As part of my usual morning routine, I checked Woot today and saw they had Canelbaks today. And,as part of my usual purchasing routine, I can’t pass up a good deal on quality stuff. I mean, have you seen the prices of Camelbaks lately? WTF. Even the prices of reservoirs is like $35, so when Woot is selling a Camelbak for $30, I’m going to pause. Because that’s a good price. Like my mom was fond of saying, "they paid me to take it."
Let’s have a look at the existing family member and the soon to be family members. But first, let’s stretch the leg muscles out (more on that later).
Here’s the first one I bought – the Classic. Camelbak has gone through tons of design changes over the years and mine is like 15 years old. But this is the design I have, except in blue.
So the first problem I had with it, actually really the only problem I had with it, is that it had no storage. It has a little side zipper and room enough to hold maybe your keys. No wallet, no phone, no room at all.
And I was just getting into hiking at the time. I didn’t really know much about the different models and I wasn’t really keen on spending a lot of money on one of these new things, back then when they were the only hydration pack out there, they commanded a lot of money. I suspect I probably paid $60-75 bucks for this one. Probably retail at a sporting good store.
But I didn’t spend a lot of time with it. I moved on fairly quickly to its big brother.
The big brother is called the Rogue. Again, the design has changed over time, but again, this is the design that I have. It doesn’t look much different than the Classic, but it is. The lower part is a zipped pocket that holds a decent amount, and the top flap is also a pocket that holds even more, larger things, like a modern phone.
This one was good enough to use most everywhere and it has remained my go-to pack for riding. Again, I’m pretty sure I paid retail for this, in a physical store (so retro!). The details elude me. I probably justified it by saying the reservoirs were the same size, so it was just like buying a backup.
But around this time, I was getting into a relationship with someone who was pretty outdoor-savvy. She also had a Camelbak she’d used for many years. And hers was like full backpack sized, and she carried a lot of cool stuff that you might need for outdoors and for geocaching, which we were doing a lot.
I won’t say it was envy that made me upgrade, but it was the realization that having more on the trail was important and useful. Obviously, I didn’t want everything with me. We weren’t camping overnight, but more storage space would be welcome.
But I was also happy with what I had, so I just kept an eye out.
And after a short while, Woot came to my rescue. In May, 2015, they had a sale on… Camelbaks! And this one only cost me – once again – $30! this one is the Daystar 18, which is the "female" version of the Cloudwalker model. Something about the shoulder straps and boobs or whatever. It fits me fine and it is my current choice for hiking.
You can easily tell that has a lot more cargo capacity. This holds everything I need and still has lots of room to spare. My Frogg Toggs, whistle, compass, knives, multitools, maps, hat, whatever. If I need to take a fleece or if I end up shedding a fleece along the way, there’s room to hold it.
Like I said, this is my current choice for any hikes I make. And all three of these packs are holding up well. Maybe the Rogue is wearing out a little. The letters of the logo are pretty much rubbed off, but none of them have holes, so they’re all perfectly usable.
So let’s quickly meet the newcomers.
Here are the ones coming soon: The Arete 14, Arete 18, and another Classic Light. I expect the Arete 18 will have the same capacity of the Daystar, and the Arete 14 will be a possibly "just right" size, which will eliminate the extra unused space I have in the Daystar. Both of the Arete models are 50oz reservoirs, whereas every other Camelbak I own is 70oz. So it was a little calculated to get two 50’s, so they could share a reservoir should something happen to one. And so far, I have never drained a 70oz on a single hike, so it will be interesting to see if I can get by with a 50.
But what’s up with getting another Classic? I don’t like or use the one I have now. Well, part of it is to give the latest design a try. Part of it is the bright color, which would be useful when riding on the bike, and part of it is that all of these were $30/ea and I can’t get reservoirs for that price, so having an extra 70oz, with the new hydrolock design, even, is good, even if I hate the pack itself.
So what did I do to celebrate this purchase? Grabbed my Daystar and went on a hike. It’s been so brutally hot here I haven’t been outside doing much for months. Sometimes I could get in a couple miles after work if the weather wasn’t threatening, but this was a longer planned hike. Up to my local state park, purchase an annual pass – might as well, maybe the guilt of the money spent will make me go more – and get on one of their longer trails I hadn’t been on in years. It was mostly cloudy, which meant there was a chance of getting rained on briefly, but I lucked out. On the drive home, I saw other areas around did get rain. Awesome FL weather.
I got to try my new fitness band on the walk and quickly remembered what I hate about hiking with fitness bands. I wear a long-sleeve sunshirt for sun and bug protection. This shirt gets soaked in sweat fairly quickly. After all, they are designed to wick sweat. The sweat soaked sleeve rubs against the face of the band and the stupid thing thinks that I’m touching it to pause or end the workout. That has happened with every fitness band I’ve ever had. It’s not a new thing. So you just gotta roll up the sleeve to avoid contact. So annoying.
And the hike itself? Shorter than I thought (by a mile), and the recovery I expect to be longer than I thought (by a mile). I’m out of practice, but I still remember how to do it. I have the tools (with more tools on the way!) and progress shall be made.
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