Product Review: Camelbak Octane XCT 2011 Hydration Pack

Jul 20, 2011 by Greg Fowler

Short Version: Highly recommend, very satisfied.  Only downside is fluid getting warm after 1 1/2 -2 hours.

Long Version:Summer training in South Carolina is hot and humid, and I believe I sweat more than average.  I lose 3-4 pounds on 2-3 hour runs.  So, fluid loss is a big concern for me.  During the week, most of my runs are in the neighborhood and are less than an hour.  For these runs, I usually prepare two handheld bottles that hold 8-10 ounces of fluids.  I’ll carry one and put one in the newspaper box and swap it out on a pass by.

For Saturday morning runs that last 2-3 hours, I head out of the neighborhood for a change of scenery.  This makes for a challenge to carry enough fluids for the heat.  For these runs, I normally wear a Fuel Belt with 4 to 6 eight ounce bottles.  The problem with this is that 6 bottles is too heavy and the belt falls down (I’ve lost a few inches in the waist since I stated running!), so I can only go with 4.  Sometimes, I’d stash an additional large water bottle at the neighborhood entrance and refill when I passed by.  Well, this summer as I decided to hit the trails more for Saturday adventures, this meant a challenge for liquids.  I also wanted to carry my phone.

I decided to try a hydration pack, which is a fancy term for water back pack.  After some research, I decided on the Camelbak Octane XCT with their 100 ounce Antidote reservoir.  Camelbak gears this pack toward runners.  They also make hiker and cycle targeted packs in a variety of reservoir sizes – 50, 70 and 100 ounces.  Those versions were prevalent in my local hiking and cycling stores, but I could not find an Octane, so I ordered mine from RunningWarehouse.com with free 2-day shipping.  There were 3 color choices, black, green, and red.  I considered the green, but it was a tad flashy for me.  I figured black was a good safe bet.  My wife liked the red.  So, I went with red.

As promised, I had the pack in the 2 days.  Thumbs up for Running Warehouse.  I spent some time before dinner that night checking out the reservoir system.  The system consists of the reservoir bladder, a tube, and the mouthpiece valve.  The reservoir fill opening is about 4 inches wide and seals into place with a rubber gasket after about a 1/4 turn.

The tube snaps into the bottom of the reservoir and routes up through the pack.  The mouth piece has a open/close valve.  You keep it open and bite down on the mouthpiece  and suck out the fluid.  Pretty simple.  The pack itself has several pockets.  One is a small pocket on the left strap which is a great place for a gel packet or two.  Two zippered pockets are on the waist belt and are fine for cell phones and keys.  Then, the final pocket is in the center of the back.  There is also a bungee cord on the back in the shape of an X, which Camelbak says is a good spot to hold a light jacket.  After dinner, I put in about 30 ounces and went for a 4 mile trail run in the 90 degree heat.

First Impressions

The first thing I noticed was the sloshing noise.  I’m sure the partially-full reservoir compounded this. After a couple of minutes, I stopped noticing it. One concern I had was whether the pack would rub anywhere.  On my first few runs, I did not experience any problems.  There are 5 adjustment points and I was able to work out a proper fit.  On my longest run with it (15 mile trail) it did rub raw places on my hip bones.  I did not notice this until after the run, though.

Another concern I had was how the weight of the pack would affect me.  A full reservoir and pack would weigh 5-7 pounds.  This may not sound like much, but over the course of 2-3 hours this may make my already questionable posture even worse.  I did have some slight soreness in my upper back after the first few runs, but it did not bother me after a week or so. I try to remember to keep good posture.

