{"id":9537,"date":"2016-09-29T10:14:33","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T17:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=9537"},"modified":"2018-11-11T21:49:07","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T05:49:07","slug":"gear-review-womens-camelbak-sundowner-hydration-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-review-womens-camelbak-sundowner-hydration-pack","title":{"rendered":"Gear Review: Women&#8217;s CamelBak Sundowner Hydration Pack"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p>Do you ever wish that your daypack carried as well as your full-size pack? So many small packs (less than 25 liters) are little more than glorified rucksacks: a bag with two shoulder straps. Sometimes that\u2019s all you need, but the simplicity is quickly trumped by necessity once you start adding anything of significant weight, such as water. Without compression straps, your load is literally slumped in a pile in a sack on your back. And without a frame or sturdy hipbelt, every ounce of that pile is going straight to your shoulders. My favorite aspects of CamelBak\u2019s new women-specific Sundowner address both of those issues.<\/p>\n<div class=\"curalate-widget\" lang=\"en\" style=\"margin: 0 auto !important; position: relative !important; max-width: 1080px !important;\" data-widget-id=\"KRYjnTpOIcxlyD9rpDQ2wLAKNwx4A68Y\" data-active-product-icon=\"tag\" data-stretch-to-fit=\"true\" data-shop-button-text=\"SHOP\" data-auto-show-products=\"true\" data-replace-tabs=\"false\" data-custom-css-url-override=\"\" data-custom-js-url-override=\"\" data-widget-version=\"v1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"curalate-widget-image\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; border-radius: 3px; max-width: 100% !important; width: 100% !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/d28m5bx785ox17.cloudfront.net\/v1\/img\/q0Vb-E_NjZc_aM5LjeqxsXS9viOSKoX6ZSuP4CQYWlY=\/d\/l\" \/><script class=\"curalate-widget-script\" async=\"\" defer=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/d30bopbxapq94k.cloudfront.net\/js\/curalate-widget-client-all.prod.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>This 22-liter hydration pack will carry everything you need for a full day out in the hills, whether you\u2019re trail hiking, scrambling to the top of craggy peaks or riding a mountain bike. It comes with CamelBak\u2019s new Crux LR reservoir with capacity for three liters (100 ounces) of water. That\u2019s potential for packing some pounds\u20146.5 pounds, in fact\u2014and the Sundowner is ready to handle it.<\/p>\n<p>Designed with a metal frame, the pack transfers weight from your shoulders to your hips where you want it. What\u2019s more, the Sundowner features a special reservoir pocket right behind the lumbar area of the hipbelt with side compression straps that cinch the reservoir up against your lower back. This helps keep your center of gravity low and also helps takes strain off your shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>The last piece of this load-management puzzle is the load lifters on the shoulder straps. I use them all the time on my full-size pack to take pressure off my shoulders, so it\u2019s nice to see them on a smaller frame pack.<\/p>\n<div class=\"curalate-widget\" lang=\"en\" style=\"margin: 0 auto !important; position: relative !important; max-width: 1080px !important;\" data-widget-id=\"WO1ynDLN6MGkultYqvzuiMHZqJ0LDJW0\" data-active-product-icon=\"tag\" data-stretch-to-fit=\"true\" data-shop-button-text=\"SHOP\" data-auto-show-products=\"true\" data-replace-tabs=\"false\" data-custom-css-url-override=\"\" data-custom-js-url-override=\"\" data-widget-version=\"v1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"curalate-widget-image\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; border-radius: 3px; max-width: 100% !important; width: 100% !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/d28m5bx785ox17.cloudfront.net\/v1\/img\/kLtQlsohUUYkr4zuOyaJDu0tuDzl0KXnPnz391rCbQc=\/d\/l\" \/><script class=\"curalate-widget-script\" async=\"\" defer=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/d30bopbxapq94k.cloudfront.net\/js\/curalate-widget-client-all.prod.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>As you\u2019d expect from CamelBak, the pack\u2019s hydration system is topnotch. The hose runs cleanly out from the reservoir and down the shoulder strap. It\u2019s capped with their signature locking bite valve. A unique magnetic tube trap on the shoulder strap keeps the hose accessible while you hike. I found it easier to use and more secure than some other magnetic hose-keepers on the market.<\/p>\n<div class=\"curalate-widget\" lang=\"en\" style=\"margin: 0 auto !important; position: relative !important; max-width: 1080px !important;\" data-widget-id=\"aLxxI33JWtn0dxwa6WDsaGG3C06HVZc3\" data-active-product-icon=\"tag\" data-stretch-to-fit=\"true\" data-shop-button-text=\"SHOP\" data-auto-show-products=\"true\" data-replace-tabs=\"false\" data-custom-css-url-override=\"\" data-custom-js-url-override=\"\" data-widget-version=\"v1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"curalate-widget-image\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; border-radius: 3px; max-width: 100% !important; width: 100% !