Imagine yourself hiking up one of the many active volcanoes in Central America. Be it exaggeration or not, the tour guide tells you that the lava gets to be around 10,000 degrees. Restrictions don't apply as they do in the US and that makes for half the fun. After climbing to the top of Volcan Agua and standing above descending passenger airliners as they descend into Guatemala City the tour guide will walk the group right over flowing lava pits. These guys at least say that they are experienced and somehow we find confidence in knowing that they seem to know the lava flow path, as predictable as 10,000 degree plasma can be. Plastic carry bottles do not cut it here my friend. Carrying any bottle as you ascend the mountain is a horrible experience and the water tends to become very warm. The CamelBaK straps in firmly and tends to maintain the water at a cooler temperature for a bit longer.
BUY IT FOR $38.95
Here is a review that is a bit more technical:
The Camelbak Rogue hydration pack is a small backpack that holds 70 oz of water and a has two small areas for cargo. It has a long plastic tube that comes out of the water bladder and ends in an L-joint with a valve. To drink from the tube, you bite down on the blue bite valve and suck on the tube. The L-joint has a valve that lets you shut off the water to prevent accidental leaks. Unlike older Camelbak designs, you can fill the bladder without removing the bladder from the pack, by simply lifting up a flap towards the top of the pack. Camelbak makes way too many different hydration packs, but this one is my current favorite. Here's what I like and don't like about this one: 1. This pack holds 70 oz of water. Other models hold more and some other ones hold less. I've found that 70 oz is a good balance between too little water and too much water (too much water is too heavy). 2. This pack has 2 small accessory compartments which are the right size for holding keys, sunglasses, cellular phones, MP3 player, and your wallet (and not much else). One compartment is towards the bottom and the other is part of the flap which you flip up to access the filling area for the water bladder. Both are zippered. Camelbak also has a separate phone holder which can be mounted on the front of the backpack straps, which keeps the phone closer to where you need it. In my view, it has just the right amount of storage for a day outside and reflects a good balance between storage amount and weight. 3. The pack insulates the water bladder, so if you fill it with ice, your water will stay cold for hours. I usually fill the bladder 80% with ice, then add water, and then put into the pack. 4. The pack has padding strategically placed on the back of the pack to allow air to get under your back. This keeps you from sweating directly onto the pack. 5. My only criticism is with the external fill port. Because that filling cap is not insulated like the rest of the bladder, when you have ice water in your pack, water from the air condenses on the plastic screw cap and then runs down the outside of the pack. It also gets absorbed into the flap that covers the fill cap (which contains storage as well). It hasn't been a major problem, but my earlier CamelBaK packs (which didn't have the external fill port) didn't have condensation problems at all.
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