The 2011 Camelbak Octane LR/Charge 450

At Interbike 2010, I dropped in the Camelbak booth to see what was in the frying pan for next year’s hydration pack servings.  I liked what I saw, especially in the re-thought Antidote reservoir and some new lightweight fabrics in a couple of bike specific packs.

To sample this a bit, I looked to put two packs through the test:  The Octane LR and the Charge 450.  They are very different packs, so let’s look at the Octane LR first.  Pics courtesy of Camelbak.

The Octane LR.

The Octane LR is a unique take on a hydration pack in that it carries the water down low across the lumbar region of the back rather than between the shoulder blades.  The first packs to do this that I had seen were the Wingnut line of hydration set-ups and they have picked up a loyal following of riders that enjoy a different weight distribution then the norm.  The thought behind it is that carrying the weight lower is better for comfort, more stable, and keeps a lower center of gravity.  I have not really had any issues with the normal pack configurations, but I was interested in trying this out.  The LR is a 70oz/2L H2O capacity pack with a stated 549 CU IN of storage space.  Keep in mind that this is a multisport pack, so it is not narrowly focused on cycling related activities.  But, we have looked at two other multisport packs that have performed very well, the Octane 18 and the Octane XC.

The storage is divided up between two vertical zippered pouches on each side of the upper pack, a stretch pouch on the bottom section, and two generous wing pouches on each side of the waist belt.  All in all, it is pretty good at keeping enough clothing and supplies organized, at least enough space to match the 2L H2O capacity.  There is no bike specific tool storage, etc, so you will need to organize pumps, CO2s, multitools, etc.

I love wing pockets on the waistbelt, especially good ones like the LR has.  This pack is light as well.  12.6 OZ/357g is pretty good, and it gets there with lightweight fabrics in the construction of the main pack and belts, etc.  It sits well on the body and has enough length to fit me well at 6’2”. 

So, how did it work out in real life?  First, the good.  It is light and quite comfy with the Air Channel back panel.  I did come to like the way the storage is organized and I never felt I needed more space to carry things.  The vertical storage pockets tend to have thing settle into the bottom and you may need to dig a bit for small things, but that was no biggie.  The reservoir remains in the pack for filling and is accessed by unzipping a part of the pack.  There is no need to try to stuff a full reservoir into a full pack.  The hose can be routed either over or under the shoulder.  You can notice the lower weight distribution as it is carried over the hips rather than over the mid back.  The pack does not balloon up when full of water like some packs tend to do.  The new Antidote reservoir features the Quick-snap cap which only requires a ¼ turn to open or close.  This is a huge improvement over the old cap that could be a real challenge to unscrew at times.

Now the not so good.  Did the lumbar location of the LR’s reservoir wow me?  No.  Perhaps some of that is because ‘regular’ packs do not bug me, but if they bother you, you may have a different feeling about it.  There were time that I actually thought I was out of water when then hose went ‘dry’, but what had happened was, as the water got low in the reservoir, it could flow away from the hose location for a minute until you shifted things around.  I also had the pack shift on my waist more than I liked, typically when I was moving fast down a singletrack and using a lot of body english.  I also had issues with the hose routing, and this bugged me the most of all.  The hose is not long enough to route over the shoulder, at least not for someone my height.  Under the shoulder is fine, but then the hose and bite valve end up sitting vertical in the clip on the shoulder strap.  That requires me to duck by head down and to the right to get a drink, or I have to deal with a floppy tube without the clip.  I do not want to take my eyes off the trail ahead of me when riding, so this was a pain in the neck...literally.  If I was walking or jogging, I do not think I would have cared as much.  Things happen slower then.

All in all, it is a pack the I expected to absolutely love and instead, I found it to be not something I liked very much, mostly from the drinking tube deal and the way it moved on my waist.  I also let Kendra, a lady rider who helps us with testing products, use the Octane LR for a bit to see what she thought.

"The Octane LR was very comfortable.  I think the idea of the water being supported by the waist and not the shoulders is not entirely a bad idea, not sure how well that plays out when leaning over the bars.  It had a decent amount of storage space without being too bulky, assuming the wearer wants to carry other stuff besides water. I was able to stuff two lightweight jackets in it if I needed to. I liked the little pockets on the side which made things like a Power Bar accessible while riding without having to stop and yank the whole pack off and then put it back on. Another feature I really liked was that the drink tube was detachable (Note: the Camelbak Quick Link system) which made the bladder easier to clean. That was very nice because you don't have the tube flapping around while trying to clean it and it also makes cleaning the tube really nice. Basically the bladder and tube were easy to clean."

