Hydration systems take on many different shapes and sizes. There are waist belts, vests, standard backpacks, handhelds, and packs that straddle across more than one category. There are also various sizes available to allow you to select a pack for each and every distance or duration you may want to go. Typically, packs are not [...]
While running long distances, most all of us know by now that it is important to hydrate. Without enough water and electrolytes, your body begins to break down and your running will start to deteriorate. Running packs came out a while back where you would throw a hydration bladder in your backpack and call it [...]
If you are looking for a heavy duty pack that can safely carry your camera gear, a laptop and extras while taking a beating, then look no further than the Mountainsmith Parallax Pro Daypack. The pack allows for easy access to equipment quickly through the back, which is important if you need to be able [...]
As The North Face has looked back over the years, they understand that while it is important to grow and offer less technical products for the general consumer, it is also important to continue with innovation and making products for the original customer. With a heritage of making products for mountaineering and hardcore expeditions, The [...]
The Photo Sport 200 AW backpack from Lowepro is a great bag for the landscape and nature photographer as well as the outdoor sports photographer, offering a novel camera carrying system in a well made daypack. Lowepro offers a few different models in the Photo Sport line and I choose to go with the largest [...]
Finding a quality day pack for day hikes and other activities isn’t hard to do these days with a number of brands making quality products. After you’re able to sort out the not so great packs, you really have to figure out what it is you are using a pack for so you pick the [...]
With a long history of making great fitting backpacking packs, Gregory has been playing in the space of day packs and hydration packs over the past few years. Often times, when a company jumps into the day-pack category, they often need a few years to really get in synch with what consumers want. Over the [...]
Spring 2010 saw the entrance of Black Diamond into the world of backpacking. The Innova 50L, a women’s specific pack, was one of its’ first offerings. I have had the opportunity to test out the Innova over the course of the last 2 months while navigating the airports, using it as a carry on, to [...]
Benefiting outdoor enthusiast and athletes, innovation in hydration packs has held constant for many years. What does this mean for runners, hikers, bikers, etc? It typically means that you can enjoy your activity more vs. having to focus on the performance or lack thereof of your gear. When I first saw that Geigerrig was getting [...]
If you are a purist ultra lighter, the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Windrider should be on your shortlist of backpacks, plain and simple. Hyperlite Mountain Gear was able to squeeze a 40 liter capacity into a pack weighing a mere 1 lb. 9 oz. Unlike some other ultralight packs, the Windrider has solid durability and weatherproofing [...]
Camelbak. We all know the name, we’ve seen people wearing it, and we know how it works. Essentially, you carry water like a camel – in a pack on your back. Granted, a camel can’t strap anything on and off (mainly due to a lack of opposable thumbs and a phobia of mesh webbing), but [...]
After years of making quality tents, sleeping bags, and other quality outdoor products, Sierra Designs has added a new product line that helps complete your outdoor adventures. The Revival 50 backpack is part of the Pinnacle Series and is intended for weekend trips with its 50 liter capacity (2950 in3). At 3 lbs. 12 oz, [...]
Whether you’re looking for the perfect hydration pack for your long run or looking for a simple no frills pack for a day hike, the Hydrapak Avila is an excellent option. I’ve been testing this pack out over the past 2 months on local hikes and long runs for my marathon training and it’s been [...]
New for Spring 2011, Platypus introduces the Origin 3.0 hydration pack. The Origin 3.0 is a 2 liter hydration pack with intended uses of mountain biking, trail running, and other activities where you bring along only the necessary. The hydration bladder that comes with the Origin 3 is 2 liters, which you can typically [...]
Living in Colorado, one of my favorite seasons is the spring because the snow starts to melt and the trails begin to dry out. While you can hike with snow on the trials (and I do), I enjoy the changing of seasons and dry trails. On the larger and higher mountains and peaks known as [...]
New for Spring 2011, Osprey introduces its Active Everyday series. In specific, we have been testing out the Comet backpack. If features it is you like, the Comet might just be the backpack for you. Now I’m not talking about a backpack that has a ton of features that you don’t use, but features that [...]
Do you remember your first JanSport backpack? I sure do. It was red and I wore it on my first day of kindergarten and up until it was no longer cool to wear a backpack, sometime in middle school. JanSport has been making a comeback in the outdoor industry over the last few years and [...]
Whether you’re heading out for a hike or taking the daily adventure to work or school, the Patagonia Chacabuco 32L Pack is a great option. We’ve had the pleasure of testing this pack out the past 3 months through our daily city life as well as our weekend getaways to the mountains. For the city [...]
Being a female and short in height, it can be hard to find a pack that fits and fits comfortably. I already accepted that I fit in kid’s sized hats, but I wasn’t ready to give in and use a kid size backpack. My body was getting used to knots and pain in the shoulder [...]
The Diablo is an ultralight hydration pack within Gregory’s Active Trail pack line. The pack weighs a mere 1 lb (the lightest one they make) and will not weigh you down while out on the trail. Despite its’ modest weight, the Diablo has a slew of features that any trail runner, hiker, or mountain biker [...]
The Jolla from Hydrapak is one the most versatile hydration packs on the market. At 18 liters of space and holding a 100 ounce resevoir it is a great choice for those all day hikes, bikes or treks. Plenty of storage and well placed zipper and pockets make it easy to organize. Having used this [...]
Whether your mountain biking, hiking, or trail running, the Osprey Raptor 10 is a great option for a 3 liter hydration pack. We tested this pack out for a couple months on all of our activities and it has become one of our favorite hydration packs. Coming in at 520 cubic inches, this pack is [...]
The Millet Peuterey 35 Limited Pack is designed as an all around mountaineering pack, which can be used for a variety of outdoor activities. I had the pleasure of testing this great pack out on a few occasions. I used it on a couple of spring backcountry ski trips as well as a variety of [...]