The Big Test

After a few runs with the pack , I was ready to put it to the real test during the Xterra Harbison Half Marathon.  The course was to have 5 or so aid stations, but I had never done a trail run race or run a race in the July heat soup of South Carolina.  I felt the pack was a good option for this race.  One trick I learned from the Camelback website was to fill the reservoir partially the night before and put it flat in the freezer.  Before heading out for the run the next day, I added a bit more fluid to make my total amount for this run around 64 ounces.  I can remember this because I included 4 Nuun electrolyte tablets in my mixture – 1 per 16 oz.  I ended up drinking about 40  of the 64 ounces.  I probably would have taken in more, had the water not warmed up.  I was still sweating at the end, which to me, meant I kept well-hydrated in the heat.  I believe the electrolytes helped, too. I was very pleased with the pack during the run and barely noticed it was there. I did not notice the rubbed places on my hip bones until after the runs.  I’m not 100% sure how they happened.  Maybe the adjustments came looser than usual and I did not notice.  Test passed.

Final Thoughts

For me this pack is going to be a good option.  It holds enough fluid for me and has just enough room to carry a few things.  Some people may not like the added weight.  Keeping the fluids cool is a challenge, though.  In the future, I will freeze about 90% the night before, instead of the 75% I tried for the half marathon.  The ice was fully thawed and warm in the summer heat after about 2 1/2 hours.  It didn’t help that I had to take it out of the freezer well over an hour before the race.  Also, the water that sits in the tube is always warm on the first swig.  Not much to do about that. Keeping the reservoir clean is going to require some effort, too.  Camelbak sells a $20 cleaning kit to help with this that includes brushes and cleaning tablets.  So far, I have made sure I air it out diligently after use. Overall, I am very satisfied.

 

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Xterra Harbison Half Marathon Race Review

Jul 11, 2011 by Greg Fowler

 

 

Editors Note: This is a review of the 2011 race. I did not run the 2012 race.

This is my first race review.  The Xterra Harbison Half also had a lot of firsts:

• The first Xterra Half Marathon at Harbison State Forest

• My first trail race

• The first time I’d used my New Balance trail shoes for a race

• The first time I’d used a hydration back pack to carry water

• The first time I ran off course in a race

As it can be with first-times, rookie mistakes were made by both me and the race organizers.  Here’s my summary.

Weather

The weather was just as expected for the start of the race – about 75 degrees and very humid, but mostly cloudy.   The dew point was around 75 as well.  There was fog on Lake Murray as I crossed the dam on the way to Harbison.  This made for very uncomfortable conditions.  The map showed we’d have 5 aid stations along the way, but an email from the race director advised runners to also carry their own water.  I was already planning this, having received a Camelbak hydration pack for Father’s Day to use on my longer training runs.  As an added heat precaution, I had tested Nuun electrolyte tablets with my pack in training, and decided to use those as well.  I also carried my own Gu Roctane gels.

The Race: 2:30 Goal

The course seemed pretty tough for me, the novice trail runner.  The starting line was on a two lane gravel road, and we ran about 1/4 mile uphill before hitting the woods.  I knew the first 4-5 miles were “2 lane” trails, so I was hoping by the time we hit the woods, the field would have settled into its natural order, so much passing would not be needed.  This actually seemed to happen pretty well.  I didn’t have to pass too many people on the trail, and I don’t think I held up too many. So these first 4-5 miles went OK but seemed too fast a pace.  My GPS watch was not tracking properly due to the tree cover and terrain.  What I thought were 10:00 mile splits early were actually closer to 9:00.   By the time we got to the Spider Woman II “one lane” trail, somewhere between miles 4 and 5, we had a small group that was making good progress, but really not needing to pass.  This was good since this section was basically single file.  And, as expected, this 3 mile section was the toughest.  Being in a small group here seemed to push the pace, and I think we covered that section around a 10:00 pace.  At the end of that section, I was wishing the race was a 10K, but I still had 5+ miles to go.  At this point, the running got pretty lonely.  The pack that had stayed together through the tough section  started to spread out.  Occasionally, I’d come up on another runner, and we’d hang together for a bit, talking about humidity, GPS watches or hydration packs.  One man that I ran with a bit fell twice.  He seemed OK, but I eventually moved on past him.  About mile 11, we hit the last aid station, and I was looking forward to  finishing.  The station here gave us a cold wet rag for our faces and it felt great. I dumped ice water on my head and soaked my Buff head cover.  I knew my GPS had been acting up, but at this point, I knew I could make my goal of 2:30, if I just kept steady.

