A fascinating gift...

I always wanted to have one of these bags with a tube jutting off it (Hydration bags). The first time I ever got to see (and sip from) one of these was during my paragliding courses. No sooner did Avi (my instructor) show his hydration pack did we jump like thirsty monsters and almost finished off the whole reserve :). It was a "camelback" hydra-pack I guess.

The concept is really cool. A simply backpack with a 1-2 liter plastic bag that holds the fluid (water/hydration supplements err.. err...) and a tube that comes off it with a rubber stopper like thing at the other end from which you suck the liquid. Its really a handsfree water bottle for that matter.

So ok it looks fascinating, how was it supposed to practically help me other than looking like a showoff item? This backpack can come handy in almost any situation you demand (so long as you don’t feel weird wearing and sucking water off the tube). Practically accepted of course in any adventure/outdoor activity you demand - trekking / bicycling / paragliding / snowboarding / jogging / motor-biking etc etc. I mean if you get too geeky you could sit with one in your office cubicle as you type away... but that’s the reason mentioned the previous list under 'Practically accepted" else you would end up in the wild with hoards of people sucking water in a ration queue or at the bus stop... aggh... my thoughts running wild.

I was meeting Sriram (my cousin) after a long long time. We chatted a lot and he gifted me this backpack and said "you can fill water in this...", I said "oh wow ... its a hydration bag...", he said "yes... here you go". Wow.. I was really happy and am, really, still admiring the bag. It’s a blue "High Sierra" 2 liter Hydration bag. Its amazing - its a very good-go for a small hike (single day) also has a provision to hold you helmet (cycling) and a hook to hang all sorts of things. Really really cool.

Just another reason to get my bums on the saddle again! :)