TrailRunner – Featuring Talon8 – June 2011
May 25th, 2011
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Posts Tagged ‘hydration’
Buzz.snow.com featuring Osprey Raptor 10
October 6th, 2010
Osprey packs consistently impress me with their suspension, comfort, and fit, and the Raptor 10 is no exception. This pack looks sleek-small, even-but it’s got room for the food, gear and clothes an all-day ride demands, intelligently placed pockets and straps that stay put. All this on a semi-rigid frame that moves with your body. Better yet, Osprey’s HydraLock system pressurizes the water reservoir, increasing water flow. Turn the bite valve 90 degrees, bite, and the hose does the rest of the work. That’s a beautiful thing when schlepping up five miles of single track under a blazing sun.
Examiner.com – Featuring Raptor 6 Hydration Pack – May 23rd, 2010
June 9th, 2010
Osprey Packs have integrated a comfy harness and waist belt into the Raptor 6. The harness is flexible due to its mesh and foam design. The flexibility allows the harness to adjust to your body movements. The mesh and nylon hip belt has 2 pockets and cinches in the Raptor 6 above your hips.
The pack has 3 zippered external pockets. One is for the hydration bladder and where the back panel is located. A small zippered non-scratchable pocket is designed for essentials such as sunglasses and a GPS. The main zippered pocket is the largest and has 3 internal pockets to organize tools and snacks. The Raptor 6 does have one stretch woven non-zippered front pocket. It works well for stashing a rain coat and can easily be accessed when a downpour emerges.
The Cyclist – Featuring Raptor – May 26, 2010
June 8th, 2010
If you asked the endurance racing crowd or if you surveyed the bikepacking group, the folks that spend hours and days crossing remote sections of the countryside, as to what backpack/hydration pack was a favorite among them, the Osprey Talon 22 would be at the top of the list. It is lauded for its comfort, design, and construction. In the world of hiking, multi-sport and mountaineering, Osprey is well known. It turns out that Osprey has been making packs for some time now and in 2009, celebrated 35 years in the business.
Now, in addition to more types of packs than you can imagine, they have added a new line of hydration packs under the Hydraulic banner. Called the Raptor series, they are pointed directly at mountain bikers although they could apply to a multi-sport application.
Mens Journal – Gearing Up for a Race Across New Zealand
March 31st, 2010
To prepare for and finish the Speight’s Coast to Coast, a 151-mile adventure race down under, my relay partner (and wife) Mary and I faced two broad challenges and scores of little ones when it came to gear.
For one thing we were complete novices at two of the sports (road racing on bikes, whitewater kayaking), and we were about to get a re-education on the third (running). So we needed to borrow, purchase, and gain a basic competence with a lot of gear we didn’t already own.
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Buy a hydration pack just big enough (25 liters) to fit the mandatory first-aid gear and extra clothing layers for the 21-mile mountain run. Go even smaller by ditching the hydration bladder and drinking from streams as locals do. (As a rule, you do not want to drink from streams near livestock, campgrounds or industry.) For the race, my wife, Mary, opted for the Mountain Hardwear Fluid 26 ($100). For longer training runs, she swears by the Osprey Raptor 14 (right; $99). I found that there’s no hydration pack that fits my torso that well. If I cinched the shoulders, the hip belt ended up squeezing my diaphragm. If I loosened the shoulders and cinched the hip, the pack banged against my shoulder blades. And so I came around to something I swore I’d never be: a waist-pack guy. For runs over 8 to 10 miles or longer, I carry water, snacks, mobile phone, ID in an Osprey Talon 4 (below; $54), a sturdy belt that easily carries up to 240 cubic inches(room for a shell, even nano-puff jacket), and two quart/liter water bottles. Just don’t call it a fanny pack; the preferred terms are hip or lumbar pack.
Get on the water: Log time in a sea kayak or, ideally, a “long boat,” such as the Sisson Evolution, the kind you’ll want to rent/race in New Zealand. Get used to cycling in a pack: Drop by your local bike shop and ask, “So, when’s ‘the ride’?
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Necessary Cool – Osprey’s Raptor 10 Pack
March 31st, 2010
With mountain biking, light hikes, and adventurers in mind, Osprey has made a pack we have nothing to complain about.
This is a great size for short or day hikes, it’s perfect for climbers, bikers or just about any activity where you want a light weight hydro pack with enough room for some extra food and gear. It’s construction shows that Osprey has true adventurers in mind and wants to create a product that will not only hold up to the abuse so many trails often dish out, but that they want you to be completely happy with the product you just bought.
From the stitching to the layout, everything here is top notch. The hydro set up is great with a magnet place on the sternum strap for easy access, and the bag itself (3 liters) is much better then most of the hydro packs you’ll find in stores. With a hard back and an over sized screw down lid, the bag is almost as tough as the pack. It’s still pretty easy to clean out as well, so no worries there. Lower side compression straps keep the weight from rest only on your shoulders, which provides for more comfort and enjoyment on extended trips. The Osprey wings on the Lower side compression straps are highly reflective as well, providing a nice safety touch.
