SUP Training with Michael Booth - Hydration Packs

USWE Zulo, Camelbak Repack, Silva Race Belt

After the initial, cold start to March the rest of the month was uneventful and, occasionally warm.

This left me lacking in inspiration for a SUP Training Blog so, instead here are the March stats and then, a SUP Hydration Pack mini-review.

Much colder than it looks! 

March was cold, there is no escaping that fact and cold water is not fast water so my initial disappointment with my 5km time trial was tempered by that fact. It was, however, significantly faster than my 2023 TT so maybe things are moving in the right direction. Only warmer water and fewer excuses will tell! On the plus side, I did paddle a lot further than I did in March 2023.

2024 Stats

	Jan	Feb	March	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
KM	12.96	120.71	230.88
Weight	101.4	97.3	98.3	98.2
VO2 Max	49	50	48	49
Resting HR	54	52	53	53
HRV	45	48	50	47
Training load	434	804	1402	942
5km	N/A	33m 47s	32m 33s
10km	N/A	1h 7m 29s	1h 11m 23s

and to contrast here is 2023:

2023 Stats

	Jan	Feb	March	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
KM	208.69	122.34	152.94	273.27	260.77	248.81	200.4	225.94	155.90	184.02	222.03	135.03
Weight	98 kg	96.1kg	96.3	98.7	98	94.9	97.1	95.1	96.0	94.9	98.4	99.3
VO2 Max	46	47	47	46	46	47	47	47	46	48	48	48
Resting HR	54 bpm	50 bpm	50	55	52	50	49	49	52	51	51	53
HRV	N/A	48	48	45	50	54	54	56	46	46	44	45
Training load	N/A	851	161	723	963	928	913	1001	615	1173	242	170
5km	38m 18s	N/A	33m 21s	33m 7s	32m 45s	30m 33s	N/A	32m 25s	N/A	31m 57s	32m 40s	N/A
10km	1h 9m 47s	1h 8m 44s	1h 15m 55s	1h 10m 13s	1h 11m 7s	1h 3m 10s	N/A	1h 2m 59s	1h 4m 8s	1h 4m 55s	N/A	1h 16m  44s

SUP Hydration Pack Mini Review

If you follow my blog you might remember that I got hold of a USWE Zulo 2l waist pack last year, and it’s great! What you won’t know is that a week before USWE got in touch I bought a Camelbak Repack and had used it once before the bright yellow pack took it’s place. Now, like busses on a weird timetable, I find another waist park in my kit box, the Silva Race Belt 4l so here is my first, independent, group test. Caution, this is a long blog! 

Why a waist hydration pack?

Camelbak, pads and enthusiasm in Spain. 

I have a long history of using Camelbaks from my days as a mountain biker, I was an early adopter of the original HAWG and used that red and grey pack for years supplemented with smaller packs for shorter days out until I updated to a pack with better external storage for pads - a Havoc. 

When SUP took over I bought a Camelbak Baja pack, sadly no longer available, and it worked well but I found that for paddling a bag on my back was less than ideal, so I swapped back to water bottles and created the best SUP water bottle holder in the world. 

The best SUP Water Bottle holder in the world! 

For longer trips, I would bring a big Platypus bag of water (in a dry back on deck with my food and coffee) and top up my easy-access bottle until I found Hydro Holders.

Then I started to train with Boothy and, after stopping a session to retrieve an over-board bottle he suggested I invest in a waist pack. 

So here we are 9 months later with three! In 9 months I think I have learned a little about the advantages, and disadvantages of waist-mounted systems. And I hope that will be informative!

Advantages

• Hydration is much easier than a water bottle and, for me, much more comfortable than a back pack.

Disadvantages 

• All three packs need frequent adjustment as you paddle. As you drink the volume of the bladder decreases which makes the pack looser on your waist, so you need to nip them up a bit as you go. On some this is much easier than others.
• Using a waist pack limits your ability to use a waist quick-release belt. 

Three Different Waist Packs

All three packs are different and have a mix of features, I think all are great but they do have strengths and weaknesses that I will mention here. First, a disclaimer. I bought the Camelback, and I received the USWE and Silva as gifts. 

USWE Zulu 

Weight 197g - pack and hose magnet. 

I have already reviewed this Swedish minimalist pack in this blog post and I’ve used it on pretty much every paddle session since I got it. It is the absolute definition of minimal, there are no bells and whistles with the Zulu. 

