Marvyn+Mary

In my quest to keep Mary and the baby hydrated during her commute to work, I purchased another Camelbak hydration backpack — the Sno Angel. It is much smaller compared to previous Camelbaks I’ve written about here, (Ambush and HAWG MG) but it should be as this backpack was designed specifically for women. Camelbak claims that it was built to fit the contours of a woman’s body compared to the ruggedness of their other models.

The backpack uses the OMEGA™ HydroTanium™ reservoir that holds 72 ounces of liquid. I swapped this out for several reasons.

1.		The bite valve is unprotected. So whatever it brushes up against, you’ll soon be putting it into your mouth when you take a sip. In the image (left) is the comparison between the Hydrolink with cover (left) and the regular big bite valve.
2.		Unlike the OMEGA™ Water Beast reservoirs that I’ve been accustomed to, the tube is directly connected to the reservoir and cannot be easily disconnected. Considering that Mary uses the backpack Monday through Friday, it would be very convenient to store only the reservoir each night in the fridge. The image (left) shows the OMEGA™ HydroTanium™ with the blue tube directly connected to the barb of the reservoir. This is now just a backup reservoir as I use the OMEGA™ Water Beast exclusively.

The storage compartments are rather small. In the lower compartment, Mary can fit her sunglasses case, a pack of gum, and some pregnancy meds. In the upper compartment, which also has the opening to the reservoirs mouth, she can fit her wallet and hand lotion. The backpack isn’t exactly a storage beast, but I don’t want my wife carrying a ton of stuff during her commute.

In addition, I’ve added a pouch from R.E. Load Baggage to make access to her cellphone much more convenient to access.

In conclusion, the backpack does exactly what I need it to do — keep water accessible. Mary also likes to lean back on it during her commute as it acts like a large pillow. Bonus points. The Sno Angel retails at $49.95, but you may be able to find it cheaper as they usually update this model annually.