Btwin 902 Hydration Pack Review
Keeping yourself hydrated is extremely important when riding a motorcycle for long distances. Dehydration causes fatigue and dizziness which can lead to loss of concentration and alertness. When riding in a group, people usually don’t like to stop to drink water and hold up everyone else. So they unwisely continue riding in a dehydrated state and put themselves and others at risk. The solution is to use a hydration pack so that you can take a sip of water whenever you feel like instead of riding thirsty and then gulping down a litre of water whenever the group decides to stop for rest.
A 1.5 litre small size hydration pack usually does the trick for normal day long rides and I have one of those. But I found it lacking on trail rides through jungles that go on for hours without any chance of refilling the bladder of the hydration pack. So I got myself a 3 litre Btwin 920 hydration pack from the Decathlon store in Hubli. It’s quite large in size and has a volume of 19 litres. Which means I can even store my air compressor, puncture repair kit and medical kit if I want. I don’t do that because its a bad idea to have large hard things strapped to your back when riding a motorcycle. In case of a fall they could do severe damage to your back. I usually stuff just my raincoat in the storage part of the hydration pack.
The folks at Btwin understand the risk of storing things in a hydration pack and have added a back protector to their 902 hydration pack. A back protector needs to be secured firmly to your back. That is achieved by means of a waist belt. So if you fall and roll over the hydration pack stays attached to your back and doesn’t swing all over the place.
On my recent ride around Mongolia I had a fall while climbing a hill and landed squarely on my back. The back protector did its job well and I didn’t feel a thing. The fact that my hydration pack had around two litres of water cushioned the blow to my back even more.
The Btwin 902 hydration pack isn’t waterproof and it comes with a rain cover. It has quite a few neat features. One really nice thing I liked about this product is the provision to mount an action camera on your chest. I don’t need to wear my GoPro chesty harness any more as I’ve stuck a GoPro mount to the buckle holder of my hydration pack itself.
I think this is a well designed and thought out product. Highly recommended.
Product Link: http://www.btwin.com/en/cycling-hydration/mountain-bike-hydration-pack/19673-920-hydration-pack-red.html
