Hydration packs are increasingly common, and it seems companies are more and more desperate to make themselves stand out (I’m looking at you CamelBak). Most of the time for a pack to support hydration it means that its got a pocket where you can slide a bladder in and a few elastic bands to thread the tube and nozzle through. That’s about it.

Osprey Hydraulics changes that. Their support really raises the bar a few notches. One major feature is their HydaFrom Reservoir line, co-developed with Nalgene. These bladders feature an anatomically molded plastic sheet between the reservoir back and a layer of nylon fabric, forcing the reservoir to conform to the complex shape of the back. This also helps keep it from barreling out from the internal water pressure when you fill it. On top fo that it features a rigid spine that serves as a handle to make it so that you can load or remove the bladder with a full pack. Nice!

The bags themselves are engineered to work with the reservoir designs too. Their HydraLock internal frame maintains a space dedicated to the reservoir so that it will always fit back in. This also helps squeeze so that the motion of the water is minimized. Another nice feature is a magnetic attachment point for the bite valve.

Osprey Hydraulics is available on bother their Raptor series, geared toward mountain biking and trail running, and Manta series, a more general multisport daypack.