Happiness is a full bladder.

Or, 'Hydration Packs I have known and loved, or just liked a little bit'.

Most everyone has heard of the concept of the 'Quiver', that being a selection of various shapes, sizes, weights, lengths, etc, of whatever it is that helps you do what it is you do.  So, a long board and a short board for surfing; a powder or a down hill ski; an AM bike and a hardtail SS, etc.  The quiver is the idea of having more than one kind of arrow at the ready.

And so it is with hydration packs.   I have a passel of them right now where I used to have one, then two...a regular one and a bigger one.  Now I have a small one, a medium one, a few large ones, a red one, a green one, etc.  So I thought I would talk a bit on what I like about a few of them and encourage you to build a quiver as well.

Go fast, go light:  The Baby Bear pack

The Camelbak XLP

When I first saw this pack I thought, "holy smokes, I can't put anything in this".  I am a consummate over-packer of stuff.  So I saw this as limited use.  But over the year, this has changed.  It may be the perfect summer-after-work-ride pack and I think it would be killer as a race day pack if the race is supported or not too long.  First, it is darn light.  The stretchy pouch can hold a windbreaker OR arm warmers/leg warmers but not much else.  That keeps it into the warmer climate zone for me as it is hard to carry shed layers like jackets, etc.  The tool section is perfect for the basics like a CO2, multi tool, etc and maybe some snacks.  I slip my longish pump into the bladder compartment, a 70OZ version, and I have stuffed extra food or gloves, etc, into there as well.  I took off the waist strap as the pack is so short that it was like having a 'ribcage strap'.  It is easy to remove the strap...velcro.  All summer long, this has been the pack of choice for a 2 hour and under (supplemented with a bottle for 2 hrs) rides from home.  Complaints?  Well, the little loop of string that the bladder clips onto is stupidly hard to get out of the clip on the bladder, especially with gloves on.  That is about it.


Ready for most anything, daily driver:  Momma Bear packs

The Camelbak M.U.L.E. NV.

Perhaps the quintessential all-rounder, the M.U.L.E. was my first decent hydration pack years ago and is still around today, having been refined over the years.  It has enough carrying capacity to bump it into a semi-epic pack for 3-4 hours rides unsupported and holds 100oz of water.  Camebak does a great job of compartmentalizing their packs.  If you can't find a pocket/pouch or stuff spot for something on the M.U.L.E., you may not need it...or...you need a Poppa Bear pack.

JeffJ (AKA Circus Bear on a Bike) is rocking this pack and he is still happy with it.

Honorable Mention:

Osprey Raptor 10.

Osprey has a very impressive line of packs and they are very well made.  I love the nice touches like the zipper pulls that can easily be used with gloves, the killer Hydraform reservoir set-up, the Lid Lock helmet holder and the sleek overall feel to the pack when worn.  I think some of the organization of tools, etc, needs to be re-thought a bit along with the silly hip belt pouches that allow things to fall out too easily.  But, overall the line of Raptors from the Six (liter) to the Eighteen (liter) offer a wide choice of sizes and all of them are really good packs.  Osprey is making some real inroads into MTB hydration packs and I bet with some refinement they will only get better.


Deuter Race EXP Air:

I have had this pack for quite a while and it has not been used lately with all the new stuff to play with, but it has a LOT to like about it.  The mesh back panel and the support wings at the hips are excellent.  It is expandable with a zipper in the main compartment, the bladder is set up with a nifty clip that opens fully to allow for ice cube entry or cleaning, and it has a stow-a-way rain cover and helmet holder built-in.  The main compartment is kinda one big bag, so a bit more organization would be nice, still and all, I really like this pack and it is killer on hot days with the mesh back panel and a full load.

Bigger Days:  Goin' all Poppa Bear on ya'.

Osprey Raptor 18:

An expanded version of the Raptor 10, I have used this pack on some bigger days and it is super.  My absolute fav part is the Shove-It feature that allows for clothing, cameras, food, small animals, interesting fossil samples...whatever...to be stuffed in it and then compressed with the straps.  Love it.  Perfect pack for days that require lots of clothing changes.  When you are wearing all the clothing, the pack is pretty tidy, but begin to strip jackets, jerseys, etc, and the Raptor 18 just swallows it all up.  Add in the typical Osprey stuff like the Hydraform 100 oz Reservoir, the high quality of the construction, and the tool and smaller item organization and you have a winner.   What would I add?  A rain fly option built in, but at least I can get one separately.


Honorable mention:  Camelbak H.A.W.G. NV.

If the M.U.L.E. NV is the Prince of pocket storage, the HAWG is the King, the Bwana, the Big Mah-Mu.  It is a pack rat's delight.  the NV back panel carries the load with comfort, the adjustable and pivoting shoulder straps, the killer side pockets that swallow up cameras, GPS, etc...the list goes on.  It is a big pack that has a couple of things against it...it is heavy to begin with. Lots 'o material here.  The main compartment gets 'intruded into' if all the other compartments are stuffed full, so it is not as big in there as you might think.  Still, if you like the MULE and want more of everything in a pack, you will love the HAWG.

A new pony in the barn.

 Earlier this year I had the chance to test ride a 2010 Specialized Rockhopper SL SS bike.  I found it flawed, but still a fun bike to ride and not at all bad for the price.  I also felt that the frame was good enough to offer as a budget minded frameset.  That has happened for 2011.  Recently there were mutual gauntlets tossed down between the product manager for the Rockhopper line of bikes and I.  It was friendly, but he felt that I was a bit, well, harsh about the bike considering the cost of the thing and I felt that I was quite fair and that perhaps the parts compromises made in the name of cost cutting were holding the bike back.  I wondered aloud if it would be worth another shot at the 'Hopper SS as a frame-up build with a bit better parts selection, but still keeping to a moderate budget.

