The LapelEau is a magnetic tether reel system, which holds the tube of a hydration pack in place, but it allows to be freely pulled or retracted as desired, and retails for $12.00. The US made reels come from the originators of the classic badge reel, which have been used for many years to secure employee badges. I can’t count how many times I have played around with my company badge, zinging it up and down like a yo-yo. The reel uses a military spec 3-strand nylon parachute thread, that has been cycled over 180,000 times, so it should have great durability.

I have used similar tube tethering systems from other hydration companies, such as Hydrapak’s Quantum Clip, but I quickly became enamored with the LapelEau due to it’s excellent functionality.

The LapelEau connects onto the shoulder harness of a hydration pack a couple of inches below the sternum strap or on the sternum strap itself, using a simple Velcro loop. The loop keeps it snugly in place, without any undue movement or creeping. There is a small clip at the reel end that clasps onto the tube, which might take some effort to install depending on the tube’s thickness. To prevent the hydration tube from flopping around when your riding and bouncing along on the trail, they use a set of Neodymium ring magnets at the tube clip, which provides just enough force to keep the tube in place, but still makes it easy to pull it when desired. Neodymium magnets (Nd₂Fe₁₄B) are the most powerful permanent magnets on the market, and a few grams can lift a thousand times its own weight. Neodymium magnets are used in microphones, loudspeakers, headphones, guitar and bass guitar pick-ups, computer hard disks and electric motor for hybrid vehicles, like the Toyota Prius. Due to the strength of the magnets, they even warn you to keep cell phones, credit cards and electronics away from them, else some bad mojo might happen (not tested).

Whenever you want a drink, grab the bite valve and gently pull it towards your mouth, with the reel offering just a subtle amount of resistance. When you’re done, let the bite valve go, and the cord retracts it back into the reel, and the magnets snap things down. On occasion, the magnets didn’t completely lock together, but everything stayed close enough not to cause any issues. I really liked the system, as it was a breeze to use, and keep the tube out of the way, and prevented it from flopping around, which was especially nice on rugged terrain. Anytime, you wanted a drink, you knew exactly where the bite valve was located, so you never had to hunt around for it. Do you know where you hose is located? I never had any issues with bushes or branches grabbing onto the cord, so I can’t comment much on that hazard.

Bottom Line
It’s a great system, that is cheap, and offers excellent functionality, keeping the hose in place, and the bite valve in the same exact location with superb extension and retraction for it from the reel

Pros

• Inexpensive
• Easy to use and install
• Prevents hose from flopping around
• Always know where the bite valve is located
• The reels extension and retraction work flawlessly

Cons

• Cord might catch on things (never had it happen)
• Sometimes the magnets don’t completely close (very minor)

Overall Rating: 5 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

The pack is an excellent lightweight entity, that makes use of  light materials and a minimalist design, for a pack that seamlessly conforms to your back, for superb comfort and conformability. It’s meant for everyday adventures, with enough capacity, features and pockets for long forays into the backcountry. The feathery light pack all but disappears while being worn, and it uses nylon fabric, a softly padded and flexible back, and comes with their excellent Antidote Reservoir.

CamelBak Charge 450
The Charge 450 is made with 70D ripstop and 210D nylon that has been coated with Polyurethane for water resistance, and utilizes their Lightweight Exoskeleton (LE) back panel and Ultra-light 3D mesh Independent Suspension system with a 25 mm wide 840D lightweight tape hip belt with cargo pockets. The main compartment is accompanied by a front pocket, an upper padded media pocket, a XC helmet pouch, a rear hydration compartment, and two pouches on the hip belt. The main compartment is roomy, and the useful clamshell opening makes it easy to access items. The main zipper is long enough that you can grab things that are stashed part way down, without having to open and unclip everything. The front pocket has space for multiple items, and the media pocket is perfect for an iPhone or a small point-and-shoot camera. I liked having the separate rear hydration compartment, as it keeps things isolated, and makes it easier to take the reservoir in and out while the pack is still fully loaded. It has two lower compression straps, and another set with a quick-release buckle that pulls down from the helmet pouch.  The pack has a 12.5 liter capacity, and includes their 100 oz (3 L) Antidote reservoir with the Quick Link hose connection system. The pack comes in three colors, Lime Punch/Graphite (tested), Formula One/Frost Grey and Moroccan Blue/Frost Grey, weighs in at 450 grams and retails for $99.

Impressions
The Charge 450 and its smaller brethren the Charge 250, are part of their LE series, which uses the LE or Lightweight Exoskeleton back panel, and lighter materials and designs for the ultimate in weight savings. The LE panel has a skeleton like set of padded strips on the back, which help soften the load and keep it comfortable on the back. The shoulder harness system is thinly padded and slightly stretchy, and has an inner soft mesh material, a center honeycomb substructure and an outer blend of nylon and a mesh fabirc. Although the shoulders were comfortable and worked well, the slider adjustment for the sternum strap seemed to bind on its webbing, and during usage, it bunched up the harness material where it pulls from.

 The pack is really comfortable, since it wraps around and conforms to your body, and sort of pops into every nook and cranny of your back. The lightweight makes it enjoyable to wear on a ride, as the pack; minus its contents; pretty much weighs nothing. When loaded, the pack carries the weight well, and it stays centered into your back, with the load tucked in tightly. Like all CamelBak packs, it has an excellent set of pockets, and the helmet slot was quite handy to carry jackets and apparel items. The pockets were all useful, and the main compartment had a functional shape for easy stowage of gear, and the front pocket had plenty of room for lots of items. The little pouches on the hip belt were perfect for gel packs and small energy bars, which was handy so the pack didn’t need to be removed to grab the munchies. The compression straps worked well, and helped pull the load into the pack and keep things from jostling around. The pack does have some mild hip lift on uber steep and bumpy terrain, and it was most notable when going over drop-offs and big ledges.

The way the pack carries its weight is through the synergy of the shoulder system and hip belt with the extremely flexible and conformable LE back panel. If the pack is overstuffed, it starts to lose some of the useful wrap around characteristics, and bows out slightly along the panel edges, so it works best not to max out its capacity. The helmet slot or pouch works excellently to carry any extra gear, and helps keep the pack from getting bloated, although it makes folding over the clamshell opening more cumbersome.

One odd thing is that the pack gets a layer of moisture that gets trapped between the hydration reservoir and LE back panel material, and it happens in both warm and cold conditions. It doesn’t make the pack uncomfortable or damp; it just looks sort of strange? The pack doesn’t really have any major ventilation system due to the thickness of the LE skeleton strips, and since the coated material doesn’t absorb much sweat or water, and the strip’s sizes are minor, the moisture dissipates or stays on the apparel side of things, so you don’t get a clammy back from the pack. So far, the material has been durable, which is amazing since it seems fragile, and the addition of the polyurethane coating helps with both water resistance and toughness.

Antidote Reservoir
The new Antidote reservoir (70 and 100oz) is pretty amazing, and Camelbak has done a full redesign of the unit, adding many features and functionality, and has caught up to the competition’s innovations. The 90 degree bite valve worked quite nicely, and was easy to draw, and didn’t leak, although the shutoff lever was sometimes tough to turn on and off while wearing gloves. The screw cap for the fill port takes only a quarter turn to open or close, and it does not get stuck and require brute force to open, and the fill port has a wider diameter hole for easier filling and cleaning. The baffle helps lessen the stack height or thickness, to keep the reservoir from bowing out when it’s full. They added an auto shutoff quick disconnect, named the Quick Link, which allow you to disconnect the reservoir from the drink hose, which facilitates cleaning, filling and drying.

The fill port has a handle which hooks into the drop slot of the packs zippered rearward hydration pouch, helping to keep it stable and secure. Hidden on the fill port’s sides are two plastic drying arms, which pop out and hold the reservoir open for drying, which is done with it hung upside down.

Measured Specs:

• Pack weight – 463.7 grams
• Antidote weight -199.9 grams
• Size – 17″ x 9″ x 6″

Bottom Line
The Camelbak Charge 450 is an excellent lightweight and comfortable pack, which has enough capacity and pockets for a multi-hour ride. The LE back panel and the 3D shoulder strap system worked in synergy to create a pack that is extremely flexible and conforms to the back like its vacuum packed against it. For its small size and plethora of lightweight materials in its construction, the pack carries a load quite nicely, without feeling like a burden on the back. It has some hip lift on some terrain, isn’t at its best if overstuffed and the sternum strap pulls poorly from the sliders on shoulder strap’s webbing.

The Charge 450 is comfy, highly flexible and conformable, and its feathery lightness and design make it seemingly disappear on your back.

Strengths

• Lightweight
• Comfortable
• Flexible and conformable
• Helmet pouch
• Antidote reservoir: quick connect, dryer arms, 1/4 turn cap, reduced stack height

Weaknesses

• Sternum strap pulling off shoulder harness
• Mild hip lift on some terrain
• Shouldn’t be overstuffed

MSRP: $99

Overall Rating: 4 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

Charge 450 Specs

• Visit the CamelBak Charge 450 website
• Material: Mini Ripstop with DWR + 1000mm PU coating, 210D Nylon with DWR + 400mm PU coating
• Hydration Capacity: 100 oz (3 L)
• Total Capacity: 763 cu in (12.5 L)
• Pack Weight: 16 oz (450 g)
• Torso Length: 16 in (40 cm)
• Antidote features: Quick Link System, quick-seal cap, lightweight fillport, dryer arms, center baffling and low-profile design, Big Bite Valve, HydroGuard technology, PureFlow tube, easy-to-clean wide-mouth opening
• Back Panel: L.E.™ (Lightweight Exoskeleton)
• Harness: Ultra-light 3D mesh Independent Suspension
• Belt: Fixed 1 in / 25 mm 840D lightweight tape with cargo pockets
• Additional Features: XC helmet carry, Media pocket
• Colors: Lime Punch/Graphite, Formula One/Frost Grey and Moroccan Blue/Frost Grey

The pack is an excellent adventure pack, meant for the epic forays into the backcountry, when carrying large amounts of gear is a necessity, and its large capacity, useful pockets and outer attachments straps assist in that endeavor. It’s tough and burly, yet simple and elegant, and includes many features that are useful and functional. The suspension system uses aluminum stays and thick back padding to work in synergy with the pack to carry heavier loads in a stable, comfortable and balanced manner.

