The North Face Snowday Hydration Backpack - 2006

The bag is really good. When mine arrived in the mail the bladder was leaking. I found a solution to that and now I am using it every time.

I'm the guy who's waiting at the ski lift before it opens and I get kicked off the mountain at the end of the day. I never go in, I use this pack to eat lunch in the woods. This pack has good pockets, a dry area and it's easy to fill the hydration bag. It doesn't stick out all that far so it doesn't interfere with being on a chair all that much. The heater system, well.. it works and it doesn't. The heater element goes from the bag down to the mouthpiece and this never froze, even after 8 hours in 10 degrees. I was surprised by how long the batteries lasted too, over 4 eight hour days in 10-20 degrees. The problem is that while the tube is heated, the mouthpiece isn't. Even though this is stored in a pocket, it did freeze. Usually this was if I went 2-3 hours without drinking. Still, sticking the mouthpiece in an armpit for 5 minutes was enough to bring the warmer water through and melt the mouthpiece ice. Not perfect, but certainly much more useful than an uninsulated and unheated hydration pack!

So...I picked up the bag. Where's the tricot lined google pocket or hanging internal zip? It's not like it's that big of a bag where these element would disappear...Anyone?

So after talking with North Face Warranty, and with them talking with the designer of the bag itself, there is no tricot goggle pocket included in this bag. So, every piece of printed material on this bag is incorrect. However, I'm still keeping the bag as the goggle pocket was just a bonus feature I was looking to have. The real draw is the heating, right?

Comfy and easy to fill with water. I like the bite valve and pocket to keep the hose in. Also has nice pockets outside of the bladder area so you can keep certain things completely dry, though things in the bladder area don’t seem to get wet either. I cannot really comment on the heating capabilities, because the only times I have been skiing so far this year it has been in the upper 30's.

The North Face never fails to deliver the best products. The Snowday Hydration Pack is the best pack I have put on my back. It holds an amazing amount of water, 100 oz., and is able to keep it from freezing with the heater system. The outside of the pack is kept simple with only the straps for your skis/snowboard there. No extra little net pockets that won't hold anything and just get snagged on stuff. Great pack from North Face that is simple in design yet effective in it's uses. Highly recommended for those winter enthusiasts.