Drankful of Awesomeness!

I received a Drankful Adventure Pack as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity recently to try out a new hydration pack, the Drankful Adventure Pack. Quick history of me and hydration packs - I started using one when I trained for my first marathon back in 2018. I tried on several and asked around friend's opinions and ended up buying one that was highly rated. It did the job, but I was never 100% really happy with it, but these things are expensive so I always was able to make it work rather than getting a new one. Chafing was an issue, but Vaseline was my friend. I held just enough to get me through what I needed to and I used it when I needed a lot of water for training runs of over 13 miles and for longer trail adventures. But I never wore it regularly, only when I felt I really needed a pack.

I had never heard of Drankful before and after checking it out on their website, I knew I wanted to test it for myself. It had all of the feature of the pack I had been wearing that I liked, but had several other unique features that looked intriguing to me. 

The pack was easy to set up, adjusting the pockets in the correct position (they velcro into place and are "flat" for shipping), situating the the bladder into the pack and threading the straw into place through the system of channels that wind through the pack designed to keep it out of the way, but convenient to drink from. There are several adjustable straps on the front and on the sides of the pack so you can adjust it for the perfect fit. On the shoulder, there are loops on either side so you can best position which side is most comfortable so you can simply turn your head to get a quick slip instead of fumbling around with unclipping it from a chest clip and reclipping while running as I've had to do with other packs. The pack is also water resistant which is awesome when you get caught running in the rain, like I do most of the winter here in SC. 

Probably the most unique thing about this pack is the fact that the water bladder sits low in the back of the pack rather than up on your shoulders like every other pack that I have used does. 

With the bladder lower inn the back, the heaviest part of your pack is down near your lower back instead of high on your shoulders. I found it way more comfortable there. I actually felt that the bladder down lower helped me keep better posture as the weight distribution was lower. And you can see from the picture that the pack is more horizontally designed than vertical, so it still held plenty of water for me. Max fill is 1.5 liters. The bladder is situated in its own separate section to keep it safe from potential punctures from other gear stored. The design also allows for the typical gravity fed design that reduces air in the bladder so there is no sloshing. 

The sizing chart is super accurate and I ordered my typical shirt size and it fit perfect for me. Right out the gate, there was no chafing, which I could never say with my previous hydration pack. The pack is designed to hug your body and made with soft mesh panels. I've only worn it in colder temps so far, but it doesn't seem like it adds any extra heat while running. And despite it being a rather substantial pack in terms of what it can carry (I'll talk more on this below) it is very form fitting and not at all bulky as you can see from this side view:

In this picture, I have a full bladder in the back and gels in both front pockets. 

All the things I have previously mentioned are of course awesome. But let's chat my favorite thing about this pack. It has POCKETS FOR DAYS! 17 pockets in fact! SEVENTEEN!! Like, I will never use all of these pockets running, but I know they will come in so handy for a hiking trip. I am honestly amazed with how much storage is in this pack without being bulky. I've used on on longer runs to carry gel, route guide, phone and of course water, but I could totally fit so much more in it. Everything holds in place securely without being bulky or moving around. I honestly forget I am wearing it pretty quickly. Check out this brief video I make showing off all the pockets:

So long story short, this pack is awesome. It is perfect for going on any kind of hiking adventure with comfort and storage galore. I love it and it is going to get so much use in the future on my adventures. I am going to use it this weekend for my Half Marathon and it is going to be so useful next month for Ville to Ville, a multi-leg relay that covers 75 miles from Ashville, NC to Greenville, SC. So yeah, you'll be seeing a lot of this pack in my future pictures. 

You can check it out more for yourself on the Drankful website here: https://www.drankful.com/products/adventure-pack (and it's currently - March 1 - on sale and free shipping on order over $100, so yay!)