Vaude North Shore 20
The North Shore 20 weighs in at 1156 grams, has a 20 liter capacity, and has a padded back, hip and shoulders, and is constructed with durable 600 D Polyester that has been coated with Polyurethane for water resistance. The flexible and well padded Proflex suspension system includes removable and adjustable aluminum stays, which provide additional stability and load carrying attributes. The back padding uses a thick molded viscoelastic foam, for the utmost in comfort and flexibility, and has air channels for ventilation. It has a large main compartment with one inner pocket and a hydration sleeve, two mesh side pockets, a front pocket, a hip pocket, and a top media pocket. It has a lower set of straps for armor, two side compression straps, and includes a detachable helmet holder, a 3 liter Hydrapak reservoir, and a rain cover which is stowed in a lower pocket.

Impressions
The Vaude North Shore 20 is one tough pack, and the burly 600 denier polyester material, large YKK #10 zippers, thick stitching, attention to detail and general over build, make for a pack that can take a beating and will last for many years. The material uses a polyurethane coating for water resistance and increased durability, and if needed there is a handy zippered compartment located on the bottom that has a rain cover for nastier inclement weather conditions. I am not used to having such large zippers on a mountain bike pack, and it was a welcome change to have fat pull tabs, and sliders that pulled smoothly along the teeth, and not catch on things. In addition, the zippers have webbing with metals snaps, so that the double zippers can be joined together to prevent the compartments and pockets from opening unexpectedly during a ride and dumping out their contents.

The main compartment is gigantic, and it was extremely easy to toss things into it and not have to worry about arranging items so that they would fit. The back of the compartment is where the hydration reservoir sleeve is located, and it was a simple task to toss the reservoir in, hang it from its hook, and route the tube through the top port. The compartment has only one accessible pocket, which resides on the upper front, and the zippered pocket was useful for special items that I needed on infrequent occasions, yet be handy enough when needed, and not buried deep in the bowels of the pack. I do wish the pack had a set of pump sleeves, as it would help with organizing those items, else they get haphazardly stashed into a deep corner. At the top of the pack is nicely sized padded pocket, which was useful for a phone, camera, music device and more fragile items, and it was large enough to stow multiple things. The front pocket was a decent size, and has two useful and wide stretchy slots, which were handy for tools, but the pocket needs a key clip?  There are two side mesh pockets that have an elastic cord lock, and I found them handy for snacks, gloves, and sundry items, and they were easy to grab things from because of their location. You can also stuff armor into the mesh pockets, although it took some effort to coerce them into the slots. On the right hip belt is a small pocket that was just big enough for an iPhone, which was quite nice, since the iPhone’s size and shape can make it notoriously tough to jam into spots like that.

 For attaching armor and apparel the pack has a set of straps located at the bottom, or you can use the side compression straps, which I found especially handy for elbow and shin guards. I liked the big beefy hooks for the compression straps, as they were simple to drop into or pull out of their front loop slots, although tightening them down did require the proper technique. When the straps were cranked down, it pulled the load towards the center of the pack, which helped with stability and prevented the contents from jostling around.

The oval-shaped helmet holder system consists of 4 hooks connected to a tough and non compliant material with a section of stretchy webbing in the middle, and the hooks attached to their corresponding loops located on the pack outer circumference. It was effortless to install a helmet, and the hooks popped on without any issues onto their respective loops, and it held the helmet nicely in place, and if needed an elastic cord lock would tighten things down further. Unfortunately, when dismantling the helmet holder, the hooks snagged on the loops, and it was a royal pain extracting them, exacerbated by the strong gate on the hook, and made even worse when trying to coordinate the maneuver with gloves on. A simple tweak to the sharpness of the hook’s slot might solve the issue?

The Proflex rear suspension system was a pretty cool, and consisted of two aluminum stays and a thickly padded and molded back, that was more like the designs used on multiday backpack. It was a simple affair to pull the aluminum stays out of the pack, and slowly bend them to the contours of your back, and return them to their slots. Trying the pack before and after the fine tuning, showed how much of a difference this fitting accomplished, and it made the pack more comfortable and stable, a better weight carrier and prevented undue swaying. It was nice to be able to have the choice of having the stays in or out of the pack, since either option gave a discernible change in the packs behavior and characteristics. Without the stays, the pack was more conformable, slightly lighter, and tended to bounce less on steep terrain, while with them installed, it was more stable, and had better load carrying capabilities. I rarely removed the stays, as I found they offered the best of both compromises.

The backs molded viscoelastic foam was really cushy, and the raised padding’s thickness, shaping and strategic positioning hit the back in all the proper places, offering comfort and flexibility, without any pressure or hot spots. In addition, it had some well-placed air channeling, which gave good ventilation, and aided with decreasing and defusing sweat. The wraparound hip belt was wide, well padded and comfortable, and helped carry the pack on the hips, keeping things nicely centered. The shoulder’s straps are contoured, with just enough padding for comfort, yet still have some stiffness for stability, and the edges are smoothly rounded to prevent irritation.

The 100 fl oz/3L Hydrapak reservoir uses a plastic slider closure for the top of the unit, and it allows easy fillings since the entire top opens wide. It can be turned inside out, which makes the cleaning and drying tasks a breeze, and it has a quick connector that attaches or detaches the drinking hose, so it makes it simpler to take the bladder out of the pack for cleaning and filling.

When you are ready to head out into the boonies and do an epic ride, this pack really shines, as it can bring everything that is required, including the kitchen sink. It lets you bring an array of armor, a full faced helmet if desired, and any necessary backcountry items, including apparel, tools and food. Even with all the useful straps for attaching items, everything is cleanly laid out and there aren’t any extraneous accessories or straps to get in the way. When fully loaded the pack carries the load well, and it stays centered into your back and over your hips, with the weight tucked in tightly. Even when loaded with weight, the pack remained stable, even when hammering through rock gardens and heinous terrain. If you got into extremely steep terrain, with ledge drops and drop-offs, the pack had a slight amount of lift off the hips towards the head, but it was still better than most. It’s not the lightest pack on the market, but the stability and weight carrying capabilities, along with its prodigious capacity to carry anything required more than make up for that deficit.

Measured Specs:

• Pack w/ Stays -  1152 grams
• Reservoir – 145 grams
• Aluminum Stays – 68 grams

Bottom Line
The Vaude North shore 20 is an excellent pack, meant for those epic days in the backcountry, yet it still retains enough simplicity and functionality that it can be used for normal everyday excursions. You can stash everything you need into the pack, including the kitchen sink, and attach armor, apparel and a helmet on the outside if required. The build quality, attention to detail and toughness of this pack means it will last a long time. It has a plethora of nice features, including the large zippers and rain cover, and the unique compression straps hook and helmet holder. The Proflex suspension system utilizes aluminum stays and thickly molded back padding, which offers increased stability, comfort, ventilation and load carrying capabilities. The ability to fine-tune the fit by bending the stays to the contours of the back, accentuates the Proflex characteristics. The pack works in synergy with the Proflex system, hip pads and shoulder straps, for superb load balancing and flexibility, and centers the weight into the back and onto the hips. Even when heavily loaded, the pack retains stability, composure and anti-sway attributes while riding through rough terrain. The pack is heavy, and the helmet holder hooks can catch during detachment, and it needs a key clip on the front pocket, and pump sleeves in the main compartment.

The Vaude North shore 20 is a primo pack for epic adventures, and its tough and durable, has a slew of great features, highlighted by the Proflex suspension system.

Strengths

• Durable and tough
• Proflex suspension system – airflow channels, aluminum stays, comfy padding
• Rain cover
• Helmet cover
• Beefy zippers
• Hydrapak reservoir

Weaknesses

•  Helmet holder hooks can snag during detachment
• Heavy
• Front pocket needs key clip
• Main compartment needs pump sleeves

MSRP: $129

Overall Rating: 4 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

Vaude Company Specs:

• Visit the Vaude North Shore 20 website
• Rain cover with safety light attachment
• Helmet holder
• Side compression straps
• Side mesh pockets
• Padded hip belt with pocket
• Sternum strap
• Opening for hydration system
• Padded MP3 pocket, MP3-eyelet
• Fixation for protectors
• Safety light attachment
• front outer pocket with mesh organizer
• reflective elements
• Weight: 1100 grams
• Volume: 20 liters
• Size: 47 x 25 x 16 cm
• Material: 600 D Polyester Polyurethane coated
• Colors: black

The CamelBak Charge LR is an incredibly comfortable, light and conformable hydration pack, which features their lumbar Antidote reservoir, which is situated at the bottom of the pack. The design places the water lower on hips and back for stability and comfort. The pack becomes part of your back, at least figuratively, as it conforms to the shape and oddities of your body, and it doesn’t bounce around much, especially compared to conventional designs. The Charge LR uses lightweight ripstop fabric, has great organizational pockets, a softly padded back panel and hip belt, and uses their 70 oz (2 L) Antidote Reservoir.

