i don’t have loads of money but i’m loookin 2 buy a good camel pack which holds tools and food tool for up to £30… any idea where from? i live in the UK i wanna buy it online…? 
This is a pretty good deal, it’s just under $40 US and holds 70oz. of water…
There are heaps of Camel Packs here. I don’t know how cheap they are but they are in the UK. It is a lot of money for a drink bottle, considering you get free plastic bottles with most drinks you buy anyway.
The only actual Camelbak worth getting at that sort of price is the Rogue which costs about £30. If you’re only intending to carry a really tiny amount of stuff (a puncture repair kit+pump + cereal bars) other than water then it would be okay. If you want to carry much gear, you’d probably be better off just putting a platypus bladder (get them from any outdoor shop) into a small rucksack if you already have one.
Alternatively I think Blacks sold some kind of cheaper hydration sack, although the bladders aren’t always such good quality.
By the way Rowan, it is paying a lot of money for a drinks bottle in the same way that paying more than £60 for a unicycle is stupid. If you ride muni much and for any noticeable distance you’d be best off having a camelbak or similar, its that simple.
Joe
Rowan, you obviously have never used a hydration pack??? They are revolutionary and can’t even compare to a waterbottle…
Show me a water bottle that holds 100oz. of water and can be sipped on the whole time you are riding without using your hands… 
the rougue is the only one worth buying at that price, £32.99 at www.chainreactioncycles.co.uk that’s the cheapest place i could find em, and free postage, first class as well. Excellent service. mine arrived next day. The rogue is good, holds plenty of water, 2 litres i think, and the storage is ok, there is a pocket on the front, at the top, which i can easily get my phone, keys, pump adaptors, tyre levers, multi-tool in. sometimes a small digi camera as well, but thats a tight fit, there is a “pump port” at the side, which i can get my pump in almost perfectly, and i can fit a T-bar in aswell (a must with the state of my friends cranks), there is also an elasticated section at the bottom, probably keeps things quite secure, havent used it myself, but i presume is there for waterproofs etc whihc u can stuff into it. I’ll post some pics of my camlebak into a gallery, and post again when i ahve got them up.
overall, i think it is good value for money, its easy to empty and re-fill, carries everything i need, and sits nicely on your back. It can jump around a bit, but its nothing campared to a rucksack with a bottle of water and tools on it. it has a chest strap aswell, to keep it from slipping off.
You are correct, I have not used a camelpack and I do not intend to in a hurry. I can only see one advantage to the Camelpack and that is how you can sip it while riding. You can drink from a regular waterbottle while riding but it slows you down because you have to tilt your head. There is nothing magical about the camelpack which reduces the weight of water or which changes the refreshing qualities of the water.
I do not think paying a lot for a unicycle is stupid. I never said the camelpack is stupid I was just comparing its price to something with a similar function. An expensive unicycle has a similar function to a cheap one, but is backed with a lifetime garauntee on the axle and cranks. When I have a break I like to stop for a drink. If I didn’t have to stop for a drink there would be no need for a break, and I like breaks. I am sure balls breaks must have been a long held tradition since unicycling started, they allow the circulation to return.
the point has been made that regular water intake does result in better over-all hydration and esp re-hydration
esp at a regularity that would not make sense to stop for every time
as with so many other aspects of unicycling (and life),
to each his own
Even though you’re in the U.K, this is a great deal (probably even with shipping charges). It holds 100 ounces and has plenty of room for storage of other things. I replaced my old Camelback with one of these:
ok, pics of my camelbak rogue are here:
http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albuq72
id like to add that the camelbak bite valve is far superior to any other i have seen, on my old pack, a backpack with a bladder, there was no bitevalve, you just had to suck for your life to get work up, then blow back down the tube to stop water going everywhere. No need for this with the bite valve.
I bought a Hydration pack not so long ago.
I was looking at the Camelbaks, but for what you got… they were a ripoff, totaly!
I ended up paying £45 for a Vango MIST 15.
This is really good! It is a small(ish) backpack, with a padded waist strap, (with a pocket on each side… perfect for mobile and plasters :p, and has a large back compartment (where the bladder is) and a smaller front one… which is ideal for tools! I have been able to carry a waterproof, 2 bananas, 3 spaners, a pump and the water in mine… and still it is comftable! There is also a front netting on it for stuff! :D. The bladder holds 1.5L. The bitevalve is good… with an on/off too… I dont think that the Camelbak would be much better valve wise!
I would strongly recomend this or something like this if it is not a specific Camelbak you want!
Hope it helped…
Joe
(Edit - Bitevalve bit…)
True, though it does keep the water cold longer. An insulated water bottle can do the same, but then you’re getting away from your simplicity.
The water bottle has the slight advantage of not having to be on your back (or waist), so you’re not carrying the weight. The unicycle still is, but it’s not bearing down on your crotch.
But water bottles tend to be much smaller than the carrying capacity of a hydration pack. You would have to carry several bottles to equal one.
Beware of too-cheap hydration packs. I bought a really inexpensive one in China, but it was a waste of money rather than any savings. If the thing doesn’t work, or only holds up for a few rides, your money was thrown away.
