CamelBak’s PowderBak gives you the convenience of a hydration pack without the bulk, making a perfect solution for long days on the slopes or snowshoeing through the woods.
Usually staying hydrated during winter sports means carrying a backpack with hydration compatibility. Sometimes that may be more than you need to carry, or the water can get very cold, very fast. The PowderBak from CamelBak addresses those issues and more with their innovative design. Rather than wearing the hydration bladder in a pack, outside your insulating layers, the PowderBak integrates the bladder into a mid-layer sleeveless zip top and is made with performance wicking fabric designed to keep athletes and outdoor enthusiasts hydrated but without compromising mobility.
After testing the PowderBak on the slopes, one of our favorite features was the low-profile design. The full-zip vest is made with QuickFit (CamelBak’s proprietary compression fabric) which keeps the baffled, 2-liter hydration bladder from shifting around as you bomb down the mountain or trudge through deep powder in your snowshoes. Keeping all sorts of winter sports enthusiasts in mind, the low profile makes the PowderBak chairlift-friendly as well.
Water temperature in a traditional hydration bladder (even with an insulated sleeve inside a pack) can often plummet on very cold days. The mid-layer design of the PowderBak utilizes your own excess body heat to keep the water from freezing. Though we haven’t had the chance to try this yet (we’re having an unseasonable warm streak of weather in the Pacific Northwest), we expect that on especially cold days, wearing the PowderBak filled with warm water will help keep your core nice and toasty.
The hydration bladder is fully removable from the vest, for ease of laundering and the neoprene tube cover keeps water within the tube from freezing. Because the tube doesn’t have to reach from the very bottom of your backpack, the much shorter length provided reduces bulk on your chest and less fumbling around inside your jacket to grab the mouthpiece. Another nice feature is the locking bite-valve. Though its slowly becoming standard on many hydration bladder designs, it’s always worth mentioning.
Overall, the PowderBak was a great way to stay hydrated for days when you don’t want to deal with the bulk of a backpack. Once we got moving we hardly noticed it was there, which is what CamelBak strove to do with this design. The PowderBak will be in retail stores starting in September and is available in sizes for both men and women. MSRP $100.
Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.