CamelBak Charge LR
The Charge LR (Lumbar) weighs in at a svelte 460 grams, and has padded back, hip, and shoulders (minimally), and is constructed with their Ultra-light materials, using a combination of ripstop and stretchy nylon. The wraparound body uses their Lightweight Exoskeleton back panel, and Ultra-light 3-D Mesh Independent Suspension with Slider Sternum Strap. The upper portion of the pack has a long and narrow zippered main compartment, which opens in clam shell style for easy access. It has three meshed organizational pockets, one large and two smaller ones, and each has a small Velcro closure tab. There is an overflow storage sleeve on the back on the unit, which extends down the bottom two-thirds of the pack, and closes off with a cinch strap. The sleeve uses very stretchy fabric, so it can expand to hold various apparel or other items as required. The padded hip belt uses 1-inch webbing, and does a side cinch, and have zippered cargo pockets on each side. In addition, the pack is equipped with lumbar compression straps, which draws the bottom of the pack into the back as the reservoir’s water volume decreases, keeping things stabilized, with the weight in tight with the body.  All the pockets and compartments combine together to give 427 cu in or 7L of storage space, although the outer sleeve adds quite a bit of additional volume. The 70 oz. or 2L Antidote reservoir with the Quick Link connector, sits in a dual zippered pouch at the bottom, wrapping backwards around the hips and the lumbar. The pack will come in two colors, Blue and Gray with Black accents, and will be released in February 2012 with a retail price of $100.

Antidote LR Reservoir
The Antidote lumbar reservoir (70 oz/2 liters)  sits horizontal in contrast to the typical vertical layout, and it includes mini baffles (the small cutouts) to keep the water from sloshing around and keep the shape from getting too fat (flatter bladder), and it makes it bend easier at the wings. The bite valve worked quite nicely, and was easy to draw, and didn’t leak.  The screw cap for the fill port takes only a quarter turn to open or close, and it does not get stuck and require brute force to open. Just line up the arrow on the cap with the circle icon ‘O’ (with arrows pointing in tightening direction), and turn it a quarter turn clockwise until it lines up with the solid circle icon by the top hanging hook. It only takes a light touch to close the cap, and its water tight and snug. The fill port has a wider diameter hole for easier filling, cleaning and drying, and has a handle which hooks onto the drop slot of the packs zippered pouch, helping to keep it stable and secure, and makes it handier to hold the cumbersome wide reservoir. They added an auto shutoff quick disconnect, named the Quick Link, which allows you to disconnect the reservoir from the drink hose, which facilitates cleaning, filling and drying.

Impressions
The Charge LR carries over much of its design from the very excellent Octane LR, and has added some great new features, yet has still retained the excellent low lumbar weight carrying and stability characteristics of its brethren. The Charge LR has increased the capacity, added more padding and organizational features, and upgraded the load carrying and stabilization, through the use of the lumbar compression straps and Exoskeleton back panel. The Charge LR is a hybrid of a normal pack and the Octane LR, so you get the best of both worlds.

I have used the pack over the last several months, and it has been crashed, abused and rained on, and has been quite durable for a pack made of lightweight materials. During the test period, it has been very comfortable and stable, and as far as packs go, it has been enjoyable to wear. The lumbar design pulls the weight off the shoulders, and moves it onto the lumbar and lower back, offering increased stability and weight carrying characteristics, and draws the center of gravity in close to the torso.  The back panel and the hip wings conform to the body, like it was painted in place, and it sticks like Velcro no matter how ferocious and bumpy the terrain, with the bulky water weight snugged up tightly into the lumbar. The low tight weighting drawn into the lumbar and lower back, meant the shoulders were freer to move, which was advantageous in technical terrain, and reduced back, shoulder and neck  strain. I ride in extremely gnarly terrain, with lots of long grunt climbs to get to my terrain, meaning prodigious amounts of steep up and down, and the Charge LR has been a pleasant, useful and functional hydration pack for shorter rides.

The molded Lightweight Exoskeleton back panel is soft and conformable, and offers good comfort and ventilation, though with everything squished up against the lumbar, it can get damp in that particular spot.  The hip belt and back panel were nicely padded, and highly flexible, so it conformed extremely well to the contours of your back, and it carried the weight, in a balanced and unnoticeable manner. The shoulder straps were minimally padded, which was fine for the way the system functioned, and the lighter loads the pack would be carrying. The pack itself is feathery light, and I never felt the weight, even with the full 2 liters of water, and the additional carry-on items. Pulling the water weight down low into your lumbar and not on your shoulders, and the rest of the burden snugged in tightly to the back, it does seem to disappear, and offers excellent stability. What I really like about this pack more than anything, is when I get into rough terrain, going of drop offs, ramps, ledges, etc., the pack never flops up towards your head, so I think it’s an ideal gravity pack for that reason, albeit its not the roomiest and lacks helmet carrying capabilities. The LR’s waist belt seems to sit snugger and up higher on the stomach, and didn’t catch on your saddle when making severe sitting on the rear tire moves that happen on uber steep terrain. Between the weight seemingly disappearing, the lack of the pack doing a head flop or bouncing around on your back, and no saddle catching, the LR becomes near invisible when wearing!

The lumbar compression straps, which are located on each side of the hips, are hidden inside the wings, and help pull the bottom of the pack into the back when the extra girth of the used up reservoir shrinks during usage. It keeps the pack, load and weight stable and centered on the back, and can be done on the fly. Although its primary use is for the reservoir, it can also be used to trim and alter the way the pack sits on your back, giving one micro tuning customizations, and I used this feature frequently on every ride.

The zippered main compartment was easy to use, and opening it up clam shell style, allowed efficient access to everything without having to dig around for hidden items. The mesh pockets in the main compartments offered effective organizing for tools, pumps, parts, and other sundry items, and the small Velcro closing tabs are a very nice touch to keep things in place.  The hip belt’s two cargo pockets are decently roomy, and I used them for my cell phone, camera, tools, and keys, and I was especially happy that my iPhone easily fit. My favorite compartment was the back sleeve (aka the burrito), which was constructed from very stretchy material. You could shove a decent-sized rain jacket and maybe even some pants into the sleeve, and I was amazed much it expanded. I also found one other useful storage location, which was the V-shaped zipper section just above the reservoir, which worked perfect for an extra set of gloves, socks, or something relatively small.

The Antidote lumbar reservoir system worked extremely well, and the new screw closure only takes a quarter turn to open and close, and the wide mount is easy to pour into and clean, though to fill to capacity you do need to hold it with the handle at a slight angle to facilitate. A minuscule amount of water can get stuck in the nooks of the wings, exacerbated by the prone cycling position. Most of the water gets pulled out of the wings by the partial vacuum produced by drawing water towards the inlet when drinking, and body movement, such as pedaling and hip swivel aid in drawing any lingering remnants back towards the center. Testing showed a worst-case scenario of 4 oz or 1/2 cup of water staying in the reservoir, some in the wings, and the rest where the draw port wasn’t able to extract the residual. Doing the same experiment with a normal reservoir, there were 1-2 oz or 1/8-1/4 cup of water left. The Quick Link is pretty sweet, and facilitated clipping and in a leak-free manner for the bladder removal, though on occasion, the hose would dribble some water, so I would blow the hose clean beforehand. Inserting the reservoir is an easy task, route the hose, and place the reservoir into the pouch, push its tails into the waist belt, clip the hanging hook onto the loop, and then flip the handle out over the flap, and zip it shut.

Measured Specs:

• Pack Weight (no reservoir) – 467 grams / 16.5 oz
• Antidote Reservoir (with hose) –  178 grams /  6.3 oz
• Total Weight –  645 grams /  22.8 oz
• Pack Size – 20″ tall x 8″ wide, 22″ wide by hip
• Main Compartment Size – 15 ” tall x 8 ” wide x 3 ” thick

European pack companies have always made their products comfortable and conformable, with excellent weight carrying attributes and incredible amount of fit adjustment, and Ergon has been at the forefront of this type of technology. The BX2 is the epitome of this ergonomic thinking, and it’s exceptionally comfortable, ventilates well, carries its load balanced and close to the back and hips, and has vertical adjustment for different torso lengths, and uses a unique free floating shoulder strap. The Ergon BX2 pack is available in two sizes (regular and large) and two colors (Black or Team Edition Green), and has a storage capacity of 8 liters, with an expansion to 9.5.

Click here to view the embedded video.

BX2 Features
The BX2 pack is a multi piece unit, consisting of the main section, and then a secondary shoulder unit. The main uses a thin flexible plastic sheet for its frame body, with padded mesh back and hip covers, waist strap, and an attached nylon storage bag with two compartments. The secondary unit also uses the same thin plastic flex frame material, and attaches to the main pack with multiple large Velcro straps. It has padded shoulder straps, which attach to its upper frame with a free-floating system, allowing the straps to adjust, angulate and undulate as required. The lower strap connects to the main section’s trapeze, which extends around the bottom of the pack, helping to compress and pull up the load for better weight distribution and tighter center of gravity.