Deacon, the Specialized manager person, agreed that the idea had merit and so this is on its way, so I have been told.

I love the BB set-up on this thing.  It was trouble free before, so we shall see what a longer visit brings.  A fork is coming from RockShox...not sure what it is, but I suspect it is a new Recon 29er.  We shall see...could be a Tora or Reba.  There may be some new brakes from the latest line of hydro stoppers...that is pending as well.

Other wise I will be moving over parts from the SS Jabberwocky, which for the last year has been faithfully taking me everywhere that I asked it to.  The Jabber is a fine bike, but there are some plusses to the 'Hopper...and some minuses too.  I know it will be lighter, so that will be good.  I am pretty sure I will prefer the handling of the 'Hopper as well, but the past test bike did not quite ride as well as the steel-is-real Jabber.  Aluminum, ya' know.

Anyway, more details to come when the big brown santa comes to town.  It should be a fun build.  I may even play with a different crank set-up if I can come to a cheap and clean solution.  I am torn between staying old school with a tapered BB Phil Wood style and some version of a matching crank...or...go new school with a external BB (maybe a Chris King) with some kind of older XTR...or...just keep running the XT Octalink II cranks I have now.  Meh!  We shall see.  Suggestions?

Meanwhile, the clock ticks.

The State of the Art

My recent blog thoughts on the spiraling cost and complexity of bikes and bike components seemed to to strike a nerve in a few folks.  No surprise there as we are all on the boat in one way or another.

But.

Here is the flip side.

Bikes have never shifted, braked, turned, climbed, descended, rolled, and sucked up the bumps of the trail better than they do now.  Period.

We are at an amazing point in mtn bicycle performance, regardless of the cost; hydraulic disc brakes, smart suspension that is way-tunable, tubeless tires, and frames that hit stiffness to weight targets that were the dreams of engineers in days gone by.  Want to grab a gear with certainty?  No biggie.  When was the last time you missed a shift?  If you keep things tuned even reasonably well, then it just works.

I know that there is a tendency to wax philosophic about the bikes of the days of yore.  But the brakes were a shadow of what we have now, needed to be toed in just right or they howled nicely; shifting was not even close without the pinned, ramped, and computer matched CRs and cassettes of a modern drivetrain.  Handling?  Pfah!  The gradual progression of geometries and angles along with improvements like hydro-formed frames, tapered head tubes, and better hub/frame/fork interfaces have taken us to a better handling bicycle.

I won't even talk about suspension, but even if you eschew the boingy parts for your ride, you cannot deny that a modern fully suspended MTB is incredibly capable of covering rough terrain at frightening speed.

So although I do feel that we are on the precipice of a very expensive cornice and the avalanche of costly, over-engineered parts is looming behind us, I do not wish to go backwards into the past. Luddites need not apply.

There needs to be a balance somewhere and I am not sure where that is.  But I think it will shake out in the end.  After all, it is the consumer that has the last say with cash in hand.  The trick is in knowing what we want.

I know I want to keep riding bikes that work the way these new ones do.  Can I have it both ways? Perhaps.  It is a fine line to ride, is it not?

The 12 hours of Denver.

No, it is  not a new endurance race series, although if it was, it would be a criterium of sorts cuz Denver is flat as a billiard table...at least, that is my take on it.

No, the 12 hours of Denver is the time it took me to get home, travel time wise.  From the shuttle bus at Keystone to the car ride from the Flyway...12 hours of travel joy and mirth.

It all began well enough with a pleasant ride into Denver with a few fine fellows with plenty of time to make my 1:10 flight to Salt Lake.  I went to the self service kiosk just like all the other guys and looked forward to lunch with the group one last time.

Not to be.

The screen gave me the airport equivalent of the 'Blue Screen Of Death' and said the fatal words, "There may be a problem with your flight.  Please see an attendant."  Oh dear.  It turns out that the airplane was delayed or lost or broken or something and now, the race was on.  I joined the line of woe and desperation along with all the other Salt Lake hopefuls looking to get outta' Denver.  Kathie, a Delta counter person, was in a pay it forward mood and hooked me up with a direct flight to LAX, leaving three hours later from Denver, but getting into town only 2 hours later than I was supposed to hit Burbank.  Cool.

Off to the American Airlines counter and the next line of patience and penitence.  I called Nic, the Specy guy and world famous TDF commentator, and told him to have a nice lunch as I stood in line for an hour.

That done, I waded through the security screening and headed to the East Wing of the airport in search of a place to use my lunch vouchers from Delta.  "So sorry about this....have lunch on us".  OK, I will.  04:00 boarding turned to 04:30 boarding and then we were off on a 737, an upgrade from the commuter jets of Delta.

LAX finally, then the baggage dance, and then off to the waiting station for the Fly Away bus that will, for a few coins, take me back closer to home preventing the wife from having to fight traffic into LA.  I waited.  Other folks joined me.  We waited.  Nearly an hour goes by and then, the bus.  Then the freeway...5 miles an hour for another hour.

Wow.  It was a bedraggled Grannygear that finally met the wife on a hot summers night in the San Fernando Valley to make the last leg of the journey home and a nice bowl of Albondigas soup in a cool restaurant.

I know that endurance racing is catching on all over, but I cannot recommend the 12 Hours of Denver.  Take my word for it.