Camelbak ProductsHydration Pack

I’ve been hiking most of my life (a good 20-25 years) and I have always been “in to” packs. I’ve gone through a lot of them.In 2012 I started researching military style molle backpacks (I am not former military or LEO) because I loved the durability, ruggedness and customizability they offer compared to most civilian hiking packs. I purchased a 5.11 Rush 12 and Rush 72; and while they are well designed packs from an organization perspective I found the usability for hiking less than ideal. I wanted two packs, but I ended up with a Camelbak HAWG that served me well for over 7 years for every kind of use (excellent pack that has kept much of its design from 7 years ago to this day, unlike the BFM), but I never went back and replaced my Rush72 with a proper 72 hour pack - the reason being because all of the military ones I came across had horrible frame/harness system including the previous BFM, compared to civilian packs.I finally came back to wanting a 72 hour pack and checked out some new videos on the new BFM and damn is the suspension system on this a thing of beauty. Highly customizable, highly comfortable for a pack of this size and the weight you might carry on it. Miles ahead of any other military pack out there. Add the new reservoir design on and you have a very versatile and serviceable pack backes by a lifetime (of the product) guarantee.I loaded the pack up and walked around my house in it (currently on coronavirus quarantine) and I love it so far. I will update this review when I take it through it’s paces!

I needed a good trail backpack for wildlife photography. I had been using an Osprey backpack which was working ok but didn't quite fit me perfectly and it didn't have as much capacity.With this Camelbak BFM I can actually carry more stuff (and more hydration) than ever and the weight distributes so nicely that I don't really notice it. Have so far hiked a few 4 hour hikes with no discomfort and very little fatigue.I'm also enjoying having the MOLLE system on the back and so far just strap a flashlight and sometimes a pocket knife on there but I plan to purchase some MOLLE pouches and straps to allow more modularity.You can also see in my pictures that I have a camera mount on the shoulder strap. This is another highly recommended addition if you are a nature photographer. Keeps the camera ready to snap shots in an instant without having to stop and dig in the bag. With my old backpack I had the mount squeezed around the whole shoulder pad and it worked but it meant there was a hard plastic part digging into my shoulder. With the BFM I was able to strap the mount on to the smaller strap that goes in front of the pad and it works so much better and my shoulder no longer aches after a couple hours of hiking.

Took this on a 20 mile hike through the mountains. It was loaded to about 34 lbs including water weight on an extremely challenging 2 day hike. All of the different storage throughout the pack made it extremely convenient to access different items stored separately. The water bladder was extremely easy to fill with the built in handle. All of the exterior straps to hook items made it convenient to access flashlights and radios when needed. Despite the empty weight of the bag being a little on the heavy side, it is extremely durable. I hit it on rock overhangs many many times and it would not tear. Also the two side pockets can hold a full size water bottle if you need extra water for a hike with few sources.

Great huge bag, can carry plenty for a 3 day backpacking adventure. Not ultralight, but dang durable and distributes the weight evenly. I am 6,2 245lbs and I S load this beast up with about 35lbs with water and snacks. Amazing tactical pack.

This is a great quality pack. I bought it to replace another Camelbak trizip that also has the futura harness. The trizip is a great pack but I found it’s Molle arrangement awkward and I wanted more cargo capacity. This BFM is an improvement to both. I was pleased that I can fit two large 1.5litre Camelbak insulated bottles into the side pouches without having them eat into the main cargo compartment capacity. The full molle panel at the front afforded more mounting options when required. The futura harness works great on both packs.Both packs have similar downsides. The belt isn’t very effective for heavy loads and without molle, misses out an opportunity to mount quick access pouches. I managed to fit (discontinued) Mystery Ranch live wings to my belt and this greatly improved load distribution and and comfort. It also accepts Molle pouches. Internally, the main cargo compartment lacks the Molle panel found on the Rubicon, which would have made the pack more flexible when I’m not carrying too much load. Although there are quite a number of organisation pockets in the secondary cargo compartment, this is the furthest from my body and the pack will sag if there isn’t much stuff in the main compartment. I’m considering adding some load lifter straps or a beaver tail to counter it.Finally, the zipper for the water bladder compartment travels under the load lifter webbing for the shoulder straps. This makes it a pain to unzip the compartment and pull out either a water bladder or laptop if used as a laptop sleeve.

Yea it can always be bigger, but the idea is go lighter so this is a happy medium to me and am well pleased with it.

So I have used this bag lightly for some travel and a few backpacking trips that didn’t require a lot of a load out and the stitches is already failing. Hasn’t seen a lot of brutality hasn’t been in a combat zone. I’d hate to think how this thing would fall apart in a combat zone. Don’t buy it.

Great at what it does. Only wish it wold hold my laptop in a seperate padded comparment and not in the main. Desktop replacement dosnt fit anywhere else unless i take out the hydration and thats counter productive to having the Camelbak.