Hydro Flask makes some of our favorite vessels for hiking, camping and travel, so it makes sense that their first insulated hydration packs would be really well-done. The brand’s Journey series features bags with 3-liter sweat-proof bladders that fit into reflective-lined neoprene sleeves within the bags themselves, keeping your water cold for four-plus hours at a time. Considering that insulation has to fight against the proximity of your body heat — trekking or riding a bike will generate plenty of that — as well as ambient temperatures outside the bag, four hours of chill time is pretty impressive for such a large volume of water.
Aside from the noteworthy liquid-carrying abilities of the new Journey bags, Hydro Flask paid plenty of attention to the exterior design of the bags too, ensuring the seams and zippers are weather-sealed and the bag’s contact points are as ergonomic as possible. The articulated back padding is specially designed to allow airflow between your body and the bag, further helping keep that water cool when you’re heating up. While they’re a bit too function-forward to replace your briefcase or messenger bag, all these capabilities and Goldilocks pack volumes (10L and 20L, plus water capacity) are nice, and at the end of the day the Journey bags also look great. That never hurts.
Gear Patrol also recommends:
CamelBak Rim Runner 22 ($89)
Salomon Agile pack ($96)
Osprey Packs Raptor 14 ($106)
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