Thule Vital 6L Hydration Pack

For the last four years I have used the Camelback packs and thought they were good. Never had a issue, so I was not sure how I would I would like something new. I'm not big into "change." I took the XC/trail focus to Moab last month. When I pulled it out for the first ride, I had to figure out how to fill the bladder which was a snap. Its very easy to fill, and the locking mechanism is much easier to use than the only I have on my camelback. The hydration tube has a nifty magnet system so when you are done drinking it locks right back into place on the shoulder strap. Its a great feature. I love the small soft pocket at that is great to though your sunglasses. The inside of the pocket is lined with a very soft material. There is also a mesh pocket which is nice because you can see what's the pocket without having to unzip. I'm not use to using a pack this size and I was very impressed how light weight an comfortable it was. I wore it for a 2.5 and a 4 hour ride and hardly knew I had it on! There are two additional side pockets on the waist band, perfect for food. I love this pack.

After weeks and weeks searching for a hydration pack online, I decided to give the Thule Vital 6L a try. My order was delivered timely, and the pack features matched my needs - the magnetic feature for the hydration hose was impressively well designed, and oh, I wanted the keep this pack so bad for the magnetic feature alone. I wore the pack at home multiple times, trying my best to get over the fact that it was slight long for my petite frame. The edges of the pack are also quite hard. Despite the features allowing the chest and shoulder straps to be adjusted, I could not adjust them in a way that would prevent the pack from moving up and down as I jumped, and this would nave really bothered me while mountain biking. As other reviews I read mentioned, this pack does not seem to have a woman’s anatomy in mind… so unfortunately I had to return this pack. I really hope Thule continues to improve their product design with petite and female anatomy in mind.

Nice pack, but they skimped on the quality of the Hydrapak reservoir used. Hydrapak makes nice stuff, and their better reservoirs have the ability to turn inside out, and for the hose to disconnect from the reservoir for easier removal from the pack and more efficient drying. The model included in this bag has neither. I replaced the reservoir with the better one, as those features are quite nice. Only other gripe would be about the zipper on the bag. It only opens part way, which is a little annoying and seems unnecessary. Other than that, it is a solid pack, with lots of good organization and nice details like "keepers" on the straps to help things stay out of the way and tidy. Oh, and the TeTrakt magnetic hose return system seems to work perfectly (and I was able to slide it off the old hose and onto the new hose with some effort.)