Real Talk: CamelBak Review

Last week, my new CamelBak came in the mail. As promised, I tested it out on my long run this weekend.

In case you forgot, here is what it looks like:

The Aurora.

Sunday, I headed out after church with our friend Preston (PS. Thank you so much for running with me!). I picked the hottest time of day to run and my body protested the whole way, so I was relieved to have water with me.

In short, I’m really happy with my purchase.

Please forgive me if I call something by the wrong name, I’m new to the hydration pack lingo.

Overall Review:  

The pack stayed put for the most part. It was super nice to have pockets to store some shot blocks, my phone and chocolate adzuki bars (recipe coming!). I love that the reservoir had a wide lid (especially if you want to add ice cubes!) and was easy to fill and clean.

I read online that the water swished a lot, but I didn’t notice this at all. (I found and tried this tip: fill the bag and close it, turn it upside down and suck out the excess air through the hose/mouthpiece. There will be no swishing).

I also put the reservoir in the fridge overnight to keep it cold. The water stayed cold for most of my run…amazing considering I ran from 12:30-2:30 on a very hot day.

I did notice some bouncing, but I think part of this may be my needing to figure out the perfect adjustments for my body. I do wish that there was another buckle around the waist to secure the bag just a bit more, but I ended up tying the free ends of the shoulder straps and this helped some (it also kept them from flapping around, which would have bothered me more). If you choose not to tie the ends of the shoulder straps, they have Velcro on them so they can be out-of-the-way. Another plus!

I had some trouble adjusting the shoulder straps, but that may just be me.  Again, I’ll figure it out as I wear it a few more times.

Overall, I am extremely happy with my purchase.

 

Happy Running!

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