CamelBak Ares

The CamelBak Ares is a daypack with, of course, a built-in hydration system. The Ares is just the right size for a day hike's worth of gear, school books, or whatever else you might want to tote on your back. 70oz of water will keep you hydrated during your outdoor or urban adventure. The Ares' lumbar support made from EVA foam will wick and dissipate your sweat, minimizing the dreaded wet spot on your lower back. The suspension and contoured back panel were also designed to promote carrying comfort, with a polyethylene frame for stability and Air Mesh for excellent ventilation.

$99.95

Ares
The back frame allows good ventilation if there is a slight breeze during a hike. Comfy and well designed shoulder straps. This is a great pack for hiking, but don't be fooled into thinking you can use this same pack for lugging textbooks around. The curved frame doesn't allow any sort of hard, rectangular items to be packed. Only soft flexible items, such as clothing, work well with the odd interior shape. The curved frame also steals a lot of room, making the pack seem bigger than it really is. Still, it works great for day hikes and surprisingly well for mountain biking. Rugged materials and good craftsmanship make this pack a winner.

Camelbak Ares
The pack was larger than I anticipated, but, I am not disappointed in the least. I also own a Mule and a FlashFlo. Like them, the Ares is well constructed of quality components and materials. It has a (removable) plastic 'frame' or spine arrangement. The pack wears well with or without the spine. Back Country Store (.com) shipped the item quickly, without any hitches. I will, undoubtedly, be a future CamelBak and BackCountryStore.com customer.

Cooooool........
The Camelbak Ares back frame works. The superknit lumbar keeps my back dry. The mesh pads work with the poly back sheet to hold the pack off my back allowing air to flow between the pack and my body. No more chills at the end of a climb or long hike. 70oz of water, my gear (and the extra layer someone else forgot) and stability, I'm down the trail. Catch me!

A daypack and a half
This thing is more than just a daypack. Great size for riding, and for light hiking no matter where you want to go. Holds your gear securely, and keeps all of your load suspended comfortably above your back completely eliminating sweat spots and making you more comfortable than you ever thought possible. Trust me on this one…you’ll completely forget it’s even there after 10 minutes…that is, until you or your buddy needs something that only you had room enough to pack.

Training Tips

When buying a new pair of running shoes, bring your old ones with you. You will get a better fit if you know if you supinate or pronate.

Heart monitors are useful for knowing when you are in the right zone for your training efforts. If you understand what your maximum heart rate is, you can set up your monitor to beep at you when you exceed the high or low range of your heart rate for the type of workout you are doing.

Cross training gives your body a chance to recover while still exercising. If yesterday has a hard run day up and down hills, then today's bicycle ride gives your aching knees a well deserved break.

Anaeroic threshold is when lactic acid starts to build up in your body as your muscles are not getting the oxygen they require. This threshold is typically expressed as a percentage of your VO2 max - the amount of oxygen per kilogram of weight that a person can use in converting fuel to energy. Elite athletes threshold might be as high as 90% of VO2 max.