Gear Review: High Sierra Wahoo Hydration Pack

By -

High Sierra Wahoo Hydration Pack Review

Background and design:

When you're on the trail for the day, two of the last things you want to worry about are having enough space to pack what you need and having to find a place to refill your dihydrogen monoxide stock.
Available through Amazon here , this was another Woot! purchase for me. I picked this bag out because I was looking for a larger reservoir after having to stop too frequently to refill my much smaller CamelBak pouch when adventuring.
The bag itself is rated at 14 Liters and can hold a 2 Liter water reservoir. It's not overly large at 18.25"x 9.25"x 7" and weighs in at just under 2 pounds without the bladder.

A view of the pack with the waist band spread
The Wahoo in all of its awesome

One of the many great features of this pack is the pockets on both sides of the waistband, shown above. The pockets are large enough to hold an energy bar or other small items, and the padding on the inside of the waistband is thick enough to keep what you have stored from poking you too much. In addition to the waistband there is also a chest strap to keep your load from shifting around.

The reservoir with the tube insulator in place
The 2 liter reservoir
I am a fan of the High Sierra reservoir design; the top opens all of the way for easy filling and cleaning. And this model comes with a tube insulator, which I have found makes a huge difference, that keeps you from having to suffer through a full tube's worth of sun-heated water.


A carabiner, a High Sierra retainer, and two hook and loop retention places for reservoirs
High Sierra's reservoir retention methods

Another fantastic feature of this pack is the multiple methods to hang your reservoir. It includes a hook, carabiner, and two hook-and-loop methods to secure your water pouch making it compatible with another brand of water reservoir if you are so inclined.

your guess is as good as mine, but it's great to have...
Tire pump slot?
This pack is so chock full of features, I don't even know what this slot is for... let me know in the comments. I've just been using it to hold my writing pens while I ride.


An amply sized front pocket for keys and a wallet
Front pocket
In addition to the nicely sized main compartment there is a front pocket that fits most, if not all, of your everyday-carry accessories easily. And the lanyard hook makes it easy to get to your keys in a hurry.

A nice spot to put a red blinking flasher when adventuring
A spot for a flasher

While I plan to use this pack plenty on short hikes, it is clear that it was made with biking in mind. The above pictured leather strap is perfectly placed to clip on a red flasher for riding at night.

The Wahoo has a slot that comfortably holds a bicycle helmet
Doing what it does best

The most attractive feature by far about this bag to me was that it is designed to hold a standard sized helmet without losing any of its functionality as a backpack and hydration pack. The helmet is held steady in place by adjustable clips, and the compartment can be compressed when not in use.

The Brass of it:

Pros- Bike friendly with a large hydration bladder and a place to stow your helmet when it's not on your head.

Cons- I'll report back as soon as I come across any.

Summation:

If you find yourself looking for a bike friendly adventure bag, you'll be hard pressed to find better than the Wahoo. Its many features and smaller size make it the perfect companion for day hikes and bikes combined. The 2 Liter hydration bladder provides enough water to keep you going through the warmest of those South Texas days and the added feature of having a place to put your helmet instead of leaving it with your bike makes it all the better.

Do you have a favorite adventure bag? Let us know in the comments.

Like our Blog? Then like us on Facebook!

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 17, 2014 at 10:56 PM

    Dustin, your review is very helpful in saving the newbie a great expense with the newbie trial and error in selecting the best equipment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adventures With BeeGeeNovember 18, 2014 at 3:49 PM

    My go to bag for day hikes and mountain biking has been the Camelbak Blowfish. The cool feature, it has a zipper that expands the pack so more goodies can be packed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda JanetteNovember 18, 2014 at 10:53 PM

      Maybe we should have a face-off between the two bags. ;-)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trip Report: Trip to London Part 2

By -
Image
London: Part Deux This is part 2 of our holiday trip to the UK and London in December 2016 and January 2017. Make sure to check out our London trip part 1 and here is a little background info as a reminder: Travel Agency: Go-Today Flight: Delta Airlines Destination Route: Austin to Atlanta to London Return Route: London to New York to Austin Hotel: London House Hotel Day 3 (Continued) So last I wrote, Jarrett and I had returned from Bath and Stonehenge.  It had been a long day, and we were EXHAUSTED. Yeah, that’s right.  I’m a millennial and I capitalized a word, because I cannot put enough emphasis into how exhausted we were, particularly me. After a nice dinner at a tiny Moroccan place near the hotel, Jarrett and I headed back to the hotel for a “nap.” It was too late for us to try to get any tickets to view the celebrations by the Thames; the city limits the amount of people that can attend those celebrations with the fancy fireworks, and you ha...
Read more

Tubing Down the San Marcos River

By -
Image
Tubing Down the San Marcos River Linda here for Adventures with BeeGee. We’ve been adventuring more aggressively since Salkantay. My goal this August is to continue the adventuring while catching up on blog entries to ensure we preserve these great memories. On Saturday, July 20th, Jarrett, a friend of ours, and I went tubing down the San Marcos River. I realized I had been living in Austin for almost four years now and had not done this iconic Hill Country tourist activity. To be honest, we probably had not done it before because I only learned how to swim last year and am not the most comfortable with water. The San Marcos River is relatively shallow and the heat in Texas is unbearable, so if you want to enjoy the outdoors but are uncomfortable with water, this is a great option. The water is initially cold, but once the sun comes out, it starts feeling like a great relief from just laying on your tube. If you’re comfortable with water and swimming, I suggest taking a...
Read more

Trip Report: Sherwood Forest Faire

By -
Image
First Time at Sherwood Forest I have recently been introduced to the fun world of renaissance festivals, so Jack and I took a trip to the Ren Faire in McDade, Texas. Upon arrival, a group of characters were handing out flyers to gain attention for their show, which happened to be called Blunt Force Drama. Once we Jack and I finally made it through the festival gates, Blunt Force was of the first shows running. So of course, we stopped there. The show is a melee fighting tournament mixed with adult humor. The show starts by picking judges from the crowd and then the fighting begins. They even have adult humor commercials while you wait for the next round. I thoroughly enjoyed the fighting and the humor, but some might find it offensive (it was pretty racy). Also, I wouldn't take kids. Once the show finished, we followed Jack's policy of taking a lap around the grounds to see what shops and shows are available. This led me to find some awesome leather armor...
Read more