OR - Camelbak Spire 22 LR Backpack - Kathy Waters

CAMELBAK SPIRE 22 LR BACKPACK   

 

CamelBak Logo 

 

BY KATHLEEN WATERS

May 26, 2015   

 OWNER REVIEW   

 

 

  

 

TESTER INFORMATION   

 

NAME:    Kathleen Waters   

 EMAIL:    kathy at backpackgeartest dot com   

 AGE:    64   

 LOCATION:    Canon City, Colorado, USA   

 GENDER:    F   

 HEIGHT:    5' 4" (1.60 m)   

 WEIGHT:    125 lb (56.70 kg)   

 

Living in Colorado and being self-employed, I have ample opportunities to
backpack. There are over 700,000 acres/280,000 hectares of public land
bordering my 71-acre/29-hectare "backyard" in addition to all the other
gorgeous locations which abound in Colorado. Over the past 15 years, my
husband John and I have also had the good fortune to hike/snowshoe glaciers,
rain forests, mountains and deserts in exotic locations, including New
Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, Slovenia and Death Valley. My hiking style is
comfortable, aiming for lightweight. I use a tent (rainfly if needed).
Current pack averages 25 lb (11 kg) excluding food and water.  

 

PRODUCT INFORMATION   

Dear Editors,

 

Lunch break OR - text is below and HTML is in the test folder at
http://tinyurl.com/pn7x97n

 

Thank you for all the work you all put in to make these reports look good!

Kathy

________________________________

 

Manufacturer: CamelBak, Inc.

Year of Manufacture: 2014

Manufacturer's Website: http://www.camelbak.com

MSRP: US $150.00

Listed Weight: 2 lb 8 oz (1.13 kg) - pack only

Measured Weight: 2 lb 10 oz (1.19 g) - pack only

Colors Available: GRAPHITE/BRIGHT FUCHSIA, CHERRY/TOMATO SAMBA

Color Reviewed: Cherry/Tomato Samba

Sizes Available: One Size

Listed Hydration Capacity: 100 oz / 3 L Lumbar Reservoir

Listed Total Capacity: 1160 cu in / 19L + 3L Reservoir

Listed Dimensions: 23.5 X 11 X 8 in / 57 x 28 x 20 cm

Listed Torso Length: 19 in / 48 cm

My Torso Length: 19 in / 48 cm

 

Descriptions/Features: <.em>

 

* Fabric: 70D Diamond Box Rip with DWR + 1000mm PU

* Materials: Independent SuspensionT with perforated foam and SliderT
Sternum Strap

* AntidoteR Lumbar Reservoir with Quick LinkT System  

Spire Backpack in Breckenridge 

Day Hike in Breckenridge, CO on the Quandary Peak Trail 

 

 

 

FIELD USE AND PERFORMANCE   

 

Over the winter months, I continued to backpack/hike and snowshoe as much as
possible. I spent most of my time in the south central region of Colorado
that I can home. Mostly, I hiked in the mountains of Fremont County,
including the Wet, Fremont and Cooper Mountain ranges. This area's terrain
runs the gamut of evergreen forests, to grassy plains to high desert rock
and dirt/mud (as the moisture or lack thereof dictates).

 

I also spent some time snowshoeing in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and a
wonderful week in the snow in Twin Lakes, Colorado, snowshoeing in and
around the Colorado Trail. I also spent two wonderful weeks in early
November 2014 in Breckenridge, Colorado, exploring trails there on day
hikes. These three areas are environmentally similar to my usual haunts but
had way, way more snow.

 

It's been a strange year for weather, so early on, winter was mild but
snowy; then it became very bitter cold and snowy, to mild temperatures, to
downright warm. All this in the time span of November 2014 to March 2015. As
I write this, it's early May 2015 and it's been raining almost every day for
the past two weeks and I'm back to wearing long-sleeved base layers along
with wind and rain jackets! Wacky Weather!

 

Over these 6 months, I estimate I've covered 200 miles (320 km)
hiking/snowshoeing and walking while wearing the Camelbak Spire 22 LR
Backpack and that doesn't count the number of hours/miles I spent wearing
the backpack on my treadmill during "training" sessions. But of course on
the treadmill, there was little wear and tear on the backpack from the
elements, though I did carry 20 lb (9 kg) worth of weight in the pack! This
is a day pack, so I never used it on overnights. Even with summer time gear,
it would not be large enough for my usage backpacking.

 

OK, let me get it out right up front. The best thing about this Camelbak
Spire 22 LR Daypack is the lumbar (more horizontal than vertical) placement
of the included 3 L (100 oz) water bladder! It's fantastic in my humble
opinion and I can't believe it took so long for me to have a pack with this
feature! Having the water bladder more sideways across my lower back,
resting more on my hips is wonderful! This is so much more stable than the
usual, down-the- middle-of-the-pack standard placement of most day and
backpacks. No more shifting of sloshing water back and forth while on the
trail. The sloshing water isn't noticeable at all when it's cradled at the
bottom of the pack. And it's so much easier to pack my stuff in when I'm not
bothered by the big bulge in the middle of the pack. Very nice!

 

Also of note is how the bladder is accessed. Access to the bladder is
through a zippered panel on the outside or the pack rather than the usual
slide-in pouch in the interior of the pack. Not only does that make it so
much easier to fill when the pack is already - well - packed, but it keeps
water leakage, it I didn't tighten things up properly, away from the main
compartment much better. The hydration tube, threads into the main
compartment from the bladder and out through a port on the right top side of
the pack where I can thread it down through a loop on the right shoulder
strap and then there is a plastic clip to keep the mouthpiece handy but out
of my way.

