With Spring coming upon us, birds chirping, the Sun warming
the trails, and the turning of the calendar towards Potowatomi, Ice Age Trail
and Kettle Moraine, the thoughts of many ultra runners turn to “should I use a
handheld or a hydration pack?”, “I hate my _______ pack, what do you think of
those new ones by Ultimate Direction/Nathan/Ultra Aspire/Camelback?” and so
forth. Joining this battle between
bottles and the bladders in hydration packs is a new company from Southern
California by the name of Orange Mud (www.orangemud.com). The company’s first product is the
Hydraquiver, which fits between those who prefer bottles and those who wish to
run hands free.
The Hydraquiver uses a 24 ounce bottle (it can hold a 21 to
26 ounce bottle) which fits in the “quiver” on the runners upper back. On the runners shoulders are two pockets in
which one can put Gu’s or similar items.
On the back, are two zippers allowing you to put small items, like a
phone, iPod, keys, etc., in the back. There is also a port through which your
headphones can be routed from the internal storage. There are also attachments
if you want to use a bungee cord to tie on a jacket , shirt, etc. Under the bottle is a reflective strip and
while the Hydraquiver may look heavy, with a lot of padding, that padding
actually creates an air channel so in my use on the trails at Veterans Acres
and during the Potawatomi 100 mile trail run, I didn’t find it to cause any
uncomfortable hot spots. Even with a full bottle, the Hydraquiver is
remarkably light, weighing only 346 grams.
To put it on, simply put your arms through the straps and
then pull them tight. The extra inches
of straps can be stuck under or can go through the hoops on the back of the
pack. I found that the manner in which
the Hydraquiver fits, pulls back your shoulders and helps keep a good running
form. Probably, not intended, but, a
good piece of accidental engineering. I
didn’t find the straps irritating at all.
The bottle also fits in the middle of the back which minimizes sloshing.
Throughout my use, I found it easy to pull out the bottle
and then to put it back into the quiver .
The only issue I had was at night when my cap was turned around, that
the top of the bottle would sometimes hit my bill. Not a huge issue. For a woman, if her hair is in a pony tail,
it shouldn’t pose a problem with the water bottle in my opinion.
I can honestly recommend this product over lumbar belts
(which can be irritating to bad backs or just frustrating as they want to slide
down) and unless you are going to run many, many miles and need a big bladder
of water or much more storage, this is a good solution. For example, at Veterans Acres, we normally
run loops of 5 to 6 miles and can then refill.
Similarly, at races like Potawatomi, the Aid Stations were close enough
together that a bottle worked fine. For
races in hotter climes or with Aid Stations more infrequent or longer apart,
you might prefer a product with a bladder.
Or, just wait for Orange Mud’s next promised product, which will hold
two bottles!