The pack comes in two sizes, regular (heights 155 – 175cm/5’1 – 5′ 9 ) and large (170 – 195cm/5’7 – 6’5), and each of those has an additional adjustment for four torso lengths, small, medium, large and x-large. The torso alteration is accomplished by detaching and reattaching the three Velcro points, which consist of the two back pads and the main center size adjuster. To change the length, you open the back mesh pads, and loosen the shoulder flex frame, and then back out the center strap. Choose the proper sizing for your torso using the pack’s instruction manual, although it will sometimes require some trial and error to get things worked out optimally. Starting from the back of the shoulder system frame, insert the center Velcro webbing up through a slot that is above the chosen lettered size (S, M, L, XL), and then insert the strap down into the next lower slot, covering over your size. Snug the center strap tightly, and push the Velcro down, and then roll the back pads over and push and snap them in place. The sternum strap is length and height adjustable so you can position as desired. Ergon refers to this entire system as the ‘Perfect Fit Backpack’.

The shoulder frame pokes out with A shaped ending in which the shoulder straps fit, and the straps are then attached through their webbing onto a set of D-rings, so the entire system is free floating, allowing for varying shoulder widths and sizes, and pack and body movement. The included rain cover upper straps get attached by sneaking them under the frame sheet and shoulder strap, and the bottom portion wraps underneath the pack with elastic edging.

The back and hip padding is quite soft and thick, and the mesh uses a nice open weave for maximum comfort, ventilation and wickability. The padding is rather tall (3/8-1/2 inch), and due to its separation, it creates a large and wide air channel, so the back and waist have great ventilation, keeping thing’s more comfortable and drier (no wet spots).

The nylon bag of the pack is divided into a smaller upper pocket and a large voluminous main compartment (8 liter) with an expansion section (1.5 liter) controlled by zipper (total 9.5 liter). The main has a long thin rectangular shape, and has a pouch for a hydration reservoir (not included), and two pump sleeves. On the top of the main is a mesh zippered pocket with two soft padded sleeves. The upper outside pocket is roomy, and adds some nice organization attributes, and is comprised of two zippered mesh pockets, and a small pump sleeve. The hip belt has two zippered small pockets.

The main compartment has a decent amount of room, especially towards the bottom of the pack. The mains flattened interior shape can make it tough to pack things properly, especially in the middle section, which is exacerbate by the bowing out of a full hydration reservoir. It’s best to jam the contents as much as possible towards the bottom of the pack, for stability, and organizational purposes. The long clamshell zipper is really nice, and allows easy access to almost the entire pack. Due to the shallow nature of the compartment, when the zipper is opened, it works best to lay the pack on its back to prevent items from flopping out. The upper inner pocket is nice, and the soft slots are handy for a music device and tools, keeping the latter from banging around. Access to the pocket can be somewhat convoluted due to the routing of the hydration hose over the top of the pocket. I do wish they had made the egress port underneath the pocket instead? The two pump sleeves are functional and easy to use, and they sit nicely right next to the reservoir, held snugly in place by the bladder itself.

The exterior top pocket is also roomy, and the two side loading zippered pockets are useful. The mini pump slot is nice, although I usually put something else in there instead. The upper pocket is great for flatter items, wallet, snacks, camera’s, etc. The pack also comes with an adjustable bungee cord system, which clips to four attachment point on the circumference, and it’s handy for helmet and jackets. The side hip pockets were handy for small snacks and tools, but they need to be slightly larger in size, as an iPhone is pretty hard to squeeze into them. The trapeze panel forms a pseudo open pocket, and is accessible by either of its sides, and is useful if the pack isn’t overstuffed with gear.

Impressions
The back adjustment system is an excellent feature, and since everyone has a different torso length, it’s great for matching and fitting to your body shape, making the pack become one with your back. The system is simple and intuitive to use, and easy to adjust, and any changes are discernible. The free-floating and self adjusting shoulder straps is a wondrous, simple and innovative feature, which conforms with the pack to your shoulder’s width and shape, and lets it move and fluctuate with your body as you ride and bump along the terrain. It’s quite noticeable while spinning, as you regularly rotate your shoulders for the maximum drive, and when doing wild body contortions on difficult terrain, and the pack remains stable and steady during any of these movements. The bottom trapeze system which attaches to the shoulder straps really works well, and it’s like a set of hand’s cups the bottom of the pack, securing it from beneath, and compressing the load and pulling it up close, so that the weight is in tight, for better balance and stability, and center of gravity. Like the other packs in Ergon lineup, the high sitting shoulder strap system feels like your doing a deltoid’s contortion dance when you wiggle your arms into the opening.

The rear padding system is not only supremely comfortable, but it ventilates well and conforms excellently to your back, helped greatly by the flexible frame system. I got the optional 2 liter Hydrapack reservoir (BH200), which worked like a charm, but I think it needs to be part of the package, especially considering that it makes the pack more expensive. I really liked all the pockets and sleeves, which were useful and functional, and it’s great to see a European company start to have some additional organizational features in their packs, as a plethora of useful pockets and sleeve has always been lacking in their designs. The bungee cord was handy for helmets, armor and an occasional jacket, and it really helped with the small storage capacity.

Measured Specs:

Weight

• Pack (w/ bungee and rain cover) – 725 grams
• Reservoir – 136 grams
• Total – 861 grams

Size

• 20 (length) x 9 (width) x 6 (depth) inches

Bottom Line
The Ergon BX2 is a pretty amazing pack, and its design combines ergonomic practices with Ergon’s engineering know-how and knowledge base. The packs adjustable back system, which allows alteration for different torso lengths, is innovative, easy to use and works, and when combined with the unique free-floating shoulder straps, they create a phenomenal synergistic pair, that becomes one with your back. The trapeze at the bottom of the pack and attaches to the shoulder straps, and helps compresses the load up and close to the back, for better balance and a tighter center of gravity. The flexible frame provides exceptional conformability, and the soft thick back and hip pads offer supreme comfort, and the pads separation gives excellent ventilation channel.

The hydration hose annoyingly covers the main compartments upper pocket, and lack of an included reservoir is a major faux pas. The flattened shape of the main compartment combined with the bowing out of a full reservoir, can make packing the small capacity unit problematic.

Ergon has created an exceptional product with the BX2, and the adjustable back system, floating shoulder straps, conformable frame, and an overall comfortable and well ventilated pack, make for a stable, connected, and synergistic package.

Strengths

• Torso adjustment system
• Free floating shoulder straps
• Trapeze support system
• Flex frame
• Mesh back and hip pads – comfortable and ventilates
• Organizational pockets and sleeves

Weaknesses

• Hydration hose obstructs main’s upper pocket
• Longevity of flex frame (unknown)?
• Flattened shape and bowed reservoir make for tough middle section packing
• Lack of hydration reservoir

Overall Rating: 4.5 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

MSRP: $89.95 and optional BH200 reservoir ($25.95)

Ergon BX2 Specs:

• Visit Ergon BX2 website: http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/product/bx2
• Name: Ergon BX2 Backpack
• Sizes: Regular or Large
• Weight: approx. 700 grams
• Capacity: 8 (9.5 when expanded) Liters
• Colors: Black and Team Green
• Material: Nylon, Polyester
• Options: bladders BH200 ($25.95) and BH300 ($29.95)

This is a pretty nice hydration pack, with some exemplary features. The foremost feature, is their Aircomfort System, which uses thin steel springs and a mesh backing to tension the pack away from your back, providing excellent ventilation and air flow without getting a sweaty back. Everything works in tandem with mesh shoulder straps, padded hip and neck sections (where the springs attach), and waist and sternum straps. The system also helps distribute the weight load evenly, for a noticeable comfort, and good anti-swaying characteristic. Deuter is a German company that was founded in 1898, initially making mailbags, and they now manufacturer sleeping bags, and backpacks for all sorts of activities, including outdoor sports, traveling, business and school work.

Deuter Race X Air
The Race X Air has a 850 cubic inch or 14 litre carrying capacity, weighs around 820 grams or 9 ounces, and comes with a 2 liter reservoir bag, and a plethora of features. The tear dropped shaped pack is made with a combination of HexLite 210 and their Deuter Microrip Nylon fabrics, for lightweight and durability, and comes in Ocean/Silver and Black/Titan colors. The Race X Air is the smallest of their Race series of packs, and uses their Advanced Aircomfort ventilation system, which is a very innovative and highly functional entity.

The reservoir bag is made by Source Vagabond Systems, and is called the Streamer, and it’s pretty trick. The Streamer’s closure is a variant of a river runner dry bag closure system, and is durable and leakproof. Just slide the top bar off the reservoir, fold open the bag, clean or fill as needed, then fold over and slide it back on. Source was founded in 1989 and manufactures in Haifa District in Israel, where they make hydration systems, adventure sandals and travel accessories. Besides the excellent opening system, the reservoir has the Helix Valve silicone mouthpiece with a Dirt Shield cover, PE film material with Grunge-Guard (an anti-microbial treatment) and a Glass-Like surface which prevents a bio-film build up.

The pack’s storage is divided up between one large main compartment, a small front pocket and two side mesh pockets. The reservoir nicely drops into a pouch in the back of the main compartment, and hangs from an easy to use Velcro strap, and the tube routes through a small opening on the top, and then over the shoulder strap, all in a nice seamless and carefully thought out manner. This arrangement certainly makes it easier to pull the bag out for filling and cleaning. I liked the bite valve, as it never dripped, but I found it hard to get a good draw. Although the reservoir was easy to fill and clean, it needs a quick-disconnect for the tube for easier usage. When the reservoir is full and is inserted into the pack, it pushes out between the two vertical steel frame slats into the free space between the mesh, and the bowed out back, so not as much internal pack volume is lost. The main compartment is nice and large (for a mid sized pack), and its two zippers can be snapped together so they don’t accidentally open, and spill out the contents. I do wish the main compartment had some small pockets or pouches, or any sort of additional storage placements, as this would greatly help in organizing gear, especially smaller items. The front pocket has plenty of room and is quite expansive,  although the storage space gets flattened out when the pack becomes full. The side mesh pockets were very secure and useful for energy bars, gels and my Spot location device.

