Gear Review: Camelbak Antidote Bladder and Octane 18X Daypack

Day hiking in the desert can be a challenge. I have a hard time packing enough water for a trip without it sitting awkwardly in my pack. With the Octane 18X pack and Antidote bladder from Camelbak, I find this isn’t an issue anymore.

Detail of the stowed drying arms

Camelbak has redesigned their bladder with many features to lighten the load, lower the profile and make the bladder easier to work for the user. The new Antidote Bladder is the result of this redesign. The fill port opening has been enlarged and is easier to close, requiring only a quarter turn to lock the cap in place. The fill port and cap is made from lighter material helping cut the overall weight of the bladder. With the new larger opening of the fill port, it is easier to clean down into the corners by hand. The bladder has an internal baffle to control the height of the filled bladder as well as help prevent excessive sloshing of water. The bladder comes with integrated dryer arms that fold out from around the fill port making it easier to prop the bladder open to dry between uses. The bladder hose is now on a quick connect system meaning the hose can remain on the pack while the bladder is being filled. This quick connect system also integrates with other Camelbak products. Finally, a redesign of the Hydrolock on the Big Bite Valve means it is easier to lock and harder to accidentally unlock.

Pack details when compacted

The Octane 18X pack is a great little pack. The Octane can easily hold the 3 L/100 oz Antidote bladder as they were designed to work together. The back of the pack has a zippered bladder compartment with a centered hose slot and a small cord loop to hang the bladder by its integrated hook. The pack has a large main compartment, two zippered mesh hip belt pockets, one side zippered pocket and expandable mesh pocket on the front. The expandable mesh pocket can be compacted or expanded through a vertical zippered panel. The mesh pocket has an elasticized opening on top with a vertical webbing and buckle compression system. On both sides of the pack is some bungee cord with cordlocks to compress the overall volume of pack moving the center of gravity closer to the back. There are cordlocks, hooks and bungee loops on the front for attaching items such as ice axes or trekking poles to the pack. There are small webbing loops on the top and bottom front of the pack, the bottom one having reflective detailing. The Octane reflective details on the front and back of the pack. The pack has webbing loops on the shoulder straps for the drinking hose, a small mesh pocket on the left shoulder strap and an adjustable sternum strap.

Detail of the fill port opening

The Camelbak Antidote comes in several sizes. We’ve been using the 3 L bladder with the Octane pack for some time now and we’ve been really enjoying the new features.  The bladder alone fits nicely in the hydration sleeve of my other backpacks so I can enjoy it on backpacking trips. The improved fill port opening has been one of the best improvements. Requiring only a quarter turn, it is really easy to open, easy to fill and really easy to make sure it is closed up tight. The fill port has little white dots on the outer edge and the cap has a little arrow. It is very easy to make sure things are lined up correctly while closing the cap.  The opening is also large enough for me to get my hand in all the way to the bottom of the bladder ensuring that the usually hard to reach bottom is also easy to clean.

Detail of the quick release mechanism

My next favorite feature is actually the quick connect system. I really hate having to pull my hose out of the pack simply to add more water. With the new quick connect system, I can disconnect my hose, leaving it connected to the Octane pack and fill up the bladder or even refrigerate it overnight. The quick connect prevents water from leaking out of the bladder, but does not prevent water from leaking out of the hose. I have to make sure I evacuate the hose of water before disconnecting if I don’t want the water to leak out in my pack or on the floor.

Detail of the bite valve and quick release

The bite valve and Ergolock on the Antidote are easy to use. The bite valve has a high flow rate and I find I can suck down quite a bit of water in a short amount of time. I sometimes feel a little bit of water around the lock probably from water getting trapped inside the lock as I open and close it.  This is very evident when the bladder is filled to capacity in a loaded backpack, leaking a little while under pressure.  Once the presure is relieved, the bit of water around the lock disappears. The Ergolock has been redesigned to be easier to use but harder to open accidentally. I’ve found that the lock is easy to work one-handed. I wasn’t that much of a fan of the 90 degree bend for the mouth piece having only used a straight hose and mouth piece. That said, the 90 degree bend hasn’t been bad and as long as I have the hose set on the pack with the bend facing me, the bite valve and hose have been very easy to use.  I do find that the 90 degree bend does sometimes catch on my arm and shirt when I am pulling the pack on and off.

The 3 L volume has been great for some of our trips out in the dessert areas and even on the Appalachian Trail when water sources have been far apart.  When water sources are few and far between, having a large capacity is not a luxury. The internal baffle has been great at keeping the profile down on the bladder and it fits inside the Octane as well as other backpack hydration sleeves very well. I haven’t noticed any sloshing but this is likely more for higher impact sports than backpacking and day hiking. The bladder has a uniform thickness with no one area being thicker than another. This uniform profile hasn’t created any pressure points against my back which other bladders have done in the past on long trips.

The Octane pack is a great companion to the Antidote bladder. They fit well together and the expandable nature of the Octane pack makes it easy to pack for variable weather. We have been hiking up in the mountains where late afternoon storms roll through and so far the unexpanded pack has been able to carry my rain and emergency needs quite nicely. The expandable pocket will really come in handy for cold weather gear once we start needing that. The pack fits and wears quite well whether I have 1 L or 3 L in the bladder.

The Octane 18X pack with Antidote bladder have been a great day pack combination. The Antidote bladder in my backpacking pack has really expanded my capacity without impairing my ability to load up my pack. In fact it has been more comfortable because of the streamlined shape than my previous bladders. Camelbak has done a great job both on the improvements to their bladder as well as designing a great pack to accompany it.

Manufacturer	Camelbak, Inc
Some Features	Improved ergolock and bite valve Quick release drinking hose Internal baffle and streamlined shape Redesigned fill port opening
Weight	2.5 oz (70.9 g)
Price	Bladder only: $35 for 3L (100 oz) size $33 for 2L (70 oz) size $30 for 1.5L (50 oz) size Octane 18X Daypack $90 with 3L (100 oz) bladder

This story was originally posted October 12, 2010.