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CamelBak Zoid

• Pros: Low-profile design; Horizontal interior pockets; Doesn’t move around on back while skiing or riding
• Cons: No elastic straps to secure unneeded clothing layers; Hose port only on right shoulder; Likely need to refill bladder midday
• Bottom Line: The CamelBak Zoid is a small winter hydration pack that’s comfortable while active, and the low-profile design isn’t bulky on a chairlift making it great for skiing or snowboarding.
• MSRP: $50

CamelBak’s Web site

For long days of resort skiing or snowboarding, you don’t typically have tons of gear or need a huge backcountry pack.

But many of us prefer to ski or ride with a hydration pack that has enough storage for some snacks, keys, wallet, phone or whatever else we don’t want in our pockets.

However, most of us don’t like hitting the slopes, namely riding a chairlift, with a pack that pushes us forward giving the “I don’t want to fall” feeling.

CamelBak’s Zoid pack is the answer.

Completely skeptical the first time I used the pack, I thought the Zoid would be cumbersome while skiing and I’d have to take it off on the chairlift. Wrong and wrong.

The kid-sized, adult-oriented hydration pack has a low profile that sticks out no more than six inches when completely full of water and snacks.

It took a couple chair rides to fully feel comfortable with it, but by mid-day I barely knew it was there.

The unisex pack, which fit my wife as well as it did me, has a sternum strap to help keep it in place. It also has an insulated bladder hose that zips into the right shoulder pad for extra insulation and to help keep the bite valve in reach.

But people who like the hose over their left shoulder are out of luck as the only port is on the right.

CamelBak incorporated its 72-ounce bladder that uses a flexible plastic divider that runs the length of it to add stability and keep it from ballooning out away from your lower back. Instead, the bladder fills more evenly across your back.

To store snacks, a camera, wallet, keys, phone and whatever else you don’t want in your pockets, the 120-cubic-inch pack was redesigned for 2010.

The one big internal pocket that runs the length of the pack has three horizontal mesh dividers as well as space to store larger items. The dividers keep your gear evenly spread out throughout the pack and prevent it from bunching at the bottom.

But I was disappointed that the Zoid doesn’t have any elastic straps on the outside to secure layers as the temperature changes.

While I think that’s a substantial gripe, it wouldn’t deter me from buying a Zoid.

Pros: Durable latex bladder; Comfortable fit; 90-day “lemon” warranty
Cons: Little, if any, insulation to keep water cool; Pack bounces while running; Difficult to drain and clean
Bottom Line: For a waist pack, KoleGear’s pressurized system works well despite it being a pain to fill and clean.
MSRP: $64
KoleGear’s Web site

A pressurized hydration system is a dream come true for many athletes who are too busy sucking wind to suck water.

One little bite from KoleGear’s pressurized hydration waist pack and water shoots, literally, about three feet.

By pressing the bite valve, a plunger opens sending a squirt-gun-like jet stream into your mouth. It was startling at first, but not uncomfortable.

To fill the pack, which includes a roughly 7-inch by 2-inch latex bladder that expands to the size of a small bread loaf, you first fill up a 1.75 liter (60 ounce) pump. With the bladder in the waist pack, you simply connect one of the included hoses between the pump and the bladder and pump water into the bladder.

It pumps easily and filled up the bladder surprisingly fast. Unlike other pressurized hydration packs, you don’t need to pump air into it. Just the pressure of the latex bladder keeps the water pressurized.

With the bladder in the waist pack, disconnect the fill hose, connect the drinking hose, and you’re ready for the trail.

The process, albeit straight-forward, simple and reasonably fast, is a pain in the butt. It works well from home, but the pack, with all its parts and steps, is clearly not designed for the backcountry.

Luckily, KoleGear already addressed one problem I found with the first version I tested: the leaking bite valve. The company replaced the old bite valve, and the new one works great.

One negative about any pressurized system, including the KoleGear’s, is the constant worry about emptying an entire bladder if other gear depresses the bite valve. With the company’s new bite valve, which was very hard to operate unless I actually bit it, it wasn’t much of an issue.

With a non-pressurized hydration pack, you can squeeze the water back into the bladder after drinking to keep the water cool. With a pressurized system like KoleGear’s, that’s impossible.

On a 90-degree day, I found the water, including that in the pack, got warm relatively fast. It also tasted a little like latex after a few hours in the bladder.

The waist pack itself was comfortable and adjusted well, had a small pocket for keys, a phone and energy gel or bars, but it bounced when I ran and I had to continually cinch it tighter as the water emptied.

The company, which formed in January 2009 and launched the waist pack as well as a backpack version in June, has some work to do on its pack, but the concept is great, and the company doesn’t have much competition.

It didn’t take long for Sigg competitors to jump on them after a report by SNEWS that said the company’s metal water bottles may contain BPA (Bisphenol A).

Many people assumed, including myself despite my unnerving concern, that the company’s trendy aluminum bottles were a solution to the Nalgene BPA scare not that long ago.

Sigg definitely deserves blame for the misleading marketing. Whether it was their choice to not disclose what was in the lining that coated its bottle’s interior, or the non-disclosure of potentially cancer-causing chemicals, they were at fault.

But this isn’t a “bash Sigg” post.

After all, the company did reportedly tell retailers, if they asked, that its bottles may contain BPA. Besides, the company is reportedly now producing BPA-free bottles as of August 2008.

In response to the recent attention, CamelBak, a notorious hydration-related company, launched a “Steel of a Deal” program that offers a free CamelBak insulated stainless steel water bottle in exchange for customers who send in a picture of their aluminum water bottle that has a BPA liner.

“We’re obviously taking a light-hearted approach to a serious issue,” Sally McCoy, CamelBak’s chief executive officer said in a statement. “Our broader mission is to make disposable plastic water bottles obsolete. Using a BPA-free plastic or stainless steel reusable water bottle is one of the easiest ways to do something good for the environment and for your own personal hydration and health.”

The program, which was launched today, will give a stainless steel bottle to the first 500 people who send photos. For the company’s size, that’s not extending the offer to too many people, so hurry!

All you have to do is e-mail a picture of how you recycle your aluminum bottle to promotions@camelbak.com.

Because CamelBak’s stainless steel bottle doesn’t require an epoxy liner, your cancer-concerns can dwindle.

Before all the hubbub did you have anything to worry about? Probably not. Sigg bottles regularly tested negative for BPA.

However, if you want a replacement Sigg (they are pretty cool looking), the company has an exchange program available.

Find out which type of liner you have, download a shipping document, box up your bottle and ship it. You’ll have to pay shipping costs to get it there – the company states it’s a voluntary action, not a recall – but you’ll get a new bottle.

It’s a limited time offer though. You have to ship it before Oct. 31 to get a bottle in return.

Keep in mind, because Sigg regularly changes its designs, you may not get the same style bottle you sent in.

If you’re looking for more background on the Sigg BPA ordeal, The Gear Junkie and TreeHugger both have great posts.