Choosing Hydration Packs

Staying hydrated is very important whether you’re cycling, backpacking or doing any other sports activity. Drinking before you start any strenuous activity and drinking often the whole time helps improve your performance. According to studies, athletes drink more if they are using a hydration pack.

A hydration pack can either be a waist pack or a backpack that serves as a hydration system. Inside your hydration pack, you’ll find a reservoir that is made of either rubber or flexible plastic which is suitable to store drinking water. Once you fill up your hydration pack up to the capped mouth, you’ll be able to drink hands-free using the attached hose. Most hoses even feature a bite valve so that it will automatically open once you bite on it.

Hydration packs became popular among motocross riders and mountain bikers at first, but later began to cross over to other sporting events when the benefits of using a hydration pack was widely circulated, even backed by several scientific studies. This is the reason why many athletes today from different sports use this particular type of hydration system.

Hydration packs usually have a capacity of one to three litres. Of course, how much you should carry depends on various factors such as the nature of the sporting activity, the temperature and humidity levels, and the availability of another water source.

If you’re trying to choose between several hydration packs on sale, one thing you must consider is the bite valve. Since you’ll be using this feature every time you drink, you should check whether this is comfortable to bite. There are bite valves that regularly squirts out too much water, while there are some that allows only trickles to pass through. Since you won’t be able to test this feature before you buy the item, the best way to check how the bite valve performs is to check out various hydration pack reviews online.

You may want a hydration pack that holds other items like mobile phone and keys. However, you should remember that it can get uncomfortable if you carry too much even if your pack is well-padded.