The very bottom of the pack has a zippered compartment that holds a rain cover for the pack, which is a totally trick item. Besides working great in rain and wet snow storms for protection, I also used it as a helmet carrier when riding on mellow fire roads. With its extremely bright neon green color, you certainly will be seen!

Measured Specs:
Weight – Pack :  810.4 grams/28.6 oz, Bladder: 158.7 grams/5.6 oz, Total: 969.1 grams/34.2 oz
Size -  19 (H) x 10 (W) x 7 (D)  inches

Impressions
The Aircomfort system works extremely well, and it definitely kept you from getting a sweaty back, which was quite enjoyable.  The system also carried the weight efficiently, keeping it in a distributed and balanced manner.  On gnarly or extremely steep terrain, the pack didn’t bounce around nor creep up towards your neck, and it seemed to stay planted on your back.I did notice that the hip padding and lower section, where the bottom metal braces are attached, dug into my back sometimes, and I found that disconcerting, but it was a minor issue while riding. The meshed shoulder straps were quite nice, especially in warm weather, never belaying a hint of sweat, although I would have liked a touch of padding, as the side ribbing on their outside edge was rough. The sternum strap worked well, and the sliders for it were very beefy, and it was easy to adjust them for load variance and fit. The waist belt cinched in as needed to carry the load, and they had these useful plastic sliders that the excess strapping popped into, instead of using the usual elastic loops. I think a further extension of the hip padding would greatly benefit the entire waist system. I liked how the bite valve worked, and you could easily twirl it in any direction, and the twist on and off was quite nice, but I found it difficult to get a good draw when drinking. The Dirt Shield cover seemed like a smart idea, but it gets in the way and bangs around, so I just left it off, and it slowly morphed its way to a cabinet at home. The HexLite material has been very durable, and has survived multiple crashes and tree branch encounters, and the stitching and construction are excellent, and I haven’t found a loose thread nor frayed spot anywhere. The zipper pulls were very robust, and were easy to grab, and the snap together features of the two main zipper’s rules! The big compartment made it really simple to cram stuff in there, and that was especially functional when packing for inclement weather, but it really screams for some internal pockets, for compartmentalizing things, else they tend to get lost in the bottomless pit.

Bottom Line
The Deuter Race X Air is quite an exceptional mid sized hydration pack, with many innovative and functional features, and its 14 liter carrying capacity is the perfect accompaniment for long  rides. Their Aircomfort System is works like a charm, and it keeps the pack off your back, increasing comfort, ventilation and load carrying characteristics, so say good bye to an overtly sweaty back and pack interface. The voluminous main compartment is simple to load, and the front and side pockets are useful, although additional internal pockets would help to organize smaller items. The Streamer reservoir worked quite nicely, and the internal hanging system was easy to use, and the bite valve has some nice features, but was difficult to draw water effectively. The pack is well made, with good stitching and material choices, and has been very durable.

Strengths

• Reservoir system
• Aircomfort system – great ventilation and load carrying
• Waist sliders
• Light and durable pack material
• Well built
• Zipper snaps
• Rain cover

Weaknesses

• Main compartment need additional pockets
• Bite valve – hard to draw
• Shoulders strap edges are rough
• Hip padding metal brace area can dig into back

Overall Rating: 4 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

Race X Air Company Specs:

• Visit the Deuter Race X Air Website
• Weight – 1/13 lbs/oz or 820 g
• Volume – 850 cubic inches or 14 litre
• Size – 19 / 8.7 / 5.9 (H x W x D) Inch or 47 / 22 / 15 (H x W x D) cm
• Material – Deuter-Microrip-Nylon / HexLite 210
• MSRP $ 69.00

The CamelBak Octane LR is an incredibly comfortable and trick hydration pack, which features their lumbar Antidote reservoir, which is situated at the bottom of the pack. The design places the water lower on hips and back for stability and comfort. The pack becomes part of your back, at least figuratively, as it conforms to the shape and oddities of your body, and it doesn’t bounce around, even when bending forward. The Octane LR uses lightweight ripstop fabric with reinforcement at key areas, and has 549 cu in (9 L) of space with a 70 oz  (2 L)  Antidote Reservoir.  It’s an ideal pack for mountain biking, trail running and adventure racing.

Antidote Reservoir
The new lumbar Antidote reservoir (70 oz / 2 liters) is pretty amazing, and CamelBak has done a full redesign of their units, adding many features and functionality, and has caught up to the competition’s innovations. The lumbar version sits horizontal in contrast to the typical vertical layout, and it includes mini baffles (the small cutouts) to keep the water from sloshing around and keep the shape from getting too fat. The bite valve worked quite nicely, and was easy to draw, and didn’t leak (at least not yet).  The screw cap for the fill port takes only a quarter turn to open or close, and it does not get stuck and require brute force to open. Just line up the arrow on the cap with the circle icon ‘O’ (with arrows pointing in tightening direction), and turn it a quarter turn clockwise until it lines up with the solid circle icon by the top hanging hook. It only takes a light touch to close the cap, and its water tight and snug. The fill port has a wider diameter hole for easier filling, cleaning and drying, and has a handle which hooks onto the drop slot of the packs zippered pouch, helping to keep it stable and secure, and in addition it makes it handier to hold the cumbersome wide reservoir. They added an auto shutoff quick disconnect, named the Quick Link, which allow you to disconnect the reservoir from the drink hose, which facilitates cleaning, filling and drying.

CamelBak Octane LR
The Octane LR (lumbar reservoir) is light 343 grams, is minimally padded using their Ultra-light 3D mesh, and is constructed with 70D mini ripstop, 230D taffeta, 420D Nylon (with DWR + 1000mm PU Coating) materials. The wraparound body uses their Air channel back panel, and has padded shoulder and waist straps, and a sternum strap. The upper portion of the pack has two main pockets (shaped liked trapezoids), one slightly larger than the other, and two small ones situated on the waist belt, and they combine together to give 9 liters or 549 cubic inches of space. On the lower front is an elastic mesh front pouch, with a bungee closure, and a skinny slot on the left shoulder strap. The Antidote reservoir sits in a dual zippered pouch at the bottom, wrapping backwards around the hips and the lumbar. The pack comes in two colors, Mirage and Frost Gray (as tested) or Lime Punch and Graphite.

Impressions
The space is pretty minimal if you’re used to having a lot of room available, so you can’t carry the kitchen sink with this one. I had to become a weight and size weenie, and only carry small short items, so I changed to a little first aid kit, tire pump, CO2 cartridge, etc. I ended up putting things in Ziploc bags for organizational purposes, which also worked well since sometimes you had to pull most of the pocket contents out to grab an item. The two main pockets measured at roughly 10″ x 6″, so nothing too tall, large or fat works. The hip belt has two cargo ones, which I used for my cell phone and camera, tools or keys on occasion.

The reservoir came with a LR specific hose, and it is seemingly designed to be routed from the bottom (according to CamelBak it can be run bottom or top), and up along the lower section of the shoulder straps.  I found it too short at 29″ for proper functionality, and I didn’t like the routing arrangement, so I borrowed a longer 35″ one from my other CamelBak pack’s, and routed it over the shoulder in the normal fashion, and it has worked just fine. They need to rethink the length and routing, and in addition add a hose loop around the mid back to enhance its placement. Inside the hydration pouch, there are two holes to route the hose through, so you could do either a right or left side set up, although only the right shoulder strap had a hard plastic hose clip. One of the main pocket’s ended up with a small hole that tore through into the hydration pouch near the hose egress (though never got bigger than a pinkie), so the complex stitching in that area seems to be done haphazardly, and they need to do some more QC?

The hip/waist belt, shoulder pads and back panel were minimally padded, though highly flexible, so it conformed extremely well to the contours of your back, and it carried the weight (what little there is), in a balanced and unnoticeable manner. The pack is feathery light, and I never felt the weight, even with the full 2 liters of water. Of course, since you can’t carry many items, it doesn’t weigh much anyway, but with the weight carried low on your lumbar and not on your shoulders, it does seem to disappear, and offers excellent stability. What I really like about this pack more than anything, is when I get into rough terrain, going of drop offs, ramps, ledges, etc., the pack never flops up towards your head, so I think it’s an ideal gravity pack for that reason, though it’s missing some back protection for rolling crashes. The LR’s waist belt seems to sit snugger and up higher on the stomach, and didn’t catch on your saddle when making severe sitting on the rear tire moves that happen on uber steep terrain. Between the weight seemingly disappearing, the lack of the pack doing a head flop nor bouncing around on your back, and no saddle catching, the LR becomes near invisible when wearing! It felt very much like a mountain runner wearable hydration belt instead of a cycling pack.

