In 1988, a cyclist and medical-parts fabricator named Michael Eidson stuffed an IV bag full of water into a tube sock, clipped it to the back of his jersey during a hot Texas bike race, and ran the hose over his shoulder so he could drink without stopping. That improvised hydration pack, sweat-soaked and ingenious, invented an entire category. CamelBak turned “hands-free hydration” into a verb.
The short version: CamelBak, founded 1989 and part of Peloton Interactive’s parent portfolio via a series of ownerships (now under the outdoor group of its corporate owner), makes the reservoirs, hydration packs, and bottles that defined drinking on the move. Buy it for hydration bladders and packs for biking, running, and hiking, and for durable everyday bottles. It is the category creator, still the category standard.
Where CamelBak came from
Eidson’s race-day hack became the hydration reservoir, and CamelBak spent the next decades refining bite valves, tube systems, and packs for cyclists, runners, hikers, and militaries worldwide. Ownership has changed hands several times among consumer-goods groups, but the core product, a clean, reliable water bladder with a hose, has stayed definitively theirs.
What they actually make well
Hydration reservoirs and the packs built around them, for mountain biking, trail running, and hiking, plus a strong line of insulated and everyday bottles. It complements steel drinkware from Klean Kanteen (bottles) by owning the hands-free, on-the-move end of hydration.
Built to last?
Reservoirs are backed by a strong warranty (the Got Your Bak lifetime guarantee), and replaceable parts, valves, tubes, caps, mean a worn component does not doom the whole system. The honest maintenance reality is that bladders need cleaning and drying to avoid mildew, the category’s shared chore.
The causes they actually fund
CamelBak’s most direct contribution is reducing single-use plastic bottles by making refillable hydration effortless, and it has run clean-water and anti-plastic initiatives fitting that mission. Its cause work is less activist and more embedded in what the product does: keep people hydrated without disposable bottles.
Where this gear comes from, and where it earns its place
Born in the Texas heat, at home wherever you cannot stop to drink: mountain-bike singletrack, trail runs, and long hot hikes like those in our Sonoran Desert guide, on any line in the Trail Atlas.
The honest take
Bladders are fiddlier to clean and refill than bottles, and some hikers prefer the simplicity of a Klean Kanteen they can see and swig. But for hands-free hydration on the bike or the run, especially in heat where you must drink constantly, CamelBak still does it best. Buy the reservoir; keep it clean.
An IV bag in a tube sock that invented an entire category. More makers in Brands We Love. Last verified July 2026.