Hydration
When riding in summer months, you carry drinking water and of course
you are drinking it. Only a completely insane person wouldn't. With
proper hydration you will be able to ride longer, have more stamina and
feel better while riding. Think of your body as a finely tuned machine
that requires maintenance just like your dirt bike does. Would you take
off on a ride knowing that your motorcycle radiators were half empty? Of
course not, because you know that it's likely to overheat and cause
engine damage. So why would you take off on a ride with the person
riding the motorcycle low on water? Besides that, human parts are hard
to replace and costly to fix.
To obtain the proper level of hydration, you should start drinking
water at least 2-3 hours before your ride, then every ten minutes while
riding. Why? Because our bodies absorb liquids better when they are
continually sipped rather than gulped infrequently. Using a hands free
hydration system such as the H.A.W.G. by CamelBak helps make that
happen. Sure, you'll still need to stop and relieve yourself, but this
is a minor inconvenience in comparison to becoming dehydrated. While you're stopped and writing your name in the dirt, or whatever you do
while taking a leak. You'll see for yourself if complete hydration has
been obtained. If the urine is clear this means your body has enough
water.
Coffee, soda and alcohol do not hydrate you; in fact, they act as a
diuretic and deplete your body of fluids so, save the beer or soda for
after the ride. It's also not a bad idea to add Gatorade or some other
type of sports drink to the water to help with hydration. If you don't
like the taste of sports drink's Pedialyte is a non-taste alternative.
Pedialyte can be found at most any grocery stores, where the baby
formula is kept.
If you are riding with someone and they show any of these signs of
extreme dehydration get them to a doctor immediately!
- Sunken eyes.
- Wrinkled skin, which may lack its normal elasticity and sags back
into position slowly when pinched into a fold.
- Dizziness and confusion.
- Low blood pressure.
- Increased heart rate and breathing.
- Vomiting.
- Stop sweating (death is imminent if you get to this point,)
Simply giving a person water with these symptoms is not enough. An
I.V. and care of a doctor is also needed. Untreated severe dehydration
can result in permanent brain damage or death. This is no joke people.
You need to think about these things while riding in the heat!
The H.A.W.G.
Now that we are clear on the need for CamelBak's H.A.W.G. let's take
a look at it and see if it lives up to off-road motorcycling standards.
Features:
- Shoulder strap for reinforcement.
- Fully insulated to keep liquids cold or hot for hours.
- New closed-cell wishbone harness system for comfort and stability.
- Moisture-wicking back panel and harness to keep you cool and dry.
- Three external pockets for heavy items.
- Triangle mesh pocket for tube, food and gear.
- Removable 1-1/2 inch waist belt.
- Big Bite™ Valve and Screw Cap Closure.
- New Deluxe Ergo Angle™ provides ergonomic Bite Valve
positioning.
Specifications: 
- Capacity: 100 oz (3 l)
- Dimensions: 8 in x 5 in x 16.5 in (203.2 mm x 127 mm x 419.1 mm)
- Volume: Cargo - 720 cu in (11.8 l) ? Total - 900 cu in (14.8 l)
- Pack Weight: Filled Reservoir - 8 lbs, 1.2 oz (3.7 kg)
The
H.A.W.G. has the typical CamelBak quality of construction. As well as
rugged straps that look as though they will hold up to years of abuse,
and the zippers on the unit also seem to be of good quality. Bladder is
constructed of FDA-approved polyurethane film that is odor-free,
taste-free and resistant to mildew. We experienced no foul taste using
the H.A.W.G, which we found when drinking from a water bottle. Something
that is new is the screw on fill cap, it's wider diameter makes
filling easier then on older CamelBak's. While riding, one would think
that the extra weight from the gear would be bothersome, its not. In
fact, we forgot it was even there because of the comfortable fit of the
unit.
CamelBak
designs their drink systems for an array of users so; it's impossible
to please everyone. A few things we noticed that weren't the hot
ticket for dirt biking were the new "Big Bite" bite valve.
With its 90-degree positioning, it's rather difficult getting it under
the helmet and into your mouth. Although it delivers more water then the
old bite valve, we'll see if we can get used to it. If not, the bite
valve from an older unit will be used instead. Also noted, was the waist
belts inability to fit around my torso. I wouldn't of used it anyway,
and it can easily be removed by undoing two Velcro straps.
A
CamelBak is CamelBak, right? Not so fast Spike. We found that the
H.A.W.G.'s pockets are perfect for a long day ride. There was enough
room for a large chicken burrito, power bar, apple juice; two tire
spoons, 4-co2 cartridges, one inter-tube, keys and wallet. Oh yeah, and
100 ounces of water conveniently stashed in its own pouch. Probably
could have gotten more stuff in there but that's all we needed.
At $95.00 a pop the H.A.W.G. is on the pricey side but its small
comfortable design is much better then wearing a full-blown backpack for
a day ride. In our opinion the H.A.W.G. is a must have for the serious
off-road motorcyclist that does more then just ride around camp.
See you on the trails
Mike Hobbs
Want a Pocket Rocket?
I have had one CamelBak since the day I first saw one. One of
the original 70-oz plug style fill with the original bite valve known
for its annoying qualities. It popped off, or gave you a mouthful of air
instead of life-giving fluids - especially when least convenient - say
when I was 4 minutes late at mile 42 of an enduro without a reset in
sight. I especially loved the bath feature - the plug caps wore badly
due to dirt and sand and would seep endlessly, occasionally bursting
open when furthest from the truck. Sticky performance enhancing drink
mix cementing all my gear with gooey dirt and adhered my jersey to my
back. Pretty cool, huh? Nothing else out there was nearly as good. Other
manufacturers struggled without infringing upon patent rights to provide
hard bottles that felt oh-so-good to land on, thoughts of ruptured disks
making the worst CamelBak disaster look downright sexy.