The Camelbak brand is expensive, but well worth it. They are well made and very tough. I got my first Camelbak for Christmas in 1996. If I hadn’t upgraded to a bigger one, I could still be using it and it would be working fine. You dont’ have to clean the insides too often, because they are a very well sealed system when in use. Other companies make decent hydration packs, but examine carefully if they’re really cheap. I don’t regret spending the money I spent on my current Camelbak Mule. They might be more expensive in the UK though, I’m not sure.
They also offer back protection in a crash.
For a while, I rode with water bottles in bottle cages on the frame. This is a BAD idea. In the unlikely event of a UPD, the water bottles fall into the mud, and eventually the bottle cages stretch.
Then I bought a waistpack with space for two large bottles - much better, but not very comfortable. Drinking from a bottle when on the move is not a satisfying experience. Why drink on the move, though, unless you’re racing or against the clock?
Then I looked into hydration packs. They were shockingly expensive, so I looked in lots of shops at several brands. I decided the difference in quality of the “real” Camelbak was noticeable. With all outdoor equipment, you get what you pay for, although you also pay a ‘brand premium’.
I spent £50 on a Camelbak Lobo, with plenty of water capacity, room for a pump, wallet, phone, keys and tools, and a bungee for holding a waterproof. I rode with it tonight, but not far as I have a cold and am not up to serious speed or distance. I did around 50 minutes/7 miles on the Coker, with a mixture of tarmac and cross country. I found the Camelbak comfortable, but it made my back sweat - probably more than the waist pack would have done.
Drinking from the Camelbak whilst on the move is efficient rehydration, but not a particularly pleasing experience. On the other hand, fine china is nice to drink from, but not excessively practical for off road Cokering. It’s all priorities.
I suggest that IF you ride enough to need a Camelbak, you ride enough to need a good one. Until you’re sure, use a light rucksack and a bottle. Just an opinion. Others will disagree.
I use a regular bottle cage with a smallish bugee cord wraped around the uni frame and the waist of the bottle. It works well (i.e., stays on even in UPDs). The bottle is .75 litres, which is enough for my usual 1.5 hour saturday afternoon ride, but for longer rides I need a f***ypack.
Though shipping to the UK would make it less than a bargain, I found this one on sale. The insulated hose cover can be removed for the summer and put back for the winter, nothing worse than a frozen line. http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=47592207&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1
I agree. Especially since I unicycle at a leisurely pace.
You can find drink bottles that come in all the capacities that Camelpacks do. You can get .6, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2, 2.25, and 3 litre plastic bottles with commonly sold drinks. One litre of water is a kilogram no matter what type of container it is in. John has a good point about the insulation which Camelpacks offer for the liquid, plastic drink bottles do not compare in that aspect (but offer less insulation to your back). Do people put hot beverage in their Camelpacks during the winter? I guess it would be more difficult to clean if you put additives in there.
Exactly. I don’t ever put anything other than water in my Camelbak. Not after seeing the flora that grew in my brother’s one after he had sports drink in it.
When buying a Camelbak things to consider are: how much water do I want to carry? Anything less than 2L (70oz) is too small in my opinion (eg the Zefal hydration pack). What is the valve like? Cheaper ones can leak badly. How much storage space do I really need? I have the Rogue model (old skool model) which has enough room for a pump, basic tool kit and some food. Combined with a cycling jersey this is heaps of space. The more space you have the more likely you are to take extraneous junk/cargo along with you which just weighs you down!
Get a camelbak with a waist strap if possible - stops it bouncing around on rough ground. My Rogue didn’t have one so I had it modified at a canvas and tent repair shop.
As has been pointed out a cheaper way to do it is to buy a bladder (Platypus makes one) and a small backpack (preferably one which has a purpose built sleeve) and you’re away.
Tony
Re: where can i buy cheap a camel pack?
treepotato <treepotato.og6tb@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
> i don’t have loads of money but i’m loookin 2 buy a good camel pack
> which holds tools and food tool for up to 30ukp… any idea where
from? i
> live in the UK i wanna buy it online…?
Don’t know about On-line, but if you can get to a “Blacks” outdoor stuff
shop they do a really good own brand backpack with all right pockets and
holes to take a large water bladder with hose and also lots of tools,
food etc. Paul and i both have one and to quote Tony the Tiger “their
great”.
Sarah
– Union of UK
Unicyclists
By and for UK riders
We discovered accidentally this weekend that if you want a really cheap camelbak bladder, you can use a 2 litre bottle with a platypus hose on the top. The platypus hoses cost about a tenner from pretty much any camping shop. 2 litre plastic bottles cost about 40p from a supermarket.
Joe
http://www.leisure-lakes.co.uk/product_details.asp?id=636&type=accessories
That’s quite a nice one, for the price. No room to hold gear, but you can fit a couple of mars bars, or a compact camera or something in the top, and straps on the back to hold an raincoat, if you thing it’s going to rain.
I’d’ve thought the pressure would’ve prevented water from being drawn out after a little while, bladders compress as they’re emptied. Obviously not though 