Boy, trials sure sucks when you are wearing a camelback, noo doot aboot it.
But…how do those waist packs compare? Any trials, or very-hoppy riders out there wear them?
I can get much less height on my hops because the CB smashes down into me counteracting the hop/lift. Does the waist version take care of this?
Sofa
I use a CB while doing MUni and sometimes even forget it’s on my back, even when hopping. The weight doesn’t seem to bother me much, but sometimes that “goosh, goosh. goosh” sounds gets annoying.
Even if you were wearing a pack around your waist, it’s still weight to carry with you. If the bladder isn’t full, then it would still tend to counteract the hopping movement.
Practice with the CG full of water and add extra weight to it. Then remove the extra weight when you are on the trail and it’ll feel light as a feather and you’ll be able to jump higher! 
Actually might be an intersting way to build up strength and to gain extra height. Any one practice with weights?
Bill
I started out with a waistpack thing; I changed it to a backpack stylee object because it used to annoy the hell out of me. It was good for going forwards - no bit sweaty patch on your back. However the minute you start going up and down a bit - even bumpy trails - it would be up and down all over the place like a crazy thing.
The only way to stop it was to do it up tighter, so you end up riding with it half way up your chest which looks patently ridiculous.
I still have it around, but it’s done nothing but gather dust in the wardrobe since I got the backpack thing. I’d forgotten about it until now; I might dig it out to see if it will act as a lightweight GPS-carrier where I would otherwise not carry anything, but I’ll never use it instead of the backpack.
Phil
Re: Who Hops around with Camelbaks?
Do you have a waist strap on your pack? If not, try adding one, it’s actually easy and if you don’t have one the pack WILL flop around. It needn’t be super wide (although wide is a bit more comfortable,) just go to you’re local back-packing store and get some 1 inch nylon strappng, two double slides, and a buckle, then attach the strap with the bottom shoulder straps.
I never get that “goosh” sound. After you fill it, flip it upside-down and suck out the air…ALL the air bubbles. When you start hitting a rougher terrain on your MUni ride, winch down both the waist and chest straps a touch. You will notice the difference.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I don’t hate the camel back…but…it sure takes some of your height, that’s for sure
Your CB straps can only get so tight.
It only bothers me when trying to hop up the largest things…instead of throwing the CB to the ground to do it, I will only try once or twice to do it
Like most products, waist packs are not all created equal. The HydraPak HipSip which is apparently out of production now, has a semi-rigid structure to it that makes it stay in place. As the water is depleted you just pull on the two side take-up straps to keep it adjusted properly. When hopping, the water volume still moves up and down to some degree, but the pack stays in firm contact with your lower back so there is no “slapping” . Also, I like the non sweaty back, and I like the feeling of not having straps over my shoulders. Still other benefits: easy to take off and put on, and you can easily rotate it around to access the storage compartment while riding. That is cool.
Scott
Ed Hansen
Great tip on getting the air out of the bladder. Goodbye “goosh. goosh, goosh”.
Bill
climbing camelbaks have more of those annoying straps than bike camelbaks. With my one (cloudwalker I think), that means you can make it so it doesn’t wobble around. As I drink water I have to tighten up the shoulder straps to keep it unwobbly. It also has side straps for if you haven’t got much junk in the main pocket and you don’t want stuff inside bumping around and chest + waist straps.
I always just squeeze the bladder so there’s no air in it before I do up the lid.
Joe
I too find my camelbak removes some of the height, but I have stopped having major problems. I did some light training by doing an 18" on the way home with my 14 pound backpack loose on my back. Try to pause before you do the hop (don’t prehop). That way everything lifts at the same time, rather than bouncing out of sync. BTW, I ride witht th CB blowfish.
roll up
While you are on the trail, while you are taking a break, you can roll down the top of the bladder, and it will hold down some of the bouncing. also, the smaller the CB, like the ones without the extra pockets, don’t bounce at all.
My camelbak bothers me while hopping. This 5 year old thread gave me a good tip, so I’m bumping it up to help others.
Get rid of the sloshing sound by taking the air out of your cb bladder. Turn it upside-down and suck the air out. Or squeeze the air out of before closing the lid.
In addition to that good tip, you can always go the old fashioned way: take off the hydration pack, and any other extraneous stuff, for hopping around on the challenging stuff, then put it back on when you’re through in that area. This works for Trials, and for fun technical areas along trails, but obviously not when you’re trying to get from A to B without a lot of stops.
Back in the day, difficult sections along our trails were rated in whether you could get through it “pack off” or “pack on”. In my case this usually also includes the stylish butt bag, containing camera, phone and tools. And I usually leave my gear on all the time, unless there’s a spot I really want to get through without either risk to the equipment, or its floppiness.
i just take mine off when i get to a good spot.
I actually feel a bit weird doing muni without a backpack; I think I’ve grown so used to wearing it my back feels rather vulnerable without it, so I’d worry about falling off and landing on my back too much to ride normally… 
I always wear my Camelback when I go Muni. When I’m riding trials I just throw it on the ground and ride, if it’s only a really small line to go to another spot farther away, I will keep it on my back, but I dont like riding trials with it.
Everyone I ride muni with is using a Camelback waist pack. We have the ones that have a rear pocket for tools and food, main pocket holds a liter, has side pulls to retension as it deflates. No leaks, no slosh, works great. We use the external fill version for skiing. There is some sweatyness under the pack, but it’s far less than a backpack and there’s no pressure on the shoulder or anything to inhibit arm movement. Honestly, I don’t even notice it’s there. About the worst thing that has happened is I have worn out zippers
I use the Nathan Synergy It’s actually a “vest” so no uncomfortable waist strap (I hate that stuff) and has great front pockets for easy access to calories. The bladder is a bit complicated which I way I’ve always used a Camelback bladder, in whatever pack I use. I really like this pack setup. Easy on, easy off and plenty of space to store stuff for long rides…
I like to think that I know my outdoor equipment but I have never seen nor heard of hydration waist packs. had to look them up.
They look like big fanny packs/butt bags. I could see them being nice for road biking but even then I think it would drive me nuts. Maybe it is just because I have spent so much time using conventional backpack hydration systems with proper shoulder, waist, and chest straps and I am a little bit old school
I almost always have some sort of hydration pack on if I am going for a ride. but I have a roll over everything style (read as I suck at hopping with or without the backpack)
Proper straps are key for comfort in my opinion. Having an elasticised bit on your chest strap is really nice as it will stretch with your body movements and breathing while holding the bag closer to your body keeping the straps away from the outsides of your shoulders and eliminating any chance that the bag could partially fall off tangling your arms. A waist strap done up loosely will prevent the bottom of the pack from swinging and keeps everything in place.
Don’t be afraid to buy a bit of material and take the needle and thread to your backpack to make it more suitable for mountain unicycling.