The Shed: Camelbak's Hellion

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

By Henry Sweets

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-While hydration specialists Camelbak have a good hold on the hydration market, they have not been known for making the most bomber ski packs. Looking for improvements, they sought feedback from sponsored athletes Jeremy Jones and Charlotte Moats.

The riders’ input resulted in the new Outlaw Winter Series.
“Jeremy and Charlotte gave us great feedback from prototype testing in Alaska and Jackson Hole,” Camelbak’s Director of Product Management said in a press release.
I put the Outlaw series’ Hellion to use for more days this winter than I had expected, and was surprised by the versatility and relevance of this winter ski pack.

The Hellion was durable and functional on multiple trips in the Teton backcountry, and even hauled an ice axe and crampons for a long trip into Garnett Canyon. It also came closer than anything I am aware of to providing convenient hydration on a cold day in the backcountry.

Too often, ski bums can be seen chewing on frozen nipples, or tucking an entire Camelbak tube into their pit-zip to thaw it out.

Skiers like me have tried neoprene sleeves, rubber valve covers and flow-regulating valves designed to maintain a free-flowing hydration tube to resolve the issues.
But the rubber cover was too bulky for me and would bounce off of my jacket and into my face if I didn’t tuck it away tightly. The neoprene sleeve didn’t cover the entire length of the tube and would freeze where it entered my pack.

The Hellion has a standout feature called the “therminator harness” designed to address this problem. In one strap of the pack is an insulated recess, from which the tube and valve emerge when unzipped. The tube is essentially sheathed in this harness and can be fully zipped inside of it. So, those days of tucking it into your pit zip are over.
I have to say, the design isn’t perfect. The way the therminator harness is designed sometimes requires bare fingers to get the tube and nipple tucked back into the harness. Too often, I would try to zip the enclosure shut, hoping the tube would squeeze in place, only to shred the rubber valve with the metal zipper. A better zipper that is somehow attached to the tube so it unsheathes and sheathes the tube as you zip it would be better. I think that an easily sheathable harness similar to the therminator is the ultimate solution to convenient winter hydration.

The 1,478-cubic-inch pack is spacious enough and compresses well when empty. It had a diagonal carry-loop for skis, and two straps to carry a snowboard vertically.
I really liked the fleece-lined, external pocket, where I can stash my goggles safely without a lens cloth. This pocket is also a safe place for my video camera  – accessible and soft enough to stash it on the run down, so I don’t have the weight of it in my pocket. Unfortunately, that is the only zipper pocket besides the main compartment, and a small zipper pocket on the hip strap that functions well for small snacks or an attitude-adjustment-kit.

All in all, I think Camelbak is onto something, but I can’t say I would spend the money quite yet - the pack retails for about $100. That said, this pack served me well in the Teton backcountry.

Photo by BEN CANNON
A hydrated journalist poses with the Camelbak Hellion.

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The Shed: Camelbak's Hellion | Planet JH News Article: Sports & Recreation

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