The Antidote reservoir system works extremely well, and the new screw closure only takes a quarter turn to open and close, and the wide mount is easy to pour into and clean, though to fill to capacity you do need to hold it with the handle at a slight angle to facilitate. When the bladder gets low, sometimes you don’t get the last vestiges of water due to the width of its shape. The Quick Link is pretty sweet, and facilitated clipping and in a leak-free manner for the bladder removal, though on occasion the hose would dribble some water, so I would blow the hose clean beforehand. Inserting the reservoir is an easy task, route the hose through the back hole, and place it into the pouch, push its tails into the waist belt, clip the hanging hook onto the upper yellow loop, and then flip the handle out over the flap, and finally zip it shut.

I would like to see a version with slightly more capacities, since it was a bit small for rides in inclement weather in the Colorado mountains, and you needed to be quite the minimalist to pack the sucker.

Measured Specs:

• Octane LR pack – 342.5 grams / 12.1 oz
• Antidote Reservoir (with hose) – 179.2 grams / 6.3 oz
• Total Weight – 521.7 grams / 18.4 oz
• Pocket sizes (trapezoid shape) – Right: (8″ x 4″) wide x 10″ tall x (.5″ to 3″) thick, Left (9″ x 7″) wide x 10″ tall x (.5″ to 3″) thick
• Pack size – 19″ tall x 9″ wide, 22″ wide by hip

Bottom Line
The CamelBak Octane LR is a superb pack,  that is comfortable, light and stable, due in a great part to the lumbar design which keeps the Antidote reservoir weight down low. The pack just sits so nicely, and carries the weight well on your hips, back and lumbar that it all but disappears, and during any type of riding, that I put it through, and it never seemed to flop or bounce around, especially on steep terrain (no head slap). The design, materials, and minimal padding create a highly conformable entity, and it becomes one with the back. The 70 oz (2 L) of water is fine if you’re not a guzzler, and the 549 cu in (9 L) of storage space works if you’re careful with what you carry.

The hose is too short for a properly functioning setup, and a small hole tore through the stitching in one pocket, and I would love to see a version with additional capacity.

The excellent Octane LR is a low slung and sleek pack which work extremely well, with just enough space for moderate rides, and is ideal for biking, hiking and running.

Strengths

• Antidote bladder system
• Comfortable and conformable
• Weight and pack disappear
• No flopping and bouncing around

Weaknesses

• Hose is too short – additional tube is $9
• Hole in the upper pocket
• Need a tad more space (maybe an up sized model)

MSRP: $89

Overall Rating: 4.5 Flamin’ Chili Peppers
Rating w/ longer tube: 5 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

CamelBak Octane LR Company Specs:

• Visit the website at http://www.camelbak.com/Sports-Recreation/Packs/2011-Octane-LR.aspx
• Back panel: Air channel
• Harness: Ultra-light 3D mesh
• Belt: 1 in / 25 mm 840D lightweight tape with cargo pocket
• Additional Features: Lumbar Reservoir (LR) provides superb stability, External Fill, Harness pockets, Front and back reflectivity
• Designed to Carry: Extra layers, ultra-light weather protection, energy bars, head lamp, trail maps, compass
• Hydration Capacity: 70 oz (2 L) – Quick Link™ System, quick-seal cap, lightweight fillport, dryer arms, patented Big Bite™ Valve, HydroGuard™ technology, PureFlow™ tube, easy-to-clean wide-mouth opening
• Total Capacity: 549 CU IN (9 L)
• Pack Weight: 12.6 oz (360 g)
• Fabric Specs: 70D mini ripstop, 230D taffeta & 420D Nylon with DWR + 1000mm PU Coating
• Torso Length: 16 in (41 cm)
• Colors: Mirage and Frost Gray or Lime Punch and Graphite.

The new Jolla hydration pack from Hydrapak is a comfortable pack, with great carrying capacity, excellent features, the best reservoir in the business and the nicest designed set of pockets I have used. The Jolla is part of Hydrapak’s new Pro Series. The Pro Series constitutes their best design philosophy, features, materials and construction.

Features

Surge Valve
The foremost new feature for me as a longtime Hydrapak user, is that they finally solved their heinously leaky bite valve! The updated Surge Valve doesn’t leak, has a twist shutoff, an adjustable angled elbow, which bites and draws well, and just plain rocks. It can be somewhat difficult to operate the valve with gloved hands, but it’s a pretty minor issue.

Quantum Clip
The drinking hose also attaches with an innovative system called the Quantum Clip (no more Velcro), which uses a magnet clip on the hose, and an adjoining metal piece on the chest compression strap. It takes a bit of practice to get used to the system, but you just drop the hose clip easily on the proper spot with a distinct snap. It also prevents the hose from flopping around when you are bouncing along on rough terrain, which I had always found a bit annoying with hydration packs, in fact, I used to tuck the bite valve under the compression strap to prevent that from happening. One of Hydrapak’s statements about the Quantum Clip is, “keep your hose in check”, I am not even going to touch that one!

Reversible Reservoir II
The intriguing Hydrapak bladder system, named the Reversible Reservoir II is a variant of what rafters and kayakers use for dry bags. I have used dry bags for many years on the river as a kayaker, and they are a great tool and very functional. Of course they were meant to keep water out and not water in! The Hydrapak bladder is a nifty system that uses a plastic slider closure (the “Slide Seal”) for the top of the unit, and it allows easy fillings since the entire top opens wide. The Jolla that I tested came with their largest sized reservoir, with a capacity of 100 fl oz/3L. All the reservoir components (bladder, tube, bite valve) are made with FDA approved BPA Free TPU, which means no Bisphenol A (BPA), within the Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) material.

It can be turned inside out, which is a great feature that makes the cleaning and drying tasks a breeze, and it helps keep the dreaded funk from happening! It has a quick connector which they call Plug N Play that attaches or detaches the drinking hose, so it makes it easy to take the bladder out of the pack for cleaning and filling. Their reservoirs are being used in a few competitor packs, which is a great vouch for their innovation and functionality. I think Camelbak felt some of the competition from Hydrapak (?), as they just released the greatly improved Antidote reservoir, which does have an easier to use disconnect system, though it’s still tougher to clean and fill.

The reservoir compartment is accessed on the upper back side of the pack. The zipper that opens the compartment has an excellent length, and the opening is large enough, so it’s easy to extract and insert the reservoir. The reservoirs little attachment clip is a royal pain to un-clip from the packs hanging strap, and I much preferred their original quick connector buckle system from their older versions.

Impressions
The Jolla was a comfortable and highly conformable pack, and molded to you back’s contours, and didn’t create any pressure spots. The shoulder and sternum straps worked well and were easy to use and adjust, and held the weight evenly. The hip belt comes off the pack in a large swath of material as it rolls out over your sides, and is comfortable and stable, and was stowable if one is so inclined. I did find that the pack tended to flop around on my back, especially on rough terrain, and it liked to bounce up towards my helmet. Even cinching down the straps in any manner and variation didn’t seem to alleviate the issue, and it was exacerbated when the pack was full.

Mesh Back
The mesh backing is very resilient and pliable, so the pack really conforms to your torso, which allows plenty of movements, and an all day comfort level. Even with all the high tech air channels and fancy padding, I found that I had perspiration issues, and I got a wet back during most rides, which is common to this type of system. With larger packs, I am preferring the raised backs of some of the competition (Vaude, Ergon, etc.), which use a frame to hold the body of the pack away from your back, offering suspension, ventilation and breathability. In fact, their own Del Mar commuter pack has this type of feature.

The pack is made from light weight nylon, which has been amazingly durable for the abuse that I have put it through. They use a combination of 210D Baby Ripstop Nylon and 420D Double Nylon for the pack’s construction. The pack comes in all Black and Ivory, which I tested, and I found that although the lighter color can pick up a few dirt spots easier, it reflected the sun in warmer weather, and kept your back cooler.

Main Compartment
The main compartment is cavernous, with tons of space and some useful pockets and pouches. I really liked the front zippered mesh pocket in the main area, as it was the perfect spot and size for many items. I wish the rear pouch was smaller, since it protrudes out too much when filled, and gets in the way of packing and organizing, plus it needs a zipper or some elastic to keep things from bouncing around.  The large opening is nice and wide, so it’s easy to find things, and put them in, making it a breeze to browse for stuff, though a slightly longer zipper for a larger clam shell opening would have been useful.  The packs total capacity of 18 liters/1100 cu in was great for any season, and it allowed me to carry inclement weather gear and knee pads, and pretty much anything required short of an expedition or the kitchen sink.

Middle and Front Compartment
This pack is the mack daddy for its pure number of pockets, and it has so many that I sometimes didn’t even use all of them, which is a great problem to have! The middle compartment is really deep, and it gives one quite a bit of capacity, and helps keep the smaller items organized and easily obtained. It has two great zippered pockets, a Velcro closure pocket (perfect for a wallet), two pen slots and one skinny pocket. I usually place my small items in a baggy for functional purposes, but with the plethora of pockets, I could organize in any manner possible. The front compartment, has two mesh pocket, a key clip and has an audio hole, though I never have used one myself. It has two nice zippered side pockets that are made with some elastic material (for water bottles?), so it allows you to add larger objects than seems feasible for their size, but the lower side straps made it difficult to use them efficiently, so I usually put tools or items I wouldn’t need as frequently.

Cinch Straps
The pack has two sets of dual side cinches, that do a great job of balancing the load depending on the current capacity that you are carrying. When the pack was full and the straps were expanded out farther, you could also carry a jacket, armor, and other items under the straps. The top straps attached across the front onto a decent sized pouch made partially with elastic material, and the straps somewhat cinched down the pouch. You could carry a jacket or anything else on the outside pouch, and it worked great for carrying trail maintenance cutters. On the very front there was a small nylon strap for a rear night light.

