General Cycling Discussion - Backpacks or camel backs anyone?

I was in the bike shop on Floyd Road in Smyrna, by the SC trail yesterday, and they had a backpack with hydration marked down from $99.50 to $57.00, so, I looked it over and bought it. It is made by a company called Platapus. The model is the Typhoon.

It is a combo unit. I was told that they did not sell very well, so they are marked down and sold on clearance. I believe that I got the last one. I ordered two extra bags for it. I wanted it so that I could take my camera, and maybe a rain poncho, or whatever, on longer rides. I also wanted a place to put my firearm. (Yes I have a license to carry one) I will be getting a camel back type water only, meaning much smaller, pack later.

Does anybody else use one of these type of systems? I put some Gatorade in it to try it out on the way back home. It doesn't seem too bad, but there is no real way to keep the liquids cool. The directions say to put ice cubes in it. Fine with me I guess.

For long rides, I make Gatorade ice cubes to put in the bag. This keeps the liquid cold all day, even in temps of over 90. When you are finished sipping the liquid, blow the remaining liquid in the tube back into the pack to keep it cool. It will get warm very quickly if it remains in the tube.

I ride with a hydration system on every ride - mountain bike or road. I just can't get enough H20 with just 2 water bottles.

I generally fill the bladder (100oz or 70oz) with water only. Actually, I freeze the bladder with about 1/4 water, then fill it with water only. This helps with cleaning the bladder. I only clean my bladder every few weeks, as I refill and smack it back in the freezer directly after every ride. I then freeze 1/3 to 1/2 of the water bottles (I also use insulated bottles) with water and freeze them also. I then fill the balance of the water bottles (after freezing) with a sports drink.

This had been a great formula for me that maximizes the amount of liquid I can take, and minimizes the amount of work I have to do in terms of cleaning.

It's also nice to have an additional place to store my tools/tubes/food/etc. I won't leave home without one!

I ride with a Camel Bak on most rides now, as I don't drink enough if not. I use with Gatorade, and have been quite pleased. I use the Lobo Model.

Thanks for the advice. Now, lets talk again about the old LBS rippoff. I found the same pack at Colorado Cyclist, for about 12 dollars more than I paid for it at a discounted price. Maybe this particular bike shop, which I wish well, needs to realize that folks like to look around on the internet before laying down major cabbage for something that they can buy at a discount online from another bike shop.

My wife and kids got me a Hydrapak Overflow (100 oz.) for Father's Day. I've used it on one longish ride. Though I was not all that keen on wearing a pack, it was nice having all that water. I also took some sports drink in water bottles. Unfortunately, my ride was not really long enough for the big pack. I've decided to wear the pack for rides I expect to be over 30 miles. Since many of my rides don't really pass by potential water stops that often, I suppose the pack was a good idea.

The Overflow has lots of room to carry stuff, so I will also be using it this August when we are hiking in Arizona.

I have both a CamelBak MULE and the smaller Lobo. I tend to use my CamelBaks only on MTB rides or road rides where my route will take me pretty far away from any place where I can refill my water bottles (pretty rare). I just completed a century yesterday and opted to carry two large capacity water bottles instead of my CamelBak. The two other people I was riding with had CamelBaks. I was also able to stuff everything I needed in my jersey with a little room to spare. I do tend to carry more stuff when I'm MTB'ing so the extra cargo capacity of my MULE is useful then. The one thing I never could get used to was the drink hose swinging around freely and thwopping me in the face.

I hate it when I get thwopped!:)

Originally posted by don d.
I hate it when I get thwopped!:)

It can make your face a mess. Being the anal perfectionist, I read the directions and they made note that you can cut the tube to a comfortable length, and thereby prevent a bad case of face thwopping from taking hold.

I'm using a Camelback Lobo right now and I think it's great. I don't like to have H2O bottles on my MTB because they get filthy when I off-road. Blech!

I have the MULE and love it. I use it when mountain biking. For road, I use a water bottle.

MSD

I've had several different models over the years, and I don't think I'd ever NOT use a Camelback. I actually fill mine about 4/5 of the way and then freeze it. I'm down in FL, and it'll stay cool for a good 2.5 hr ride. Plus, this big ice cube on my back doesn't hurt either!

I carry a wide assortment of tools, spare parts...etc. as well, and I find a Camelback (or other brand) is a much better place than a saddle bag with everything flopping around.

In addition, there is just enough "Give" with the pack/bladder/foam backing to provide some cushion in the event of an endo and subsequent tuck and roll onto the back.

L8R

Regardless of whether I'm carrying my CamelBak, I always try and take along a water bottle except for offroad night riding since I only have one bottle mount on my MTB and the battery pack for my light eats up that space. A water bottle makes an excellent tool for rinsing and washing out cuts.

I took my pack on a 20 miler today, I really enjoyed having it along. It was not so heavy after I wore it for a few miles. I liked being able to carry a few extra items along also. I liked drinking on the fly with it. I filled it with ice and water and took off. I wonder if I need to put some Febreese or something on it, will it start to take on any odor or anything from being sweated on.

I have a CamelBack Mule and I love it.

So Saturday I decide to go with just 2 water bottles on my Saturday group Ride. we always stop at a Firestation as a break point to fill up water. And what happens, The Fire station is locked up since they are on a call and we can't get to the water fountain, We found a hose on the outside and the water was just Nasty... So I had to do the last 12 miles with about a 1/4 of the second botlle left.
It never fails I decide I don't need the camelback and that is usually the time I need it most. I'll always wear mine.

The one great thing about being in an area where the mean free path between coffee shops is about 1/2 mile is that there's always a place to get water. :D