Review Date
March 1, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: RichardG ,  Backpacker

Price Paid:  $69.00 at Northern Mountain Su

Summary:
A really great pack. I bought the military model, which comes with an insulation sleeve and has a larger gear section, making this a terrific day pack for hiking and skiing. Good tight fit with waist and sternum straps; I'm thinking about trying to add abackpack-like belt. Rugged and functional product

Customer Service:
I was disappointed with a lackadaisical about insulation for an older Camelbak.

Similar Products Used:
Platypus

Review Date
December 4, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: gbr3000(Unregistered User) ,  Climber , from Michigan

Price Paid:  $76.00 at E-Bay

Summary:
I do mostly climbing, adventure racing and mtn biking. This is the ultimate in light weight and amount of availible space. Can hold 2 100oz reservoirs and enough gear for long days out. I wouldnt trade it for anything. For shorter days, the compression straps will let your size it down to whatever size fits the outting, holds food, gears, clothes, whatever. Its great. The comment about the waist strap being unpadded, the pack was made for mountain bikers such as myself with the long ride in mind, not much weight is placed on the waist when your riding. At any rate the strap there does a great job, the pack wasnt meant to be a hard core day pack or overnighter. There are several larger models for such activities that camelbak offers.

Customer Service:
Put in an order for another 100oz res. came within a week. good service

Similar Products Used:
Random low-end packs. water bottles.

Review Date
October 8, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: Richard (Unregistered User) ,  Day Hiker

Price Paid:  $100.00

Summary:
Outstanding product! I used it for a four day trip on the Inca Trail as a daypack. (There were porters for tents and so on.) Between the 3L water capacity and the ample, but not so much that you will overload it and hurt yourself, storage, I could not have been happier. It easily carried my flece and shell when the temperature rose, but compressed down well to hold only water and snacks at altitude. As for the waist straps being meager, they are, but for a bag that pretty much maxes out at 12 lbs and is designed to keep you moving, that is ideal. If I had to deal with thicker waist straps not only would there have been more weight, but it would have hampered my motion on the trail.

Review Date
July 8, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: shadss(Unregistered User) ,  Mountaineer , from SLC, UT

Price Paid:  $80.00 at Wasach Touring

Summary:
I’ve had my Camelbak HAWG for over five years and I just purchased my wife a HAWG earlier this year. I’m a little jealous of her newer model. It’s pretty nice. In either case the HAWG has been a terrific hydration pack. I have had no problems whatsoever. One of the previous reviewer complained that the waist belt isn’t weight bearing, but it’s not suppose to be. This model of Camelbak was made primarily for biking, and if your waist strap were load bearing it would make biking very difficult. If you’re looking for a pack that is versatile enough to support you from biking to snowboarding, this is it. If you just want a daypack for hiking, look into some other Camelbak models that better suit your activities

Customer Service:
never needed

Similar Products Used:
Platypus (sp)

Review Date
June 5, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: kenyee(Unregistered User) ,  Day Hiker

Price Paid:  $80.00 at REI

Summary:
Great pack. Just big enough to carry what you need on a day hike (but not too big to prevent you from overpacking ;-)
Also used roadbiking and it's not too big either. Lots of little pockets to put stuff into, like: 2 FRS radios, space blanket, first aid kit, knee support, extra shirt/socks. If you carry a spare jacket for those chilier hikes, you have to strap it to the pack, but there are straps on the outside for it.
I have a 2001 pack. Wish they switched to the Omega mouth reservoirs sooner (2002)-:
Lots more comfortable than EMS packs.

Similar Products Used:
EMS day pack