CAMELBAK Bak up your sales
Are water bottles only good for promotion, not profit? Wondering if the original hydration backpack is still the best? Mark Sutton talks to Zyro’s Camelbak brand manager Richard Samuels about all things hydration…
Camelbak had an interested birth – for those who don’t know, what’s the story? It’s 1988. Keen roadie Michael Eidson is competing in the “Hotter Than Hell 100”. And that’s exactly what it was: a 100-mile road race in the gruelling Texan summer heat. Water is vital to surviving the race, and there are few places to refill a water bottle. Eidson, a paramedic by trade, filled an IV bag with water and slipped it into a gym sock. He stuffed the contraption into the back of his bike jersey, threw the thin hose over his shoulder and clamped it with a clip. Hands-free hydration is born, and Eidson can drink as he pedals. The other racers laughed and grasped for their bottles. The rest is history. From an original sales force of one man on a motorbike, CamelBak’s reservoir systems have become the go-to choice of mountain bikers, hikers, soldiers and police forces, not to mention the miners, rail staff and airport workers who rely on CamelBak during their working day. Whether you’re tearing down a hill or concentrating on a spreadsheet, being properly hydrated is fundamental to your body’s functionality and temperature regulation, and also to your brain’s ability to concentrate.
Most rucksacks have a ‘hydration sleeve’. Why should a rider buy a CamelBak pack – they seem expensive… That’s a fair question and here’s a fair response. Firstly, CamelBak’s Antidote reservoirs are well constructed, the most thoroughly researched and tested, most user-friendly reservoirs available on the market. A cheaper reservoir, besides being more difficult to use and to drink from, can also impart a plastic taste to the water within it, which will rapidly discourage the user from wanting to continue with hands-free hydration at all. CamelBak’s Big Bite Valve is also unique in that it is a one- piece unit – medical grade silicone as used in artificial heart valves, you just bite down and draw up the water. Secondly, there is a big difference between
hydration compatibility – as per the rucksack with a hydration sleeve in the main compartment – and hydration integration. Place a reservoir in a hydration sleeve and it moves from side to side and takes up valuable cargo space. The engineering involved in integrating CamelBak’s reservoirs into their packs is unsurpassed – the reservoirs are rock- stable, no matter what you’re riding up, over or down, and all reservoirs are contained in their own, fully insulated compartments.
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Do they fit any better than other packs with reservoirs in them? I could be riding for a long time, so it needs to be comfortable... CamelBak takes how a packs fits the torso very seriously, especially when the unit itself is supporting 2kg-plus of water, before you add in your gear. They know that soldiers are wearing heavily laden packs for several hours per day, as could an enduro rider or a sportive rider. Packs need to be comfortable and stable
and CamelBak sculpt their harnesses to suit either the male or female torso – one size definitely does not fit all, and specific differences in the shoulder harness adjustment, width and shape, sternum strap adjustment, waistbelt angle and adjustability all work in conjunction with longer or shorter back panels to ensure that a CamelBak fits you like a glove. CamelBak also produce two kids’
hydration packs, the Skeeter and Mini M.U.L.E. These are scaled down packs with the same reservoir quality as their parents’ packs. Children can not regulate their body temperature as effectively as an adult so getting them into the habit of regular sipping on a ride or walk cannot be underestimated.
So what’s the score with CamelBak bottles? Are they worth the price tag? It seems a long time now, but seven years ago, CamelBak applied their innovation to the humble hard-sided water bottle to universal acclaim. Almost overnight, CamelBak went from being a weekend product to a daily product as CamelBak’s extended mission to replace bottled water through the use of quality reusable bottles gained momentum. Road riders were still an untapped market though – roadies were not going to wear rucksacks and the standard soft plastic bottle had not really evolved in 50 years. Shops gave them away to secure a deal, they were worthless products that were used a few times and thrown away as the water tasted awful and the push-pull valve was battered with teeth marks.
CamelBak launched their Podium bottle
range and the entire market was turned on its head. A soft plastic bottle that did not taste of plastic, that had anti-microbial protection, that had a wide screw-cap with a soft lockable valve with a fast, direct flow. For £8.99 it became a bottle for life. CamelBak bottles now add significant profit, as well as increasing footfall as consumers came in wanting to know what all the fuss was about. The Podium bottle range increased with new sizes and insulated versions, and like the reservoirs, if drinking from a Podium bottle is intuitive and easy, you’ll do it more often.
‘Got Your Bak’ is the CamelBak slogan – what’s the thinking behind that? Got Your Bak isn’t just a group of words, it’s a culture, a state of mind. That’s why they put their products through the most rigorous testing in the industry. Product failures need to happen in the lab, not in the field. CamelBak has built its reputation by
“CamelBak launched their Podium bottle and the entire market turned on its head.” Richard Samuels, Zyro
engineering products that exceed consumer expectations for quality and durability. In 2011, they introduced the Got Your Bak Lifetime Guarantee for all reservoirs, backpacks, bottles and accessories. The Got Your Bak Guarantee covers all reservoirs, backpacks, bottles and accessories from manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship for the lifetime of the product. Quite simply, if CamelBak built it, they’ll
Bak it.
What’s happening for 2014? Zyro will have stock of 2014 packs well in time for Christmas and retailers will see bolder, brighter colours on the MTB lumbar packs – including the multi-award winning Volt 13 LR – a broader range of women’s specific packs including the women’s specific version of the M.U.L.E, the L.U.X.E. and redesigns for the entry-level cycling and general sports packs of Hydrobak, Classic, Rogue and Aurora. Coupled with the revised Podium bottle
range – sleeker, easier to squeeze, with more colour options and a wider, removable nozzle – due into stock in early 2014, CamelBak will continue to innovate and create demand for the product.
camelbak.com/hydrated.aspx
BIKEBIZ OCTOBER 41
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