The Big Sur: Hydrapak’s Most Popular Hydration Pack

Though Hydrapak has long been a major player in the hydration pack industry and has a wide range of products, its most popular pack is the Big Sur. Like similar large capacity packs offered by other companies, it is designed to carry both a lot of water – three litres – as well as a lot of cargo (7.4 litres).  Named after a region in southern California, the Big Sur is designed for both mountain bikers and hikers and offers a number of useful features that are unique to Hydrapak products. Although firmly established as one of the chief competitors against Camelbak, Hydrapak is perhaps best known for its Reversible Reservoir II (RR2) system, which is included with the Big Sur. This hydration reservoir and associated system has won over a lot of fans and many people find it far better than the other reservoir systems available on the market. Unlike the Osprey reservoirs, the RR2 does not have a firm spine; instead it uses a very intuitive clip, which mounts the reservoir to the top of its dedicated pocket within the pack. One of the most popular attributes of this reservoir system is the Easy Seal, which uses a sliding clip to seal the reservoir closed. This is by far one of the quickest and easiest to use systems of opening/closing a hydration pack reservoir and has been very popular with many users.Hydrapak was one of the first to offer the fully reversible reservoir, which allows the user to easily employ it, clean it, and allow it to dry out when not in use and the RR2 is also full reversible. The EasyFlo bite valve also has its fans, but many people that are more accustomed to other bite valves have complained about how easy the EasyFlo valve opens, suggesting that it is very easy to open accidently while on the trail. Some users have also been sceptical of the Plug-N-Play connector that allows the user to quickly detach the feeder hose from the reservoir; arguing that this makes it very easy for the hose to be disconnected accidently. However, despite these concerns, there are few actual cases of these fears being realized and Hydrapak’s reservoir and bite valve system remains very popular. The Big Sur itself is made of a nylon tricot fabric, which is light weight, rip resistant, and has been quite popular with many users. Combined with a system of Hypalon reinforcement, the Big Sur is well known for how well it handles heavy loads, distributing the weight evenly and comfortably without impairing the user’s mobility. The only real complaint about the load bearing features of the pack is that the waist strap is only moderately effective, only redistributing a small amount of the pack’s weight to the hips. However, assuming you want the weight on your back, you are not likely to find better than the Big Sur.The only other complaint about the Big Sur is the price, which is a bit higher than many comparable packs. This can be addressed by buying an older version of the same pack, which tends to be less expensive. Otherwise though, there are virtually no negative reviews of the pack and very few stories of serious complaints or problems. In fact, almost everyone that has used the Big Sur likes it despite the assorted criticism or concern. The consensus is that the Big Sur is one of the best large hydration packs on the market today