Hydration is very important in cycling. For many disciplines, your hydration needs can be met with bidons and cages. Some events are so short and intense that even this is not required.
Not so for Marathon Mountain Biking, or Stage Racing, or even the training for such events. I personally don’t use a backpack hydration system very much in competition. In European marathons, the feedzones are frequent enough that I’m happy to take the supplied fresh bidons. And in other countries, I’m stubborn enough to stop and fill my own bidons.
But there are a number of events where I have been caught short, getting more and more dehydrated, or just wasting too much time stopping to fill water, when backpack equipped riders have pedalled on smugly.
For the past few months, I have had the use of an Osprey Hydraulics Raptor 10. The Osprey Hydraulics line is made up of four series of packs. The Raptor series is the second smallest, and is available in four volumes: 6, 10, 14 and 18L of capacity. Don’t fret, this refers to their cargo capacity. All Raptor bags comes with a 3 Litre HydraForm Reservoir. Beyond this, each bag comes in two different back lengths. So there is a lot of choice out there. The M/L Raptor 10 weighs in at 780 grams.
The bag can hold quite a lot, and is has more than enough pockets to sort out your equipment. The main compartment has three stow pockets, great for keeping your pump, maps, tools and tubes stable. There is a small pocket at the top of the bag that I found was fantastic for sunglasses, but it would also work well for anything that needed to be uncrushed. Given their current value in Australia, it could be ideal for small bananas. A side entry pocket with kep clip is useful for small items, and a stretchy stow pocket on the front could hold a full sized waterproof jacket with room to spare. Small non securable pockets on the hip belt will suit frequent snackers. Although pastries don’t fit. They get squashed.
Carrying fluid, spares and food for four or five hour training jaunts was no problem. There was room for far more, such as a jacket and more clothing if I had wanted to be prepared. But you can jam a lot of stuff into pockets, or into one of many backpacks out there. However I doubt they would be as stable as the Raptor.
Although the bag is not overly wide (21cm), it is stunningly stable in use – more so than any other similar bag I have used for mountain biking or (in weak moments) trail running. The harness system is top notch. You should expect as much from a company who has been designing and making great backpacks since 1974. The combination of straps with ‘just enough’ ventilated padding, a light and broad hip belt, stabiliser straps and a sternum strap all add up to a comfortable bag. What really holds it together is the firm board that sits in with the reservoir, no doubt helping avoid the ‘Sausage Effect’ that plagues many backpack mounted hydration systems.
The great harness also holds another top feature – a magnet on the bladders valve elbow matches up to one on the sternum strap. No more wet spots on your thigh. It didn’t even require delicate placement, the magnet seems to be strong enough to capture the wayward valve if you sling the hose in it’s general direction. This is a winning feature.
The HydraForm reservoir is made by Nalgene, so it shouldn’t hold taste. The big opening and built in handle makes filling and cleaning easy. I haven’t left it in the back of a car, or in the bottom of a box for long enough yet to see what kind of things grow in it. But so far it is passing my minimal maintenance regime.
Overall, this is a larger bag than I would use for racing. But it works amazingly for long training rides, and even carrying kit and clothes for post race showering and dressing. Given their extensive range, I’m pretty sure I need to check out one of their smaller bags. No one likes dehydration, or losing places inthe feed zone.
Check out the whole Osprey Hydraulics Range at their website or instore at Cranks Bikestores