Hydration Packs for Walking Women

Get one while you can! My beloved Pixie has been discontinued. All of my walking buddies bought one, and we had to embroider our names on them to tell them apart. You can wear it as either a backpack or a sling bag. It's perfect for walks of 2 hours or less before refilling. The 1 liter/35 oz. Omega hydration bladder carries as much water as you would with 1 to 2 water bottles. This bladder has a wide mouth, making it easy to fill and clean. It has one large zippered compartment, big enough for a book or jacket, and a smaller outer-zippered organizer compartment for other essentials. The only drawbacks were that it was not the least bit water resistant and it doesn't have a bungee cord for attaching a jacket.

The pack I found that is most similar to the Pixie is the REI Squirt. While it is designed for children, it works well for women who have a short torso. Like the Pixie, it has a larger main compartment and a smaller outer organizer compartment. It also has two outer mesh pockets, which you can use for items you want to get to quickly. The 1 liter/35 ounce hydration bladder is the same size as the Pixie's. This one, by Nalgene, has an easy-to-open wide-mouthed cap with a cogwheel design. The Pixie lacked a waistbelt or sternum strap, while the Squirt has both. You can choose to use them or remove them.

The Camelbak Slipstream seemed to meet most of my criteria. It has a moderately sized outer-zippered pocket that opens from the top. A flap covers the reservoir cap and stuff pockets that could hold a hat or lightweight jacket when you remove layers. The reservoir is 50 ounces, about the same as two large water bottles. The crisis came, though, when I tried it on. The strap adjustment clasps hit right at where my upper arm grazed past my chest, meaning that they will rub against those clasps with every arm motion. As this pack was designed for bikers, bikers wouldn't have the same problem. Walkers, though, need the clasps placed at the lower strap attachment to the bag.

The Camelbak Magic has a bigger hydration bladder than I generally need -- 70 ounces. That makes it good for a long walk, where you won't be able to refill your hydration bladder. Camelbak is now making its reservoirs external-fill, so you don't have to remove the hydration bladder to fill it and then try to stuff it back into its pocket. But you can also get your whole pack wet when refilling from a water fountain. The Magic has a top organizer pocket with a cord port, perfect for you iPod, cell phone, keys and money. It also has a two-compartment zippered outer pocket, but these zip and unzip vertically; this makes me worry I'll be spilling stuff on to the ground. A large stash pocket is useful for hat, gloves and so on.

The Camelbak Dream also has a 72-ounce reservoir, bigger than I need. It is designed for women. I have issues with its cargo design, which probably also works for cyclists but not for walkers. The two zippered pockets both open vertically. I see that as a recipe for disaster in my essentials (cell phone and iPod) tumbling out. The pockets have a mesh organizer and key clip, but I'm too much of a klutz to trust those. I like the outer bungee cord for attaching my jacket or hat once I've warmed up.

The only thing wrong with this pack is that it is huge. It's great if you are going for a long day hike and need to remove or add layers of clothing or carry your lunch, but it's overkill for a 1 to 2 hour fitness walk. I bought one a couple of years ago, and it sits unused in my closet. The Cloud Walker holds 2 liters of water in its hydration bladder. The waist strap and sternum strap are removable. Large- and- small-zippered cargo compartments let you carry most anything you want along or latch items to the pack with the built-in bungee cord.

The Flashflo is a waistpack rather than a backpack. It carries 45 ounces of water -- as much as in two large water bottles. You sip the water through a tube that hooks to the waistbelt. The small cargo pocket holds your keys, ID and an energy bar -- but not much else. It has reflective stripes. Like the Cloud Walker, I bought one a few years ago, and it sits unused. The advantage of a sucker tube is for it to be right there on your shoulder, and I never could figure out how to position it from a waistpack.