"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Tuesday 26 June 2012

A New Hydration Pack


With the bladder of my hydration pack breaking during my last race I had little time to replace it. I have another smaller bladder at home but needed at least 1.5 liters of water for my long run this past Sunday.

After some thinking I decided it was a good time to look for a new, good quality hydration pack and not just a new bladder. I’ve got some serious trail and mountain goals to meet in the next few months and years and I believe quality equipment is one area where investment is not a waste of money.

I know exactly what I want and need in a hydration pack, so after looking at what was available I finally decided to buy the Animas pack from The North Face.


This pack offers everything I need. It comes with a 3 liter bladder and 9 liter pack space for other essentials. We are required to carry things like space blankets and rain jackets during some races and the ability to carry this in the same pack as my water is great.


Another selling point for me was the two side pouches on the outside where I can carry two 500ml bottles of my favorite energy drink. I’ve been looking for a way to carry my water in the hydration pack plus two bottles of energy drink and this is perfect.


Other nice features are a strong magnet that keeps the pipe in place and also a very effective non-spilling mouth piece. The straps can all be adjusted easily while running which is also great.


I put the pack through its paces on a 28.5km trail run this past weekend and it was awesome! It worked perfectly for everything I need while being super comfortable on my back at the same time.

Do you use a hydration pack? Do you carry more than water with you?

Thanks for reading! Train well my friends! 

13 comments:

Kate Geisen said...

That's a nice-looking pack! I have a larger Osprey pack I use for adventure racing, a slightly smaller Camelback hydration pack, and then an old Camelback pack that once belonged to my kids that only holds a bladder and maybe a gel or two. Unless it's an adventure race I don't like to wear a pack while running, but in longer bike races they're s must bc my handling isn't good enough to drink from a bottle while riding any but the tamest surface.

Laura said...

My hubs has a pack and I just never think to use it but it would make sense as I tend to carry a lot of stuff on a long run.
This summer is all about experimenting so may give it a try...

Giorgio said...

I don't carry water or other things while I'm running, because, as you know, I always run 10 and 21km races. Anyway, when I ran the "Ostia's 30 km race" in November I saw same runners who wore hydration packs.

KovasP said...

Nice-looking pack! I wear a hydration pack, but only for 2+ hour runs. I carry a phone, sometimes a camera, nutrition, sometimes toilet paper and I'm thinking of trying to bring extra shoes so that I can change them partway through.

Paul said...

I use a belt and bottles...I just don't want to insulate my back with so much stuff back there.

The pack seems like the best way to carry large amounts of water though. Belts just can't do that!

However on my long runs I often have a place I can refill, and on the trail races I do, there are aid stations every 3-6 miles. So i really don't need that much capacity.

Amy said...

Sweet! That is one awesome looking pack!

I don't use anything like that - I never run long enough to need to take water & I know where there are two water fountains on my route! ;-)

Raina said...

I use a belt, but for longer runs on a trail, I would certainly like to have a pack. Yours looks great! I like that you can fit a blanket in there.

ajh said...

It looks like you got what you needed and wanted. I am TERRIBLE about carrying water with me. But I am not doing long runs like you.

kilax said...

So happy you reviewed this! I want to get a hydration pack and am not sure what to get. Right now I just use my handheld (used a belt before but got sick of it).

Char said...

That's money well spent. You should get lots of use out of it.

Jill said...

Sweet!! I love the color...it's all about looks, right? :) I use a pack on long trail runs, but not on road races. It really makes my back sweaty...or at least when it's 86 degrees and 86% humidity for a 50k in Iowa at least ;).

HappyTrails said...

Johann - we didn't have an email for you but just so you know - our house and all of our direct neighborhood survived the fire. Thanks for checking and we'll get more info out soon.
S&K

Unknown said...



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Nutrition and Hydration week 2014