September 17/09 12:04 pm - CamelBak H.A.W.G. NV Hydration Pack

Posted by Editoress on 09/17/09
 

Nice pack, but god is it heavy. Thanks for reading the review. Our next product review is ....

Really, that's the essence of the review. It's a really well designed pack with a whole bevy of features, but just picking up the empty pack produces a first impression of heft. The empty H.A.W.G. NV with an empty bladder weighs in at 1416.8 grams (my own hydration pack with empty 1.5 litre bladder weighed 624 grams). Add my usual tools, spare tube, first aid kit, a couple of gels and a full 3 litre bladder and it brings the H.A.W.G. NV up to a whopping 5075 grams. I don't care who you are, but you've got to notice that on your back right away. That's half a bike that you're carrying.

However, it is billed by the CamelBak folks as being "the perfect choice for an all day mountain bike ride on the most extreme terrain". In other words, you can just load up and leave home. It has 18 litres of cargo carrying capacity. Starting on the outside is a sleeve, open on the top and closed on the bottom with mesh sides, where you can stuff something like a rain jacket. Compression straps hold this sleeve and its cargo in place. Then there are two zippered side pockets mounted down low. They worked well for spare tubes, tools and a mini-pump. Above the sleeve is a zippered pocket that has also has two mesh pockets inside, another pocket in behind and a key holder. Immediately above this a pocket lined with soft material for an MP3 player. I used it for my cell phone.

Now we get to the massive main pouch, which has a zipper that goes half way around the pack. You could fit a ton of stuff in there. Then there is the insulated pocket for the bladder itself, CamelBak's "OMEGA™ HydroTanium™ Reservoir with Lifetime Warranty". As usual, the mouth of the bladder is large, easy to fill and to clean. Finally there is a zipper on the bottom of the pack that hides an integrated rain cover.

Overall, it's a well thought out design as you would expect from a company with CamelBak's experience. It works and you can carry a lot of water and cargo. However, I do have a couple of issues other than the pack's weight. The first is what CamelBak calls the "N.V.I.S.™ Back Panel". It's comprised of six foam pads under a nylon mesh that lift the H.A.W.G. NV away from your back for additional ventilation. I found that they are perhaps a bit too thick, as I noticed that it felt like the weight of the pack was well away from my back. That encourages you to make the arm, chest and waist straps tighter to pull the pack closer. On the other hand, you can carry some strangely shaped objects inside and they won't come near your back.

The second issue is with the straps themselves. They are ridiculously long. I'm not a small person. I wear a 48 Tall jacket. I wasn't even using half of the strap length! That meant that there was always some strap ends flopping around. Personally, I will have to cut them, as I find them rather annoying. It also brings up the point that this may not be the right pack for a smaller person. Definitely try it for fit before you buy one.

The H.A.W.G. NV is available are Racing Red/Charcoal, estate-blue-charcoal, black-charcoal and teak-grey-green. Suggested retail is $125 USD. Canadian retailers are offering it for between $125 and $150 with most closer to $150. Check out the huge array of CamelBak products at www.camelbak.com.

Review by Mike Badyk