Hydrapak AS Team
By Jon Sharp

Sometimes, I go for short rides. I don't like to admit that much, because I like to maintain the illusion that I'm always on my bike—riding from day-break to sunset. Unfortunately, there are times when I just don't have the time for a longer ride. As a consequence, many times, I'm lugging around a large hydration pack—succeeding only in weighing myself down needlessly. Although we found a great large pack in the Big Sur, by Hydrapak, we decided to try their AS Team, a small pack. In fact, as the name implies, this is a pack made for racing.

The most glaringly obvious feature of the AS Team is the customizable cover. On the Hydrapak website, there are a few examples of team designs and a few colorful, yet logo-less designs. Just looking at the website, however, left me with no idea as to how the whole system works. Therefore, I will attempt to explain that here. The AS Team pack is black. All black. The vibrant color is actually sublimated lycra with a zipper around the edge. Get it now? Yes, the zipper, which zips around both sides and the bottom of the pack, attaches the beautiful cover to the pack—thus hiding the boring black that is the pack's natural state. Not only does this make keeping your pack (and team colors) clean easy, but it provides a naturally stretchy pouch that can be used to extend the volume of the pack in a pinch. Just as lycra jerseys stretch to fit the extra doughnuts you've been eating lately, the lycra panel will stretch to fit many extra items you might decide you "need" to bring along.

Another feature that makes the AS Team so great for racing is its small size. It is actually designed to sit high enough on your back to afford access to the rear pockets of a standard jersey. Why is this useful for racing? Well, if you are in a hurry, it is much faster to grab a tool, energy bar, or spare tube from your jersey pocket, than it is to swing your pack around and hunt for it. Because it sits so high, there is no waist belt. The AS Team is kept in place by cinching the shoulder and sternum straps tight. As for keeping you cool, the back of the pack is formed—presumably with hard plastic—so as to keep it off the wearer's back. Only four dense corner pads contact your body. Although this might sound uncomfortable, remember that this pack is light, so lots of padding and surface area isn't as important for comfort. The end result is that the AS Team sits almost a whole inch off your back—independent of how full the pack has been stuffed. Therefore, ventilation is incredible.

I really love the AS Team. At 1lb 1oz, it is very light. By keeping it high on my back, it stays put and doesn't get in the way. I actually really found it quite useful to keep certain items in my jersey, instead of in the pack. What little space there is inside the pack is well organized with small zippered mesh pockets. As with the Big Sur, we love the bite valve and the ease of cleaning the AS Team's reversible reservoir, but disliked the nasty taste when water was left in the bladder more than half a day. If you buy this pack, remember to clean it often and never store water in it.

Summary: The AS Team is not only a great team pack, but it makes a great pack for shorter rides. If you're on your bike all day, this won't hold enough water—though, that can always be supplemented with water bottles. It is comfortable and light. MSRP is 69.99USD. The back panel is held open and allows for some of the best ventilation I've ever experienced in a hydration pack. Not only is there room for the essentials (inside it holds 160 cu. in.), but the colorful lycra cover is a great expandable emergency store. That coupled with a good three-pocket jersey should give you room for more than you really need, but probably not enough room for that jelly doughnut.

Jon Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com.

For more information, contact:
Hydrapak, Inc.
info@hydrapak.com