Deuter 3 litre hydro pack
After using a Makismo 2 litre water back pack and retro fitting it with twin 2 litre bladders, and then buying a Camelbak, which is, in my opinion a complete waste of money, I worked out what would be perfect in a water back pack.
- 3 litres as 4 is too heavy;
- won't make your back sweat;
- needs an L shaped mouth piece (Camelbak's only redeeming feature);
- An easily fillable bladder;
- Vented shoulder straps;
- Decent sized pocket in the rear of the pack; and
- a bright color for visibility, instead of heat absorbing black.
A bright red pack. Note those vented shoulder straps.
Enter the Deuter 3.0 litre pack. While it doesn't have an L shaped mouth piece, it has everything else. I only need an L shaped mouth piece for when I am riding with a fly net on. I can remedy this problem easily. This is the perfect water back pack. It has vented shoulder straps, and this one is also bright red, which aids in visibility for other traffic.
It also has a pocket on the rear which is large enough to get a full sized ipod and a rolled up jacket into. There is a full zip that runs around the top that allows for removing the internal bladder completely. The other thing that is unique amongst water packs that I have looked at, is that the Deuter is foil lined which keeps the water bladder cooler.
Note the Deuter Airstripe for a cooler back.
The Deuter comes with the Deuter Airstripe for better back cooling. As can be seen in the above picture, the only part of the pack that sits on your back is the two pads. In Western Australia's heat, my back remained nice and cool.
Another view of the Deuter Airstripe.
The other issue that I have had with other water packs is filling them. Usually there is a screw cap somewhere near the top of the bladder. This usually makes it hard to get a full load of water into the bladder.
A view of the Deuter's Hyrdro pack Bladder.
The Deuter's bladder removes easily from the inside of the pack via the large zip area. Most importantly, there is no screw cap to fill it. In the above picture, the large black plastic part moves sideways and this results in the entire bladder's top coming open. This effectively turns the entire bladder into a large bag.
Not only is this better for cleaning, but it is easier to fill, and it is also easier to fill to the top. I am able to get a full 3 litres of water into this bladder without spilling any. The other thing I noticed with the Deuter, is that unlike other water packs, the first time that I used this pack, there was no plastic taste to the water.
Other packs usually require several uses to get rid of the plastic taste. The Deuter had no plastic taste. I give this water pack a 10 out of 10, and as they say, "third time lucky", well being my third water pack, this one is perfect for me.
I would recommend this pack for long distance tourers in hot climates. Not only is the pack a bright color, so it doesn't absorb heat, but it is also foil lined, so the contents keep a bit cooler. It also has a loop on the rear at the bottom, for attaching a rear light (as shown in photo 1).