Well? after 5 years and many repairs to the straps, the original
bladder developed a seam leak. If you have ever seen me ride this is a
true product testimonial since my favorite get-off involves landing on
my back on rocks. It was time to retire the old IceBak.
I
drove to my favorite outdoorsy store in my typical fashion, screeching
into a parking spot 5 minutes before closing on a Friday. This caused
salespeople to eye each other nervously, all wondering how to dispose of
my body so that they could head off to a party. Surprisingly, with all
the current offerings from CamelBak, the choice was quite easy. I have
very simple needs - It's gotta' match my riding gear - Suzuki yellow,
black, and gray (Not to mention Husaberg green on the inside - WooHoo!).
Actually, it had to have a Screw Cap Closure, and since I
ride with a tool bag, my second concern was that it not be so long that
it bounce off my tool bag for 125 miles and rearrange all the vertebrae
in my lower back. The Rocket seemed to fit the bill perfectly, being
extremely streamlined and tapering down from a wide top portion to the
narrower bottom 15 inches below. The 72 oz capacity would be no hardship
since I am already used to the lower capacity bladder and can go about
3.5 gallons worth of distance before I have to fill up both gas and
water. The $75 price tag was more than reasonable considering the added
features of this bag over my original $65 IceBak. Definitely Cool!
Like Mike, I too had initial problems getting the ergo angle bite
valve to my mouth. This was easily overcome by flicking the bend in
under the chin guard first, then flipping the bite valve sideways into
my mouth. I was also very impressed with the modest storage capacity and
organizers. Velcro, dividers allow the pockets to be sized to your
needs, and I'm sure I can find something to do with pump loops. The top
flap folds down over the zipper pulls and eliminates the worry of having
the bag opened by a helpful branch.
The black insulated tube cover looked like it might become far hotter
than the clear solar heated tube, but it was far cooler than I thought
possible - tube and insulated bag maintaining a comfortably cool
temperature despite bright sun and 98 + weather. The IceBak's clear tube
tended to heat water to a most unrefreshing temperature, and once the
bladder got warm it was all over. The Rocket also allowed the tube to be
run through either the left or right side strap with pre cut holes and
removable mounting clips, a nice feature for the lefties out there.
My experience with the older style CamelBak had me sticking the tube
and bite valve down the top off my chest protector; the bite valve would
occasionally get caught on the chest protector and get pulled off or
partially off, leaving me sucking air. Results were far worse if the
tube were left loose as it tended to wrap around anything it contacted
at high speed, resulting in me back tracking for a lost tube and bite
valve, or having a CamelBak wedgie. The ergo angle Bite valve on the
Rocket tucked very nicely into the side of my chest protector and tended
to stay out of harms way.
My favorite detail was the Velcro within the bladder compartment. My
past experience with the CamelBak's led me to believe that the Velcro
was applied by monkeys with Fisher Price measuring tapes, since you had
to fold the bladder over and shove it in to get the full bladder to rest
beneath the Velcro closures. Otherwise the bladder had a mind of its own
and popped up and down in the bag. The much larger closure on the Rocket
ensures a more secure fit with one Velcro panel attaching only to the
top of the bag and folding over the bladder before attaching to the
other Velcro closure, thus reducing the stress of the Velcro to hold the
bag closed.
Problems with the Rocket were few, very minor, but still notable. The
Chest and waist straps were extremely thoughtful features for your
average recreationalists, but not perfectly designed for the off-road
motorcyclist. The waist strap that Mike referred to on the H.A.W.G. is
also present on the Rocket and was fairly tight on me. The waist strap
on my buddy's new M.U.L.E. was tighter still, and since he is a modest
275 lbs. of muscle and spare tire, I did not find that too surprising.
We ended up routing the strap through the back of his chest protector to
lend additional lateral support.
Since the Rocket is nowhere near as long, it strapped on above my
widest part - my belly. With the much wider straps of these new
CamelBak's and higher position on the back, I was afraid that it might
slip off. The sternum strap eliminated the worry, but was extremely
tight across a chest protector. I was able to reroute both the waist and
sternum strap underneath the chest protector to breath easier, but
experienced some pinching, nothing major.
My only remaining comment was that the shoulder straps had no quick
disconnect on the bottom of the strap as with some of the earlier
models. This was a very nice feature for easily putting-on and
taking-off the CamelBak on top of a chest protector, and I expect to beg
my wife to modify the bag for me.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the design and features of the
new CamelBak line. It is evident that CamelBak recognizes itself as an
industry leader that needs to continue to impress us to hold off the
competition.
Boy, am I impressed!
William Perry
Features:
- AeroForm™ 72 ounce (2.1 liters) Baffled Reservoir maintains a low,
aero profile.
- Removable gel pocket for on-the-fly gel access. (Shudder? Icky!
Silicone caulk textured stuff - but that's another story!)
- Pleated, expandable cargo space includes double zip panel with two
organizers and pump holder.
- Venturi™ Back Panel allows for increased ventilation.
- Removable sternum and waist straps.
- Insulated tube cover for cool water on the first sip.
- Deluxe Ergo Angle™, Big Bite™ Valve and Screw Cap Closure.
Specifications:
- Capacity: 72 oz (2. l)
- Dimensions: 10 in x 3 in x 15 in (254 mm x 76 mm x 381 mm)
- Volume: Cargo - 100 cu in (1.6 l) ? Total - 230 cu in (3.8 l)
- Pack Weight: Filled Reservoir - 5 lbs, 8 oz (2.4 kg)