Good: An front pocket gives you easy access to items you may want to get quickly, large (but not too large) pull rings on all zippers make it easy to get in your pack even with gloves on, plenty of room for a days rations and some back up gear, and a really cool strap for your helmet, 3 color-way choices, good style, great quality. Front pocket is stretchy but strong, mouth piece swivels, bike tool organization, great stitching, strong construction, comfortable to wear, reflective accents for safety.
Bad: …. We’ve got nothing.
Singletracks.com – Osprey Raptor 6 Review
March 23rd, 2010
The Osprey Raptor 6 is a hydration pack with wings – or at least it feels that way. This sleek pack swallows 2L of water and a surprising amount of gear without harshing your ride. In fact it might just be the most comfortable hydration pack we’ve ever tested.
Osprey has made a name for itself over the years for producing high quality packs for multi-day hiking and camping trips and that experience shows in the Raptor 6, one of the first bike-specific packs from the company. Osprey spent 3 years and rolled through 100 prototypes before releasing the 2010 Raptor series. The hydration pack is covered in a reflective, rip-stop material with mesh venting in the back to keep you cool on hot rides. Stretchy material on the waist straps provides additional comfort while the same material is used on the outside front pocket for expandable storage. The strapping system is intuitive and makes it quick and easy to get a customized fit.
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Josh Spear – Osprey Hydraulics
March 2nd, 2010
Tuesday, 03.02.10
I own a number of packs for a variety of pursuits and they all have hydration support. What this usually means is a compartment for a bladder and on the higher end packs, elastic bands for tube routing. That’s really the extent of the “advanced” features when it comes to hydration packs – until now. Osprey, a name synonymous with high-end technical packs, has recently introduced their Hydraulics line and their engineers have come up with some really unique features that make so much sense, it makes you wonder why nobody thought of them earlier. The Raptor is geared towards mountain bikers and comes in four sizes, all the way down to a minimalistic 6 liters. It touts a dedicated tool pocket, blinker light attachment, reflective graphics among its features. The Manta is their answer to a modern daypack and the one I am most excited about. Three sizes (20, 25, 30L) means anything from a full day outing to a light overnight. It boasts a built in raincover and trekking pole attachment among its lengthy feature list.
What really sets this series apart are the best-in-class innovations. First is the bladder, which was developed by Nalgene. The stiff back allows you to easily slide it into a pack even when loaded. It provides support that molds along your back and you can refill it even when the pack is full. It also is designed to prevent barreling while creating positive water pressure. Another feature I really like is the magnetic attachment for the bite-valve. Great innovations by Osprey, check it out.
9News.com – New hydration pack means less sloshing and better fit
February 25th, 2010
CORTEZ – This week’s Colorado Company to Watch believes it has come up with the perfect hydration backpack.
Osprey Packs says their new Hydraulics line of backpacks, which hit the market this week, do not slosh around or push into your back.
The company’s location in the four corners region of Colorado, means its employees have plenty of opportunities to test out their products during day hikes near Telluride or bike treks in Moab, Utah.
During all this “research,” the company’s staff realized there was a need for a better hydration pack and they set out to design one that resolved all their complaints.
The company worked with water bottle maker Nalgene to build a new kind of reservoir, with the focus of making it fit users better and more comfortably. The water pouch is made from special material that matches the contour of your back. The company’s patented Hydralock system compresses as it empties, which minimizes water sloshing, making the pack more stable.
Bike Magazine’s "The Bible" Buyer’s Guide pictures the Raptor 14
February 19th, 2010
The Week names Raptor 6 one of the best backpacks for hiking
February 16th, 2010
OutdoorInformer.com – Osprey Raptor 14 Hydration Pack
February 3rd, 2010
The main attraction in West Virginia’s Valley Falls State Park is the rushing water over the sandstone ledges of the Tygart Valley River forming several waterfalls. The park also boasts exhilarating singletrack mountain biking along its 18-miles of trails. A mountain biker will take on rock gardens and stream run-offs and pump through steep ascents.
A mountain bike ride through Valley Falls State Park will dehydrate a biker quickly, and a hydration pack such as the Osprey Raptor 14 is designed for longer mountain bike rides. The Osprey Raptor 14 along with the other hydration packs in the Raptor series will be available at retailers in mid February of 2010.
The March Issue of Backpacker Features the Manta 25
February 1st, 2010
With the hydration series about to hit retail, the review in Backpacker is simply perfect timing, as everyone should prepare for how Osprey is going to change how we hydrate on the trails, to read more click here.
Raptor New Hydration Pack Leader
December 28th, 2009
BikeRadar.com made this statement after spending some time reviewing the pack. They loved the multitude of innovative features found on the pack, and said that this product “soar[s] over other hydration packs”. To see more, click here.
