denture cleaner tablets to give the bladder a good cleaning too.

Overall I rate this backpack as excellent. If I bought another one I might get one with more room but this works for 90% of what I use it for so I'm not going to complain.