Sweet and Simple: The Hydrapak Chute

Overall, larger hydration packs tend to be the most popular, ones that are designed to allow the wearer to take a lot of liquid with them for a long distance as well as other gear. However, most of the leading manufacturers also offer smaller, more basic hydration packs that are primarily designed to accommodate people doing intense – but brief – workout sessions. Hydrapak’s version of this basic trainer hydration pack is the Chute series.

Carrying a 1.5 litre reservoir, the Chute is extremely small and simple and only has room for another 0.5 litres of cargo. There is only one small additional pocket – excluding the main compartment that houses the reservoir – which is perhaps suitable for keys and your wallet, but not much else. Instead, this is a true hydration pack, meant to allow its user to stay hydrated without offering much more than that. Although you can add a Slider Buckle Chest Strap to the pack, it does not come with this. Instead it simply uses the shoulder straps and it holds the entire pack very high of the wearer’s back, making it extremely comfortable and almost so easy to carry that you can forget that it is even there. The Chute is known as a “Grab-N-Go” hydration pack because there is little to it: all you have to do is grab it and go once the reservoir is filled and properly attached using Hydrapak’s well established clipping mechanism to hold the reservoir in place within the pack.

Although there are comparable light hydration packs on the market, one of the primary appeals to the Hydrapak Chute is the basic hydration mechanism itself, especially the reservoir. The small 1.5 litre reservoir is completely reversible, so there is no requirement for special cleaning procedures and the like. Instead one can easily empty it out, wash it and then leave it hanging reversed so that it dries out thoroughly when not in use. Further, the antimicrobial lining is well designed and does not contaminate the water, so your water tastes the way it should. The Chute, like all of Hydrapak’s hydration units has a specially designed insulated pocket that helps keep your water nice and cool over time as well.

The primary pack itself is very tough and light weight, being made out of double ripstop nylon. This makes storing larger items – like a jacket – under the front flap quite practicle despite the Chute lacking much in the way of full pockets. The shoulder straps also use a high tech padding, which makes them quite comfortable to wear. The rear panel / harness uses integrated air mesh technology that allows lots of comfortable ventilation on the wearer’s back and since it rides very high on the back the next result is an extremely easy to carry and comfortable hydration system.

The Chute is too small to really be used for all day outings or multiple hour expeditions, but works very well for people running short races (two hours or less) or engaged in short – but strenuous – training exercises, like those practicing for triathlons and the like. Not surprisingly, since the Chute is very small and basic, it is also quite reasonably priced as well.