Lifting Strap
An exceptional feature is the padded lifting strap, which helps you grab the pack with your entire hand. It has turned out to be a simple functional touch to the pack, which has added immense usefulness and just makes it a darn pleasure grabbing the pack to do anything with it.

Measured Specs

• Weight – pack only              848.3 grams,  29.9 oz,  1.9 lbs
• Weight – reservoir/tube    148.3 grams,  5.2 oz,  .3 lbs
• Total Weight                         996.6 grams,  35.2 oz,  2.2 lbs

Bottom Line

The Jolla is a really comfortable pack, with many excellent features, such as the new bite valve, the Quantum Clip and the top carrying strap. The cavernous main, and the middle compartments were functional, and the middle’s plethora of pockets was highly useful and just darn superb. The pack is light, conforms amazingly well to your torso, and has a great fit and function. The pack tends to flop around on your back in rough terrain, especially when it was full.

Hydrapak has the best hydration reservoir bag in the business, period. This reversible bladder, greatly aids in cleaning, drying and filling, and is a simple engineering idea that is a marvel to use. The new Jolla is a pretty sweet pack, and it would be a welcome addition to anyone seeking a larger day pack.

Strengths

• Plethora of storage pockets
• Surge Valve
• Quantum Clip
• Bladder system
• Top handle

Weaknesses

• Pack flops around on rough trails
• Middle compartment zipper snags
• Lack of helmet net
• Needs a longer zipper and opening for main compartment

MSRP: $129.99

Overall Rating: 4 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

• Hydrapak Jolla webpage http://www.hydrapak.com/products/packs/jolla/
• Cavernous Main Compartment with Internal Pocket
• Secondary Middle Organizer Compartment
• Media Pocket with Dedicated Audio Port and Key Loop
• Quad Compression Strap Down System
• Dedicated Zippered Reservoir Pocket on Back Panel
• Dual Side Bottle Pockets
• Comfort Padded Should Straps
• Soft Moisture Wicking Back Panel
• Stowable Waist Belt
• Weight: 2lb 6oz.
• 1100 cubic inches (18.0 L) Gear Storage
• 100 oz (3L)
• 210D Baby Ripstop Nylon and 420D Double Nylon Ripstop Construction
• Colors: Black and Ivory

The Ergon BC2 is one of the most interesting packs, that I have ever used, and it’s got some highly innovative and functional features. The foremost is their unique frame system. It uses their flexible Profax PP frame, which transfers 80% of the pack’s load onto the hips, and is combined with the Flink ball joint (ball and socket), which allows the shoulder harness to freely pivot. The system is comprised of the pack, the plastic Profax PP frame, a massively padded hip belt, the Flink ball joint and a shoulder harness.

The BC2 is the middle brethren of the Ergon pack line, and lies between the Bc1 and BC3, all of which use the plastic frame and Flink ball joint system. The capacity of the BC2 is 16 liters (975 cubic inches), and can be expanded to another 4 liters (245 cubic inches), which makes a pretty voluminous pack. The pack is made with 600 Denier Nylon, comes with a rain cover, has a sleeve for an optional hydration reservoir, and is available in two colors, Black and Team Ergon (late 2010).

Measured Specs (regular size):

• Weight – 1315 grams/46 oz/2.9 lbs
• Size – 7″ x 11″ x 20″/18cm x 28cm x 51cm

The frame is a large plastic exoskeleton, which follows the rear circumference of the pack, connects up to the Flink ball joint with a cross member, and has a bottom pan that cradles the pack, and finishes with two long tongues that slide into each side of the hip belt. The Flink ball joint is unique, as the shoulder harness not only freely rotates in a spherical direction (though it does have some stops), but it’s also free floating, meaning it’s only attached to the ball joint and is therefore, isolated from the frame and pack. The ball itself, which is just a half of a sphere, rotates in the frame’s socket, and is attached with a single large bolt. I never had any issues with the singular bolt, but it does mean a single point of failure in the grand scheme of things.

The pack comes in two sizes, regular (which I tested) and large, and the size is chosen by a height range. Regular is for heights between 5’1″-5’11″, while large is for those between 5’9″-6’5″. Each of the sizes has three back length adjustment settings for varying torso’s  (small, medium and large), and are adjusted by moving the Flink ball joint onto one of the accompanying slots in the frame of the shoulder harness. Once the proper position is located, a bolt comes through the back l direction (though it does have some stops), but it’s also free floating, meaning it’s only attached to the ball joint and is therefore, isolated from the frame and pack. The ball itself, which is just a half of a sphere, rotates in the frame’s socket, and is attached with a single large bolt. I never had any issues with the singular bolt, but it does mean a single point of failure in the grand scheme of things.

The pack comes in two sizes, regular (which I tested) and large, and the size is chosen by a height range. Regular is for heights between 5’1″-5’11″, while large is for those between 5’9″-6’5″. Each of the sizes has three back length adjustment settings for varying torso’s  (small, medium and large), and are adjusted by moving the Flink ball joint onto one of the accompanying slots in the frame of the shoulder harness. Once the proper position is located, a bolt comes through the back of the shoulder harness, through the ball and threads into the socket. You can adjust the firmness of the ball and socket, by the amount of torque you apply to the bolt. There is a nice instruction booklet, and a label inside the pack that gives detailed information into the procedure. I set the connection to the lowest slot, or large setting, since I was towards the maximum torso length (5’9″) for the regular frame size.

The first time you put the pack on, it’s a bit odd, as the shoulder pads sit out extremely wide and high. I have started to get used to the feeling, but it is still a bit disconcerting. The next odd feeling is that the shoulder harness wiggles so freely around, while the pack and frame stay isolated, and offers an unrestricted range of motion. It feels like the ball joint is on ice, and moving your shoulders around doesn’t cause undue pack movement. When you cinch down the hip belt (it does need to be kept tight), the pack disappears underneath you, and the weight along with it, since it drops it directly onto your hips. Riding along with this pack on (especially when full) is pretty amazing, since you don’t notice any weight, nor does the pack flop around, no matter how rough the terrain becomes, it floats along like it’s not there. I really appreciated it in technical terrain, especially going down, since the pack didn’t come flopping up off your back towards your head, it just stayed solidly planted. Like most of the frame mounted systems, it keeps most of the pack off your back, so you don’t get large perspiration spots, except for the hip belt area and oddly enough the outer pectorals.

Nitpicks: When doing hike a bike, I found that the hip section of the frame and the side pocket would keep bumping into and catching on my saddle, which I found annoying? When taking the pack off, the shoulder harness was a pain, especially when wearing body armor, since the wide and high setup would catch on things and require some wild body contortions to get out. The snaps for the webbing that holds the frame into the hip belt, would come undone on rare occasions, and the frame’s forks would pop out. Sometimes the entire hip belt would rotate or move and the pack along with it, but it was easily remedied by yanking it back into position, and I am not sure if it was due to the belt loosening up or not?

The entire system is pretty innovative and brilliant, and makes everything ride in a very centered manner, and keep the weight on your hips and off your shoulders, and offer a lower center of gravity, with little swaying.

The pack had a lot of useful pockets and compartments. The main compartment was vast, and had a five non zippered pouches on the back side, though I wish there were some zippered ones on the inner front. The main had a nice long zipper that opened almost 2/3 of the circumference of the pack, making it easy to extract and organize items, clothes and gear. The two compression straps worked quite well, and not only compressed the pack properly, but allowed any number of items to be easily attached as required, and a really nice feature was that the straps stayed out of the way of the main’s zipper when unclipped. The hydration compartment was useful, but it was difficult to squeeze in a full reservoir, especially when the pack was already loaded. The front zippered pocket was long and flat, and although it could hold lots of smaller items, it was hard to organize anything, since it lacked any subsections. The side pocket was a handy, and was large enough for a cell phone and point and shoot camera, and could easily be opened by reaching to your hip. On the inside rear by the each hip, were two zippered entrances to the same mini compartment, which were great for carrying small tools, headgear, and other sundry items. The optional hydration reservoir, is available in two sizes, the BH200 (2L)  and BH300 (3L), and Ergon partnered with Hydrapak for the unit.

Nitpicks: Although the main compartment was vast, and the front pocket was useful, they both need some additional organizational subdivision (pockets, zippered sections, etc.), since it made for a poor layout. The lack of a hydration reservoir seems a bit odd in such a tricked out pack, although it does lessen the sticker shock.

Another oddity, is that it can be difficult to set the pack down in the field (or anywhere), since the hard form frame doesn’t sit very well on surfaces that aren’t flat.

Bottom Line
The Ergon BC2 is a pretty amazing pack, the Profax PP frame and the Flink ball joint work in a fantastic synergistic manner, to make the pack’s weight and all of its contents disappear, and keep the pack isolated so that it doesn’t unduly move around, even on the roughest and ugliest terrain. It’s durable (though the plastic scratches easily), is made with tough heavy duty nylon and strong zippers, has a plethora of pockets and useful compartments, and includes a rain cover. The BC2 is an excellent multi-sport pack, and can be used for backcountry skiing, biking, day hikes and rock climbing, and its capacity of 16L+4L makes it ideal.

It does lack some proper organization layout for pockets and pouches, and the hydration reservoir is optional, and it’s pricey, but most of the other issues are minor in an otherwise great pack.

The Ergon BC2 is a well made pack, using great materials, with many innovations, and is loaded with features and functionality, and is another excellent German ergonomically engineered product from the Ergon team.