After hundreds and hundreds of SUP kilometres, it has perfumed well, the small size is great because you simply cannot overload it, the 1l capacity of the supplied bladder is enough for 90 minutes of strenuous padding in warm weather and the design of the bladder from Hydrapack is easy to live with, the large opening at the top makes cleaning easy, the only drawback is re-filling from a bottle in the wild, under a tap it’s much easier. An experiment with a new for me electrolyte mix has discoloured it slightly and the ‘plug and play’ hose attachment needs some lubrication but that’s it. 

The one modification ended was to sew the magnetic clip to the pack and that’s still in place. 

Living with the Zulo on the water. 

The size and colour are the big advantages with this pack, wearing the yellow version you are visible from some distance which is a good thing unless you are hiding. 

The minimal features are both a benefit and a disadvantage, the adjustment is very simple and not that easy to use one-handed. The two side straps need quite a tug when the pack is full which on a wide, stable board is fine but on a narrow board moving at speed it is a challenge. It is much easier to adjust the main buckle. 

Camelbak Repack 

Weight 301g - pack and hose magnet

This is in many ways the opposite to the Zulu! Available in black or Camo, the version I have because it was much cheaper. This is the pack I used once before putting it aside, recently I have been using it more often to compare it with the other two packs here. 

The Repack is the heaviest pack here and has more features than the other two, some of which I have found to be almost useless but we will get to that. 

The pack is taller than the others and is based around a wide, comfortable, ventilated pad. This is softer than the USWE but not as soft as the Silva and in my experience it is the most comfortable to wear. This is, in part, down to the Camelbak adjustment system, the belt is tightened from both sides keeping the buckle centrally on your torso. The Repack is the only pack that has a carry handle (very useful) and it is the easiest to adjust on the water for one simple reason, the ends of the belt on both sides can be rolled up and held neatly with velcro straps, which makes the end of the belt easy to grab and pull. There is no need for separate adjusters on the sides of the pack. 

The main pack is over-featured for water use, there are plenty of places to overload the pack and then to lose things if you open the zips when paddling. But it is possible to run the hose from either side, left and right-handed paddlers will be happy with this pack. It is easy to change the magnetic clip from one side to the other but the clip itself takes a little getting used to, you need to line it up properly to hold the hose. 

However, the bladder only really works one way, hose to the right. If you run it to the left you either have the attachment point up high - a problem as the volume of liquid drops, or you lose a lot of hose length. Not ideal. The bladder is a Camelbak classic, 1.5l capacity with a big screw top for filling, with an integrated handle making filling from tap or bottle on an island easy. The hose quick attachment is in the bottom right of the bladder which works better with the hose running one way, less good the the other side.

On each hip is a pocket backed with more padding on the hips. The right pocket is secured with elastic which works but I have not trusted it with anything important. The left pocket has a zip but the toggle for the zipper gets in the way of the hose clip if you run the hose the most efficient way so I have left the pocket un-zipped and unused. 

Living with the Repack on the water

This pack has the best adjustment of the three here and the straps do not slip, at all. And it is very comfortable.

However the clip is not as easy to use as the simple magnet on the USWE and this over-design of something simple is carried over into the pack, which in my opinion spoils it. For example an external pocket that has a zip at the top and another at the bottom makes the pocket useless, one day the contents will go for a swim, never to be seen again. 

It is the same with the hip belt pocket on the left, if you put the hose clip there then the zipper is in the way. 

Testing the Silva Race Belt 4

Silva Race Belt 4

Weight - 263g pack only.

This is the newest addition to the SUP My Race Hydration selection and does a great job of combining the best bits of the other two belts adding a little Swedish quirkyness. I was given the belt with no bladder or hose clip so have been using it with a Camelback 1.5l bladder.

The Race Pack is taller than the USWE and wider than the other two packs. It has, according to the websites, the same capacity as the Camebak with the ability to carry a 1.5l bladder (or bigger if you can find one to fit) and 2.5l of cargo, if you want to. 

The padding on the Race Pack is very soft and comfortable, not quite as good as the Repack but nearly. The belt is adjustable from both sides, like the Repack but the ends are left loose with the reflective Silva logos on show. 

This is the widest pack here and storage is well thought through. The main pocket has a big zip with three internal pockets, one smaller one with a zip and two full-length. The zippered pocket has a velcro tab behind it which matches another velcro tab in the middle of the pack, I guess the intention is to hold the bladder in place but I haven’t had to use it. This is the only pack here that has a cable access to the bag, allowing an external battery pack for a Silva headlamp for nocturnal skiing adventures. 