 

 

 

Reservoir Compartment 

Reservoir Compartment 

 

Antidote Reservoir 

ANTIDOTE Reservoir 

 

 

The Spire comes with Camelbak's ANTIDOTER Reservoir which I've used before
and as with my other Camelbak ANTIDOTER bladders, I find the fill cap easy
to open and close with just a slight turn. And because of the wide mouth of
the fill camp, the ANTIDOTER is very easy to clean. Most of the time I have
plain water in it (I carry water with energy supplements in the 1 L
bottles), so I just rinse out the bladder, tubing and bite valve and hang up
in the laundry room to dry on a specially bent wire hanger which keeps the
bladder open to dry completely. Every once in a while, when I think of it, I
add a little chlorine bleach to the wash water. To date, I have not had any
nasty taste in my drinking water fresh from the ANTIDOTER bladder.

 

The second best thing about the Camelback Spire is how it fits me. The Spire
is women-specific, so the frame is a bit smaller with a harness system that
keeps the pack closer to my body, but with a mesh panel that flexes outward
a bit to permit air flow across my back. There are times when the wind is
blowing hard, that I can actually feel a cooling across my back which is
usually most welcome as I tend to get very sweaty when hiking no matter what
the season or temperature. 

 

 

Mesh Back of Spire 22 LR 

More Mesh = More Cooling! 

 

Open mesh shoulder straps 

Open Mesh Shoulder Straps for Cooling 

 

 

Also, because the Spire is women-specific, the sternum strap is comfortably
place to accommodate my bustling and even has about a 2 inch (5 cm) up and
down "slide" for perfect adjustment. With the proper tightening of the
sternum strap I am able to achieve the proper placement of the shoulder
straps for maximum support and preventing slipping shoulder straps.

 

Thankfully, Camelbak has outfitted the waistbelt for a woman as well, with a
sufficiently large, but not too large waistbelt and - glory alleluia -
adjustment straps that can be cinched in tight enough for me. While I still
have about 12 inches (30 cm) of dangling straps, usually, even pulled to the
tightest end, waistbelts are too loose for my comfort! Thanks, Camelbak! 

 

There is no shortage of storage space in the Spire 22 LR! It is outfitted
with a large main compartment, a convenient good-sized (easily stash my hats
and gloves there) top compartment, two side water bottle holders and a small
(barely big enough for an energy bar) waistbelt pocket for stuffing and
stashing. Great for an organization nut like me to keep everything in its
place. There is even a stretchy pouch secured by a buckle on the back of the
pack just for me to cram in tat last minute fleece, just in case. Lastly,
there are two interior zippered pockets, one in the top compartment and one
in the main compartment. The one in the top, I usually use for ID, some cash
and my credit cards - hey, never leave home without it! The larger pocket in
the main compartment is mesh and I like to keep an extra pair of glasses and
my sunglasses when not in use, there.

 

Let's see. What do I have in my typical winter day pack besides the three
liters of water in the wonderfully placed lumbar water bladder?

 

There's the typical list

1.) an extra pair of socks - I hate cold, wet feet

2.) the down vest that I took off when I got sweaty climbing that steep
trail

3.) ditto, the fleece hat, the heavy gloves - liners are good enough on most
treks

4.) the hard shell jacket I stashed in case of wet snow/rain/heavy winds &
the wind pants

5.) two 1- L water bottles

6.) food - bars, gels, etc. (hubby's in charge of the stove, fuel canister,
kitchen utensils)

7.) headlamp

8.) digital camera & extra (2) batteries

9.) extra "hotties" hot packs

10.) extra lip balm & sunscreen

11.) space blanket for emergencies

12.) pocket knife

13.) notepad & pen

14.) crampons when not on my boots - never know when they will be needed

15.) small folding camp chair - Big Agnes Helinox One

16.) extra prescription glasses

 

This whole kit and caboodle generally weighs in at 20-25 lb (9-11 kg) and
the volume fluctuates according to the weather conditions. Sometimes, the
Spire is pretty empty at the beginning of a trek because I am wearing most
of the clothing that eventually I shed on the trail and stuff into the pack.
By the middle of the day, the Spire is looking pretty full, only for the
reverse to be put in play on the way back to the trailhead as the sun goes
down and it starts to cool down. The Spire is well constructed with various
compression straps so I am never feeling like I have a flapping pack on my
back. 

 

After these 6 months, the Camelbak Spire 22 LR is still in great shape. I
haven't seen any signs of wear on the pack and what little dirt - remember,
most of my time outdoors was on snowshoes! - there was, I was able to clean
off with just a bit of bar face soap and warm water. When not in use, I keep
the Spire hung up in my basement gear closet hanging from its handy top
"hang" loop.  

 

STARRING ATTRACTIONS   

 

1.) Love, Love, Love the lumbar hydration bladder.

2.) Large capacity hydration bladder.

3.) Framesheet keeps my back drier.

4.) Side pockets allow me to store my largest water bottles (Camelbak Chute)
easily.  

 

MINOR DISTRACTIONS   

 

1.) Nothing yet.  

 

SUMMARY   

 

I don't generally gush about a daypack, but the Camelbak Spire 22 LR
Backpack is going to be an exception. This pack is a GREAT pack for day
hiking! The lumbar water bladder pouch just makes so much of a difference
that even if the pack were mediocre in all other aspects it would still be a
stand-out daypack. But the Spire is not lacking in any other department that
I can see. The Spire is a standout backpack! I love the color, the way it
fits, the comfortable waistbelt and sternum strap. I love everything about
it! Okay, I'm gushing! Do I recommend the Spire 22 LR? You betcha! I only
wish all my multi-day packs had lumbar water bladder pouches! (Hint, Hint!)

 

Kathleen (Kathy) Waters