CamelBak

Posted on April 5, 2019 By Eva Robinson Sport Equipment

About

CamelBak is a name well familiar to the outdoor enthusiasts. Its story of success started out of devotion to water in 1989 thanks to the founder, an outdoor enthusiast himself, Michael Eidson’s participation in a 100 mile bicycle race, better known as Hotter’N Hell Hundred, in Texas.

As an EMT he was well aware of what it means to stay hydrated to make it through such an event, particularly through the heat, and being the innovator he is he turned his IV bag into a hydration bag then put it into a tube sock, pinning it to his jersey with the tube pulled and secured with a clothespin over his shoulder.

This way he could drink on the go, leading to the beginning of hands-free hydration; no reaching for bottles, no collisions. It goes to show why hydration products, like the Thermobak, hydration packs, and the Camelbak Eddy water bottle are the core of the brand. It wasn’t only cyclists’ attention he won over though.

With the start of the Gulf War, US troops made CamelBak products popular in the military world which brought to filling up a new niche and expanding on the market internationally. However, it wasn’t until 1995 when Kransco acquired CamelBak that the military sales went up considerably, particularly with the camouflaged hands-free drinking items.

The year 1999 is when the headquarters of the company moved to Petaluma, Califofrnia. In the upcoming years, there was more success and bigger profits for the brand, especially with the purchase by Bear Stearns Merchant Banking in 2003, followed by Compass Diversified Holdings in 2011, and Vista Outdoor in 2015.

Products

Relying on innovation and the thirst to become the world’s leader of hydration solutions, CamelBak products have gone through many modifications. Yet despite the variety of models and categories, accommodating to the hydration needs of bikers, hikers, walkers, runners, hunters, skiers, snowboarders, soldiers, marines, women and children, the reservoir system comprises of pretty much the same as Eidson’s iconic design.

Hydration

Packs

As mentioned, it all started with the bag, tube and mouthpiece, the three components packs still are based on today, and years later after the innovation was first used, packs are still very much the popular CamelBak products, winning over with their functionality as well as the materials they are made from, such as medical-grade silicone for the valves and polyurethane for the reservoirs.

Bottles

Some changes with the models of bottles in terms of focusing on properties such as easy filling and no dripping, bringing to the production of bite valves that prevent leaks like in the example of Camelbak Eddy water bottle, and giving up the use of BPA certainly led to an increase in sales of this company’s bottle items, particularly their reusable bottles.

Purification and Filtration System

Committing to surpassing contaminated issues, CamelBak have aimed at creating a portable filtration system to allow getting potable water in a minute, relying on the UV technology which brought All Clear to light, followed by the Relay known for its quick filtering, and the MAPS purifier, easy to install and use.

Video Commercials & Ads

Be sure to check out CamelBak’s youtube channel for detailed introduction to their life-changing products, and learn how to clean them properly to make the most of hydration.

Interesting Facts & Events

Few can pride themselves on their products and warranty like this company can. With continuous dedication to provide durability and quality, they offer Got Your Bak lifetime guarantee for all their bottles, packs and accessories.
CamelBak is about giving back to the people and communities, so there are many philanthropic programs they take part in, from donating for safer roads, helping PeopleForBikes, to raising awareness about the suicide epidemic of veterans with the #22Pushups challenge, and mission to save the environment reducing the number of disposable plastics with their #DitchDisposable pledge.
It was daring to experiment that started the CamelBak journey, and they haven’t stopped to this day, with one of their challenges being to get rid of the packs and allow drinking up straight from the bikes, more specifically the frames.
Being the champ on the market means going through extraordinary tests, which is what happened when the DHS (Department of Homeland Security of the US) required a water pack that would survive the fall of a helicopter. The company tested their 70-pound pack dropping it off the top of their fire tower.
Caring about the opinion of customers, CamelBak are more than happy to get suggestions from users, some of which might come off as unusual, like having a product with storage for jet fuel.
Though their customers vary, from outdoor enthusiasts to NASA professionals, the military comprises the biggest part of customer base. Thanks to CamelBak’s immense support, one of their backpacks even made it to London’s Imperial War Museum, due to saving the life of a guardsman in 2011, in the Afghanistan War.