Submitted by
cahlheim
a Weekend Warrior
from St.Charles, MO.
Date Reviewed: March 17, 2002
Strengths: Price Storage capacity Easy to fill and clean
Weaknesses: Nothing I can think of....
Bottom Line:
The fill system is simple and effective! Water stays cold all day! Lots of room for crap. I like Camelbak's bite valve better but this one work well enough for me.
Strengths: price, lots of room, nice fit, 100 oz bladder, easy clean bladders, nice look, sternum strap plus gut strap, lots of room, many pockets, lots of room (did I mention that)
Weaknesses: bite valve sucks get a camelbak big bite and angle valve to replace it its better
Bottom Line:
if you want a good hydrapak for a great price check into this one its a great buy!
Strengths: Big pack for the money.Lots of pockets for your gear and can be adjusted snug to your body. I could use this pack for dirtbike riding too.
Weaknesses: Bite valve sucked period. Used it one time and replaced it with a Camelbak valve. The bladders cap sometimes wanted to crossthread.. After cutting off the Gulp valve and installing the Camelbak valve I found that the hose was a little short for my taste. I eventually put in a 70oz. Camel bladder with a longer hose. After 6 months of use one of the shoulder straps ripped from the pack, I used some small rope to "rig" it so I can use it till I get a new pack.
Bottom Line:
Would not buy this pack again at half the cost. Going with a smaller pack. For the 3 hour rides I do I don't need all that space or gear storage. To be fair, I used this pack for Enduro motorcycle racing too, 100 mile races on a dirtbike is not what this pack was made for.......I'm thinking this could have helped the shoulder strap rip..
Strengths: Durable construction, easily cleaned bladder, well insulated bladder compartment, ventillated back cushion keeps you cool, enough storage for medium rides, 100 oz water capacity
Weaknesses: Valve design is inconvenient to use and has a hard plastic piece that hits your teeth. Slight plastic taste that went away after being rinsed and used a few times.
Bottom Line:
Good value, especially on sale from Supergo. I threw away the valve and bought a Camelback bite valve, which works great. Overall, I thought it was better designed, and had better materials than similar Camelback products, for a lot less money. I am especially glad that I got it when I look at my roommate's Camelback bladder, which is green-because it is such a pain in the ass to clean out.
Strengths: Holds lots of stuff, many pockets, tube guide on shoulder strap, got 1/2 off retail price.
Weaknesses: Screw cap on bladder is kinda shady, but that's about it.
Bottom Line:
This is a great pack, I often set out for all days rides and this thing holds a lot of water, food, tubes, tools, and even a porno mag. It's a great pack and has visited numerous states and trails. If you missed the Supergo super sale on this item, tuff titty.
Submitted by
Casey
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2000
Strengths: Tons of storage. Nice shoulder straps.
Weaknesses: Hard plastic gulp valve, Small opening for bladder removal and installation, bladder gives water a bad taste.
Bottom Line:
Upgraded from the old camelback for increased storage and water capacity. I don't particularly care for the hard plastic gulp valve, i may try to retrofit the valve from the old camelback to the new amazon. I hope the bad water taste goes away after a few more rides. Buy the amazom from Supergo, they are selling them for about half of MSRP.
Similar Products Used: bottles, first generation camelback with pakster accessory.
Bike Setup: K2 1000 mostly stock
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joe Ryan
a Weekend Warrior
from Vienna, VA
Date Reviewed: November 30, 1999
Strengths: Pleanty of Room for a ;ot of bike crap.
Weaknesses: After several cleanings with clorex, baking soad, and mild soap and tons of hot H2O, can't get rid of the VINYL taste the water has. Sports drinks mixed hide the bad taste.
Bottom Line:
Good product, great H2O flow from GULP valve. good sholder straps, pleanty of storage space
Submitted by
Rogue Rider
a Cross-Country Rider
from Medford Or.
Date Reviewed: October 4, 1999
Strengths: Good pack with useful storage good strap system. Gulp valve
Weaknesses: STRONG vinyl taste that will not go away, and poorly molded threads on bladder that cross thread easily and leak.
