DefenseReview.com (DR): An online tactical technology and military defense technology magazine with particular focus on the latest and greatest tactical firearms news (tactical gun news), tactical gear news and tactical shooting news.
by David Crane
david@defensereview.com
CamelBak Maximum Gear hydration packs are now de rigueur for military and law enforcement end users who require mobile tactical hydration (i.e. a portable water supply). Military operations, in particular, can be arduous. Military operators need to be able to take an ample supply of clean, safe drinking water with them, and have it immediately and easily available to them. The CamelBack goes one further in allowing hands-free mobile hydration. This hands-free capability, made possible by CamelBak’s back-mounted reservoir, PureFlow delivery tube, and Big Bite™ Valve, reduces operator fatigue and increases operator survivability by allowing him to hydrate himself (sip water) with less effort and simultaneously maintain both hands on (and thus full control of) his primary weapon (rifle/carbine/subcarbine or machine gun), in case he runs into the enemy unexpectedly.
While CamelBak Products, LLC (Petaluma, CA) is the innovator of this technology and the first name tactical hydration, they haven’t been content to just sit on their laurels. The company is constantly developing new products to meet mission-specific end user requirements. First, CamelBak is…
constantly developing new hydration systems and packs. Some of them now include CamelBak’s HydroLink™ Modular Connection System with positive shut-off Hydrolock™, which allows them to make effective use of another innovative CamelBak product, the Chem Bio Reservoir 4.0 (CBR 4.0) with Duraflex Barrier Technology™. The Hydrolink/CBR 4.0 combo was designed and developed to allow an operator to continue to self-hydrate safely in chemical and biological warfare environments while wearing protective gear, like MOPP 4 suits and masks. The CBR 4.0/Hydrolink system delivers safe drinking water through the operator’s chem/bio-protective mask (gas mask). The 3.0-liter CBR 4.0 will slip into any CamelBak 100-ounce reservoir pocket.
DefenseReview got to view Camelbak’s latest tactical hydration tech at their booth at IACP Miami 2005. Since we’re technology buffs, the two most interesting products to us were the Chem Bio Reservoir 4.0 (CBR 4.0) (with accompanying HydroLink™ Modular Connection System) and the HydroLink™ In-Line MicroFilter, which DefRev presumes will allow the user to fill his CamelBak with river water or just about any other natural or suspect source, without fear of getting sick from Giardia, E. Coli, and other nasty little micro-organisms that can negatively (and severely) impact operator functioning/performance very quickly. The In-Line MicroFilter is a pretty slick system.
By the way, CamelBak’s got some other Mil/LE hydration systems and backpacks that are also worth taking a look at, including, but not limited to, the ThermoBak® 3L, HotShot™ 3L, Ambush ™, and BFM™. We haven’t used or even examined these, yet, so we can’t comment on them. However, based on my experiences with the Demon™, MotherLode™, and Talon™ backpacks, I’m quite sure the rest of CamelBak’s line is pretty great. Call it a hunch. 
You can contact CamelBak Maximum Gear by phone at 707-792-9700, or toll-free at 800-767-8725. You can contact them by fax at 707-665-9231. You can email their Mil/LE sales division at military.sales@CamelBak.com. Mystery Ranch Backpacks
2010 N. 7th Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59715
406-585-1428
andrew@mysteryranch.com
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