Osprey offers a few styles of hydration packs, with the Raptor series being tailored towards bikers and trail runners. The Raptor packs feature a lightweight Airscape suspension for support and ventilation, and a BioStretch hipbelt and sternum strap.
At the rear of the pack is a dedicated zippered hydration compartment that holds the included HydraForm reservoir. The Raptor 10, 14, and 18 packs all come with a 3.0L bladder, and the Raptor 6 is built to accommodate its 2.0L one.
There are a few things I find appealing about Osprey’s HydraForm reservoir, which was designed in cooperation with Nalgene. First, the bladder has a rigid sleeve, which should make it MUCH easier to slip into a pack than other brands’ bladders which always seem to bunch up and bulge.
Second, the bite-valve also seems to be well designed, with a 180° pivoting bite valve. The base of the bite valve makes with a magnet built into the Raptor packs’ sternum strap for quicker retrieval when in motion.
The Raptor 10 seems to be perfectly sized for casual biking and mountain biking outings. Its main compartment has a few tool organization sleeves and mesh pouches.
Osprey’s Raptor 10 packs are priced at about $90-100. The reason I’m mentioning it now is because they’re currently ~$70 via Amazon (grey color) and via Altrec on Amazon (all colors). Be sure to check out Osprey’s sizing guide to determine whether small-medium or medium-large is best for you.
Osprey Raptor 10 Hydration Packs via Amazon
Product Info via Osprey
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