Bottom Line:
The pack part is great, but the bladder is awful. The first time I used it I was on an 19mi. ride with lots of uphills I just about de-hydrated because I could'nt drink the water. All I could do was wet my mouth and spit because it tasted so bad! I rinsed it daily for 3 weeks trying different things like baking soda, salt and lemon juice, but it still tastes like VINYL!!! The cap cross threaded the second time putting it on and now leaks. Gave up and got a Platypus big zip 2 bladder from REI that fits in the Amazon and has no taste at all, plus the zip lock top let's you get ice in and clean it out easily. For the retail price of Amazon, they need to get the bladder right. It has no warranty and their website has no place on it to contact them with feedback. With a decent bladder, I'd give it 5 hot ones, but awful tasting WATER brings it down to a one. (WATER is what you buy this thing for, is it not??!!)
Strengths: Works as advertised. Doesn't leak! Due to smart design, it keeps my back a lot cooler than the backpack I used to wear.
Weaknesses: Doesn't pedal uphill for me.
Bottom Line:
It was with some trepidation that I bought this super cheap from Supergo since there were reports of the thing falling apart. I always stuff the thing and it shows no signs of wear. I never come close to using all the water, but now instead of coming home near death from dehydration, I always have to pee.
Submitted by
TK
a Weekend Warrior
from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Date Reviewed: September 8, 1999
Bottom Line:
The Amazon is a great peice of equipment, I don't know what I ever did before getting this pack. Its very well made (straps breaking??), have had zero probs with it, carries lots o agua, plus all my tools, tubes n other crap, plus the valve works great! The only problem is that the seal on the filler cap is not very good, so if you fill the pack all the way up you may get some leakage, other than that its 5 stars.....
Submitted by
Reed
a Weekend Warrior
from Washington,D.C.
Date Reviewed: August 5, 1999
Strengths: Lots of Storage, Gulp Valve, Pump holder
Weaknesses: Straps broke
Bottom Line:
Like everything but the straps braking after only a couple of uses. Returned it to the store and exchanged it for a HAWG. Holds a little more and like strap design better. Also noticed that the screw on cap on the Blackburn water bladder doesn't is not as good as Camelbak's '99 screw on bladder. Gave it a two for its compartments but didn't last long enough for any more.
Submitted by
Chee Kwang
a Weekend Warrior
from SINGAPORE
Date Reviewed: July 30, 1999
Strengths: Very good design. Those retainers are very well thought of.
Weaknesses: The outside pouch looks like it might tear easily.
Bottom Line:
IMHO, the gulp valve is not superior to the bite valve. You still have to suck the liquid. I would say that both systems perform equally well. I mail ordered mine from the USA.
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Big Sur and RockShox Indy XC.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kyotea
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver, BC
Date Reviewed: July 13, 1999
Strengths: Gulp Valve Lots of pockets Bike Pump loop
Weaknesses: Strap broke after only using it 5 times! I had a full water bladder, some snacks, pocket camera and wallet! Had to use a safety pin to reattach strap.
Bottom Line:
Thought it was a great buy but really surprised that the strap broke after such a short time. I emailed Blackburn for a replacement so I'm sending mine back to get a new one. Hopefully, I'll get my replacement pack as soon as possible and this one will last longer. Not too happy with the strap tearing off but quite satisfied with Blackburn's customer service and the fact they're replacing my defective pack. Then again, you should expect the pack to be durable considering it is a bike pack!
Submitted by
wes
a Cross-Country Rider
from minnesota
Date Reviewed: July 10, 1999
Strengths: i like the gulpvalve plenty of pockets to store tools and it even has a pump pocket. very comfortable to wear
Weaknesses: the tube is too short, if it was a couple inches longer it would be easier to drink, but this was true of the camelbak i tried
Bottom Line:
this thing is great. i'm looking forward to using it skiing and on my three wheeler as well as biking. it is really nice to not have a water bottle on your bike and the water stays cold and you don't have to drink from something that is full of mud. defenitely a great idea. plus you can carry a lot of water for longer rides. i like the mouth piece better than camelbak's. it's easier to drink because you don't have to bite down on it, you just push in the center of the mouth piece which is spring loaded and suck. it doesn't leak either. very nice, I highly recommend it!
Use coupon code 89roam89 to get the discount
link:
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