Camelbak Women's Helena 100 oz

almost perfect
June 21, 2011

When I decided to get a Camelbak, I waffled between the men's Rimrunner, women's Trinity (not featured on Altrec), and this. I liked the specific design for women, and I decided that the carrying capacity wouldn't be too small when I looked at the numbers. After having used it for a couple of weeks, I note that it is very light, and it carries all the things I take to work: laptop (more than enough room for a 10"), book, and small items like sunscreen, pens, sewing kit, wallet, etc. There are some pockets inside, but I prefer to have more at my disposal to keep things organized. However, there are two outside pockets that give me places to put items I need quick access to, like keys. The "sunglasses/media" pocket is a little to small for a pair of shades as well. I typically use it for biking, and it works exceptionally well. It holds more water than I need in a day of biking to/from work, and I anticipate it'll be sufficient for hiking China's Huangshan in August. The S-shaped straps are comfortable, but the mesh material actually scratches my neck, so I have to wear t-shirts until the material is more broken in and less abrasive. All in all, the light weight doesn't seem to detract from the durability of this pack, and I plan to use it as my everyday pack for years to come.

holds up great
August 20, 2009

Love this backpack! I took it on a Philippines backpacking trip for a month as my everyday pack and it was great. Held enough water for long very very hot strenuous hikes. Holds lots of stuff if you need it to and I also use it as my college backpack.