New Kriega Hydro-2 hydration backpack

IF YOU'RE serious about off-road or adventure riding, then a proper hydration setup is as important as a good pair of boots or gloves. Keeping your fluid intake up when the temperature rises, while going through the physical exertions of riding is massively important if you're going to maintain performance – and even your basic health.

Stopping, getting a bottle out of a bag, taking your lid off for a drink - that's all a huge pain in the neck. So a well-designed water reservoir carried in a rucksack, with a drinking tube running to your helmet makes a lot of sense. Enter the new Kriega Hydro-2 offroad hydration pack. It's made by the same folk who've designed some of the best riding bags and rucksacks of the past couple of decades, and uses the same cunning 'Quadloc' harness carrying system, for extra comfort and flexibility on the bike. 

The harness carries a specially-designed Hydrapak 'shape-shifting' reservoir, which changes shape as it empties, to keep the backpack stable. There's a smart 'Blaster' bite valve on the drinks tube which reseals after each drink, cutting waste, and a removable waist strap keeps the bag more secure on even the most extreme rides.

Empty, the bag weighs just 620g, so doesn't add much of a burden, and Kriega has also bust out of its trademark black colourways, releasing lime, orange and silver versions, to match more offroad machinery.

The Hydro-2 costs £99, and is available now. More info here.