"On the down side, the pack seems a little large for carrying that small amount of water so if you want a water pack to be light weight and just a water pack...well, not so great-- good if you have a bunch of stuff to bring in addition to water. Sometimes the water gathers at the bottom of the bladder and is hard to suck up the remainder as it gets low. I found this out at the Mt SAC race. So, basically the wearer of the pack is carrying a certain amount of water they potentially won't/can't even use. I guess it depends on where one is riding, obviously that pack would not have lasted me on an epic, water wise, however it's great for winter rides out my back door. In other words, I don't need a ton of water but with the cold weather at night, extra pack space for clothes to be peeled off and on is really nice.  I don't need a pack that bulky for a  2-4 hour ride in the summer."

Kendra

The Charge 450.

The second pack from the 2011 Camelbak line-up almost never crossed my desk as I first saw it as just another pack, very similar to many others I had.  Yawn.  Big mistake, that was.  I requested a sample mainly to get a better look at the new reservoirs since the Octane LR was a bit of a different beast in that regard.  I also remembered it from Interbike due to the pics I too of the bright green pack.  Now, after a lot of use in varied conditions, it has become one of my favorite packs of all time.  This is why.

Just like the Octane LR, it is a light pack.  At a measured 16.6 ounces/624g with a 100OZ/3L Antidote reservoir, the 763 CU IN/12.5L storage capacity is very decent.  The access to the reservoir is handy and the pack can be filled with out removing it.  Working out towards the front from the back of the pack, separated from your body by the L.E. (Lightweight Exoskeleton) back panel, there is the reservoir pouch, then a main pouch that is the full height of the pack.  Then there is a expandable stuff section that compresses with four straps to keep things in place, and on top of that a compartment that organizes tools, snacks, keys, etc.

As well, there is a media pocket on the top of the pack that is lined with soft materials, and two small wing pouches on the hip belt.  All this combines with the overall light weight of the pack to perhaps be the finest endurance XC pack I have used yet.  Why do I think that?  Here’s why.

●    The new Antidote reservoirs have a new design that, besides the improved cap, keep the reservoir from turning into a big water balloon when filled to capacity.  So, it helps keep the pack from rolling around on your back.  It is not as good at this as some packs I have used with a mesh panel like the Deuter Race EXP, but it is still very good compared to previous Camelbaks I have seen.

●    The light fabrics, the overall size, the stuff pouch section...all combine to make the pack the killer app for self supported endurance events in my opinion.  Not something for a 24 hour race where you pit all the time, but a multi-hour, ‘carry your food and several layers of clothing pack’ approach to an event. 
●    It has never, ever made me squirm because it is uncomfortable on my back, despite the relative lack of structure to the pack.  In that, I mean that the pack, when empty, can just be balled up by hand.  The L.E. backpanel is enough to keep it insulated from me with out adding bulk or too much stiffness.  In fact, I think the naturally compliant nature of the pack helps it conform to my back very nicely.
●    It is just about the perfect size.  When I have it fairly empty, it is so light I still use it anyway.  When it is called on to carry shed layers of clothing, it does that well and you can keep wet or muddy clothing in the stuff pouch rather than the zipped main compartment.  I did not test this pack as to any level of water proof-ness, etc.
●    Tool organization is typically Camelbak excellent.  They have this part all figured out.  I did need to carry my Lezyne Micro Drive HV pump in the main zippered storage compartment, but that is worth the hassle.  Love that pump.  It would be killer to have a velcro strap or two in there to keep a longer pump in place.

Any bad things?  Well, not much, really.  I do not think it is the best pack for a heavily loaded day.  If I was carrying lots of food or bulky items like cameras or gear, it tends to get overwhelmed a bit and hangs on ya.  That likely is the trade-off to the lighter weight materials, etc.  In that case, a Camelbak H.A.W.G. or something like the Osprey Raptor 18 is a better bet. 
The wing pockets on the hip straps are devilishly hard to manipulate when you are wearing long fingered gloves due to the flap that covers the stretchy pouch and are not big enough to carry a gel flask.

Other than that?  I love it and have used it almost exclusively since I got it.  It is the type of pack I will use often for the multi hour endurance rides I like to do and, until something comes along to knock the Charge 450 off the top of the heap, it will stay on my back.

Here is a bit of video on the Charge 450 for your viewing pleasure.