You can route the bladder easily from either side, it is easier from the right but there is a hidden exit to the left which will keep both left and right-handers happy.

There is one zippered pocket on the outside of the pack that is accessed from one end but runs the full width of the pack and there is an elasticated, opened-ended sleeve running the full width of the pack, ideal for stashing a light windproof. These are complemented with 2 elasticated pockets on the hips and, as with the Camelback, I have not trusted these with anything valuable, just in case!  

Living with the Race Pack on the water

This pack was the slipperiest pack when wearing a drysuit and it needed the most frequent adjustment as it would slide down too far when paddling, not ideal in winter. But when not wearing a drysuit it stays put and it is the most comfortable here, the wider width suits me very well. 

The exposed plastic buckles on the hips are a concern when carrying a hardboard any distance.

Early April in Sweden

Bladders - Camelbak V Hydropack

Again both have advantages, but I think the Hydrapack wins in a head-to-head because the plug-and-play port for the hose is in the middle of the bladder, on the Camelback it is to one side which impacts hose options for left-handed users. 

The Camelbak is easier to fill, and the Hydrapack is easier to clean. The bite valve on the Camelbak is, for me not as good as the Hydrapack version but the lock for the bite valve is much better on the Camelbak.

It looks like Silva has a great clip for their hose that will allow paddlers to locate the clip anywhere, but I didn’t get one of those. For the other two Hydrapack and USWE have the best magnetic clip, the one supplied by Camelbak is not as easy to locate as that for Hydrapack.

Bite valve position

Many paddlers chose to use a neck lanyard or similar to hold the bite value in a good position while paddling, this is something I’m playing with now, trying to find something comfortable. For all three packs, I have had the hose clipped to my waist while paddling. 

Conclusions

I have only used these packs for hydration, I keep my valuables - phone, car keys and ID - in dry bags attached to the deck of my board. In the last 2 months, I have tested the three packs with similar loads, 1l of fluid, an energy gel and my Palm Equipment knife. And at the end of 2 months, I can reveal that I like all three packs for different reasons. Yeah, I am sitting on the Hydration pack fence!

The USWE Zulo 2l is the best pack to use with a drysuit. All three packs slide down the material on my Allstar Suit and require adjustment after every interval, but the USWE needed less attention than the other two. Especially in the rain!

The Silva Race Belt 4l is the pack I am looking forward to using this summer, the softer back and wider form of the pack work well on my lower back although this pack is the most slidey on my drysuit. With the larger capacity, it will better suit longer training sessions and mini-adventures. 

The Camelback Repack has the best belt here but the fiddly zips and pockets mean it finishes this mini-test at the back of the pack. It’s very good and with a few small changes could be the best here but that extra complexity holds it back. 

Caution!

Last year, before I started to use any of these packs, I found some strange dents on the bottom of one of my boards. The cause was a mystery until a random conversation with another paddler who had the same on his board. We had no clue why this was happening, on both boards the dents were only on one side, approximately in the middle. 

It was weeks before I had a ‘Eureka’ moment! The quick-release waist belt I was using had hard buckles on the hip which lined up exactly with the dents on my board! The buckles were pressing into the hull of my board when carrying it, over time they caused dents in the hull. He was using a waist pack and that too had hard buckles on the hip, in exactly the same place as the dents on his hull. 

Luckily, both boards have only cosmetic damage but if we hadn’t worked out what was happening the buckles could have cracked the carcass of the board. 

From these packs, the USWE has no plastic in the hip area, the Camelbak has pockets on the hip and the Silva has exposed plastic buckles on the hips.  

This blog is usually data-focused with occasional diversions into other SUP subjects. Data, and more importantly understanding it and using it helps you to invest in yourself.

Investing in yourself is the BEST upgrade you can make, with no exceptions. And that is what this series of blog posts are all about, investing in this paddler with the help of World Champion Michael Booth. 

You can find out more about Michael's training on his website  Booth Training, from his Booth Training Instagram account and on his YouTube channel BoothTV.  

You can find me running the Facebook group SUP My Race and now, occasionally, on Instagram.

See you on the water!

You can read the previous training logs here Training Logs and you can get to individual blog posts using the labels in the sidebar.