Strengths
- Brilliant frame and Flink ball joint system
- Tough pack
- Vast main compartment: easy to fill/extract with large zippered opening
- Pack doesn’t flop around
- Carries weight well: disappears

Weaknesses
- Lack of a hydration reservoir
- Pricey
- A contortion getting the arms out of the shoulder harness
- Hip belt and side pocket catch on things
- Hip belt to frame snaps can come undone
- Lack of organizational pockets in main and front compartments

MSRP: $160

Overall Rating: 4.5 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

Click here to visit the Ergon Website

Ergon BC Specs

• Optional hydration reservoir – BH200 (2L)  or BH300 (3L)
• Size - Regular or Large
• Material - 600 D Nylon
• Capacity - 975 + 245 cu. inches (Expando function)
• Max. load recommended up to 13 lbs

Camelbak has released two new hydration packs for 2010 made specifically for the All Mountain and Freeride community. The Don (17.5L) and The Capo (11L) have the usual Camelbak features, along with the ability to carry full face helmets and body armor. I originally tested the 2010 Don, but Camelbak was nice enough to send along the 2011 Don (slightly tweaked over 2010), which had their brand new Antidote bladder system. The new Antidote is miles ahead of their previous bladder, and fixes many issues in their system, like the always frustrating fill port screw cap.

The Don
The Don has a carrying capacity of 17.5L or 1070 cu in, and the water reservoir is 3L or 100oz, comes in four colors combination’s, and weighs in at 900 grams or 2 lbs.
The Don is made with a slightly tougher rip-stop material than most packs, so that it can take the additional abuse and abrasion that the AM/FR rider is going to toss at it. I can attest to the blows the pack can sustain, since I have crashed on it, and slammed into trees and bushes. I never really thought that a hydration pack could be considered part of my armor and protection system, as it certainly has lessened the blows for my back and shoulders, whether it is a roll or a direct slammer.

The packs black color combination (Black/Methyl Blue) was subtle, and didn’t show dirt easily, even after lots of dusty and dirty trail usage. The pack even had some nifty Camel logo’s blended into the pack.

Measured Specs:
Pack Weight – 908.3 grams/32.04 oz/2 lbs
Reservoir Weight – 199.9 grams/7.05 oz/.44 lbs
Pack Size: 19″ x 11.5″ x 9″

The air director back panel has a lot of padding so it is comfortable, even when fully loaded, but it seems to retain a lot of sweat and stays pretty hot, without many ventilation capabilities.

Although the waist belt doesn’t have much padding, it does a great job of carrying the load, and pulls the pack nicely into your lower back, helping to keep the weight close and evenly distributed. The carrying system, which includes the waist belt, sternum strap and shoulder straps, offers a lot of movements, but it sometimes allows the pack to flop around on technical and rough trails when one is hanging all over the bike, although this issue is common to most larger capacity bike packs. Cinching the straps down tight when ugly terrain will be encountered is essential, to help alleviate some of the floppiness, albeit it still exists. The actual padded shoulder strap is semi free floating from the main pack (padding not directly attached on top), and instead is connected with a wide piece of webbing, and a seems as though a small amount of sloppiness is inherent in that interface?

The carrying system for a full face helmet is really sweet. Without instructions, I wasn’t sure what straps to use, except for the obvious ones under the flap to hold the chin bar, so I did a best guess estimate. I have yet to find a hydration pack company that gives you any instruction on how to use things, call it a features guide or suggestion FAQ, come on guys, your features can be a bit confusing?

It was an easy task to attach, I just popped open the front flap, snapped the two chin straps onto the helmet’s chin bar. I then pulled the flap up and over the chin guard, closed its Velcro, snapped the flaps four compressions straps, and cinched them tight.

When the full face helmet is strapped down, it was very stable, with no flopping nor excess movement. The synergy of the helmet strap system, along with the thickly padded back and carrying system (waist/shoulder/chest), made the helmets additional weight (2-3 lbs) and bulkiness tolerable. You still need to watch for the errant tree or bush, since the visor and helmet sort of stick out.

I tend to ride up trails wearing a normal helmet, and then switch to the full face for downhilling or when I know I will be riding gnarly terrain. Carrying the normal helmet was also easy since it slips nicely into the flap’s pouch, although I detached the visor to make things easier to stow. There are enough strapping to secure the load, carry armor (nice set of bottom straps), and pretty much anything that is required.

The pack has a plethora of pockets or compartments, and the main compartment of the pack is quite cavernous, with the zipper going 2/3 of the way around it. Once opened, with the side compression straps undone, the main compartment sort of flops open, making it easy to grab most anything. In the main compartment there are two pouches, and two zippered pockets, one is quite large and sits down low, which is nice to segregate infrequently used items such as first aid kit, tools and repair equipment, while the other pocket is for smaller items. I would have liked another zippered pocket above the larger one, one which one have quick access capabilities, for energy bars, etc.

On the top back of the pack is a sealed/water resistant pocket for electronics (I put my camera and small tools there), and a padded eyeglass one (usually my keys and wallet) just above the full faced helmet flap. When anything was stuffed into the helmet slot, it was difficult to access the top pocket, since it sort of squeezed the pack down and the zipper was tough to open and close, and items were hard to extract.

By your hips, there is a small zippered pocket that I used for my cell phone (easy to reach, unzip and grab a phone), and then a lift pass holder with Velcro flash cover for those ski area outings.

Antidote Reservoir
The new Antidote reservoir (70 and 100oz) is pretty amazing, and Camelbak has done a full redesign of the unit, adding many features and functionality, and has caught up to the competition’s innovations. The 90 degree bite valve worked quite nicely, and was easy to draw, and didn’t leak (at least not yet). The shutoff lever was sometimes tough to turn on and off when wearing gloves.

First, the screw cap for the fill port takes only a quarter turn to open or close, and it does not get stuck and require brute force to open. I can’t recall how many times I cussed at their original design, when I had to grunt to open! Just line up the arrow on the cap with the circle icon ‘O’ (with arrows pointing in tightening direction), and turn it a quarter turn clockwise until it lines up with the circle icon by the top hanging hook. It only takes a light touch to close the cap, and its water tight and snug. Sweet!

The fill port has a wider diameter hole for easier filling and cleaning, along with a shorter stack height and lighter weight. They added a baffle (like a sleeping bag) down the bottom center of the reservoir, which helped reduce the stack height, so the unit is shallower and wider. This means it sits in the pack’s pocket in a more slender fashion, and is more conformable, so when it’s full of water it doesn’t bow the pack out and give rise to a pressure spot, and discomfort.

They added an auto shutoff quick disconnect, named the Quick Link, which allow you to disconnect the reservoir from the drink hose, which facilitates cleaning, filling and drying. The fill port has a handle which hooks into the drop slot of the packs zippered rearward pouch, helping to keep it stable and secure.

Hidden on the fill port’s sides are two plastic drying arms, which pop out and hold the reservoir open for drying, which is done with it hung upside down. The arms are made of the same material as sunglasses arms, so they are tough and durable. This drying method actually works quite well, and helps to keep away the funks, and you no longer need the optional inserted drying rack.

Bottom Line
The Don is a comfortable pack, that is durable (tough material), fairly light, and has a host of features. The wide waist strap was greatly appreciated, and it kept the pack from flopping around, and along with the sternum and shoulders straps helped carry the load and distribute its weight. The ability to attach a full face helmet easily, and securely with no flopping around was obviously the highlight of the pack. The plethora of straps, allows the carrying of body armor, jackets and about anything else, in addition the load could be cinched down for stability. On days, I didn’t use a full face helmet, its storage flap was handy for carrying many items, from a garden lopper (trail maintenance), to jackets, clothes, normal helmets, etc. The pack has plenty of useful pockets, though I wish there was an extra one in the main compartment I really enjoyed the sealed top pocket for my camera, since it was easy to grab it without having to resort to unstrapping anything nor maneuvering in the main compartment to grab it. The pack did flop around somewhat, unless cinched down tightly, which made it tough to balance oneself in rough terrain.

I enjoyed my time with the Don, and its many features made it a very useful and functional hydration pack. The new Antidote reservoir is a real winner, and put’s Camelbak back in the race! Thank goodness you no longer need hands of steel to open the fill port screw cap.

Note: the 2010 pack is available now, the 2011 pack and the new Antidote reservoir will be available in October.

Strengths
- Tough: durable materials and stitching
- Antidote reservoir: quick connect, dryer arms, 1/4 turn cap, reduced stack height
- Full face helmet carrying ability
- Lots of pockets
- Multiple armor strapping placements
- Full face helmet flap compartment handy for sundry items

Weaknesses
- Eyeglass pocket zipper and opening bunches up
- Pack flops around on rough terrain
- Need an additional pocket in main compartment

MSRP: $120.00

Overall Rating: 4 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

Antidote Reservoir Rating: 4.5 Flamin’ Chili Peppers

2010 The Don Specs
Size: 20 ” x 12.25″ x 9.5″
Weight: 1.73 lbs (.79 kg)
Reservoir Capacity: 100 oz (3 L)
Cargo Capacity: 1070 cu in (17.53 L)
Designed to Carry – Full-face Helmet, Body Armor, Goggles, Extra Layers, Lunch, Tools, Pumps, Spare Tubes, Electronics
Back Panel: Air Director
Harness: Independent Suspension Yoke
Belt: 38mm/1.5″ Compression/Stability Belt
4 colors
MSRP (US only): $120