Bonus Miles

By now, I was occasionally (OK, almost always) walking up hills. I didn’t think this last section was  going to be  too difficult, terrain-wise, but my feet were developing  hot spots so I was ready to get this over with.  Unfortunately, this is where the day turn a wrong turn – or rather a missed turn.  Around mile 11.5 or so, we were supposed to hang a right to go back toward the start/finish line. At this point there were a couple of red arrow signs, one seemed to be pointing right, and the other seemed to be pointing straight.  The group of 5 or so that I was tailing went straight, and I followed.  Unfortunately, we were supposed to turn right.  After a mile, I realized the mistake and turned around. I met others who had done the same thing as our group, and they turned around.  When we made it back to the turn, there was a race official there.  Too bad he was not there 30 minutes before hand!  At this point, my feet and I just wanted to get this behind us.  I did a walk/run the last 1.5 miles and made it to the finish about the 2:48 mark.  I’m not sure of my official time because as of Monday night, I cannot find any official results posted.  At the end of the day,  I had run an extra 2 miles. My overall pace per mile was about 11:20, which means I would have been in the 2:25 neighborhood for the official 13.1.

Post Race

As I crossed the line, someone handed me a bottle of water. I’m glad he did.  The previous finishers and/or 5K finishers seemed to have completely drained all the water and Gatorade from the gazebo refreshment area.  One poor guy was not doing well and in need of water, but he could find any.  I didn’t see any one ready to offer first-aid, either.  There were some bagel quarters and cookies, but any fruit was gone.  I saw lots of orange peels but no oranges.  Not the best post-race spread.

One of the guys in the pack that missed the turn (and did not turn around with me) saw me, and said he eventually saw a truck and hitched a ride back to the finish once they realized how off course they had become.

Final Thoughts

I made a few mistakes, as mentioned. I probably ran too fast the first half of the race (as usual).  I also should have had the course map with me.  This being my first trail race, I did not know what to expect for course markings. On the positive side, my hydration pack with electrolytes was a smart move.  I did not get terribly dehydrated, despite the humid conditions.  Also, this was the longest run in the New Balance trail shoes and they did very well.

I’m sure the race organizers will get a lot of negative feedback, so I’m not going to slam them too bad here.  After all, I did not volunteer to help.   Thanks to Marathon Majic and Xterra for putting this on. This was the first time for this event, and there is always room for improvement. I am glad people are organizing events.  Organizing races is a tough endeavor, and trail run logistics look even worse than road races.  So, I expected some first time miscues.  Here are my suggestions for next time:

1. Work out something with the park to include the parking fee in the registration fee.  It is only $5.  The big problem with this was the car line it created at the drop box.  Many people did not heed the advice to have the slip filled out before hand.  The organizers did advise to fill this out before hand, but some did not listen.  Just try to eliminate this part.

2. Better course markings. Again, trail logistics are extremely tough, and I don’t know how others do it, but the small signs for 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 were too small.  I don’t remember seeing 5 or 9, actually.  Also, many of the white markers hanging from the trees fell.  Not sure if runners were pulling or they fell on their own.  Also, a couple of place could have benefited from an arrow instead of or in addition to the small landscaping flags.

3. Make sure enough post race refreshments are available. Already commented on this above.

4.  Different Color t-shirt for different length race.  The technical tees were a nice touch.  I liked the volunteer’s bright yellow color.  The other was white for both 5K and Half.  Do something to distinguish half shirts from 5K shirts.

I can’t say for sure I’ll be back next year.  If I don’t, it will be heat related, not organizer related.  Maybe I’ll volunteer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POFIFOTO!

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