CamelBak’s to-be-released ShredBak vest is a category-defying piece of apparel made with a polyester outer shell and a mesh “suspension vest” inside, which holds a 72-ounce water reservoir. A hydration hose snakes from the reservoir, which nests on your back, coming out through a chest pocket and allowing for intermittent sips to stay hydrated while skiing, snowboarding, and participating in other cold-weather sports.
It comes to market in autumn of 2009 in a men’s and women’s model and will cost $200.
This winter, I got an early version to test, zipping the vest on for some road biking around town and a few days on the ski slopes.

CamelBak ShredBak Vest
I first saw the ShredBak at Snowbasin Ski Resort in Utah two months ago. It was at a demo event where companies bring out to-be-released gear for journalists and retail buyers to try. A friend of mine, testing the ShredBak for the day, unzipped his jacket and gave me a peek at the mesh support vest underneath. “Check out my bra,” he said.
Indeed, the ShredBak’s tight-fitting inner vest — which is made to be worn next to your skin or on top of a thin base-layer shirt — feels strange at first. Add a water reservoir humped out on your back and the ShredBak setup takes some serious getting used to.
In principle, the ShredBak is a neat idea. It is made to offer easy hydration in a sports category where it’s generally hard to get a quick drink. The hose is always there and ready for a sip on the chairlift or when you stop on the slopes. Backcountry skiers might employ the setup for staying hydrated while skinning or kicking steps.

The ShredBak’s tight-fitting mesh vest
Beyond convenience, the ShredBak fights winter’s effort to freeze your water supply. Wear a backpack with a hydration reservoir outdoors in the cold and it can freeze enough to render it useless. (This has happened to me several times.) But with the ShredBak, the hydration reservoir is held close to the body and often underneath an exterior shell jacket, keeping the liquid warmer. The hose is insulated to further impede internal icing up.