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/d28m5bx785ox17.cloudfront.net\/v1\/img\/TPiliZlrqzGPtTic-e8Sm2TmCjxLrmhILkeRrfyibK8=\/d\/l\" \/><script class=\"curalate-widget-script\" async=\"\" defer=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/d30bopbxapq94k.cloudfront.net\/js\/curalate-widget-client-all.prod.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>The three-liter reservoir and hose also get their own external access compartment in the pack. For your gear, there are plenty of pockets that keep smaller items from settling to the bottom of your load. My favorites are the rear stuff-it pocket for quick access to my wind jacket and the two hipbelt pockets for snacks or a small camera.<\/p>\n<p>Overall I found the Sundowner to be better than most daypacks on the market today. It\u2019s a useful size at 22 liters\u2014not too big and not too small. Heck, we\u2019ve done overnighters with 25-liter packs and a minimalist kit. The construction appears well done and it should stand up to years of use. The Sundowner is a versatile option for those that want a do-it-all daypack. While trail running and rock climbing wouldn\u2019t be a good fit for this pack, in my opinion, due to the metal frame and bulk, that\u2019s not a dig on the Sundowner, as both of those sports require a certain fit and feature set.<\/p>\n<span class=\"cb-button cb-white cb-normal cb-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-review-mens-camelbak-franconia-hydration-pack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow\">Check out the men&#8217;s CamelBak Franconia gear review here.<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" role=\"presentation\"><path d=\"M16 12a.997.997 0 0 0-.288-.702l-5.005-5.005a1 1 0 0 0-1.414 1.414L13.585 12 9.29 16.295a1 1 0 0 0 1.417 1.412l4.98-4.98A.997.997 0 0 0 16 12z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/a><\/span>\n<p>Shop the women&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/108334\/camelbak-franconia-lr-24-hydration-pack-mens-3-liters\" target=\"_blank\">CamelBak Sundowner LR 22\u00a0hydration pack<\/a>\u00a0and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/108364\/camelbak-crux-lumbar-100-reservoir-3-liters\" target=\"_blank\">CamelBak Crux Lumbar 100 Reservoir &#8211; 3 Liters<\/a> at REI.com.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you ever wish that your daypack carried as well as your full-size pack? So many small packs (less than 25 liters) are little more than glorified rucksacks: a bag with two shoulder straps. Sometimes that\u2019s all you need, but the simplicity is quickly trumped by necessity once you start adding anything of significant weight, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387],"tags":[671,277,8,651],"internal-tag":[559,1673],"class_list":["post-9537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","tag-camelbak","tag-gear-review","tag-hike","tag-women","internal-tag-matt-agnes-hage","internal-tag-pre-redirect-hike"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-review-womens-camelbak-sundowner-hydration-pack","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Gear Review: Women&#8217;s CamelBak Sundowner Hydration Pack","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-review-womens-camelbak-sundowner-hydration-pack","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/gear-review-womens-camelbak-sundowner-hydration-pack"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/09\/AKHK20160608-1482.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/09\/AKHK20160608-1482.jpg?fit=1500%2C929"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["camelbak","gear reviews","hike","women"],"dateCreated":"2016-09-29T17:14:33Z","datePublished":"2016-09-29T17:14:33Z","dateModified":"2018-11-12T05:49:07Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Gear Review: Women&#8217;s CamelBak Sundowner Hydration Pack\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/hike\\\/gear-review-womens-camelbak-sundowner-hydration-pack\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/hike\\\/gear-review-womens-camelbak-sundowner-hydration-pack\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/AKHK20160608-1482.jpg?resize=150%2C150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/AKHK20160608-1482.jpg?fit=1500%2C929\"},\"articleSection\":\"Hike\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Angela Crampton\"}],\"creator\":[\"Angela Crampton\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Uncommon Path \\u2013 An REI Co-op Publication\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"camelbak\",\"gear reviews\",\"hike\",\"women\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2016-09-29T17:14:33Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-29T17:14:33Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-12T05:49:07Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rei.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/09\/AKHK20160608-1482.jpg?fit=1500%2C929","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9537"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20532,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9537\/revisions\/20532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9537"},{"taxonomy":"internal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-tag?post=9537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}