O2 Cool hydration backpacks offer both sipping and cooling mist

1
inShare

O2 Cool showed its new backpack line at the 2013 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market

Wherever you weigh in on the global warming debate, it would seem that folks are hotter than ever this year. Misting and cooling products have been a trend over the past few months, with launches of products like the Aquabot and Q-FOG. The self-assigned leader in cooling products has decided to get in on the action with its own twist on the theme. It's incorporated a misting system into a line of hydration packs, so the reservoir of water on your back can both quench and cool.
O2 Cool packages its patented Mist 'N Sip technology into a line of backpacks. Instead of the simple bite valve common on other hydration packs, the Mist 'N Sip includes a push-button misting system that allows you to squirt yourself with a cooling spray. Of course, you can also drink out of it. The valve is held to the pack by a magnetic attachment, making it easy to pull on and off. The misting attachment can be removed and replaced with a standard bite valve when it's not needed.

The average hydration pack is easy to drink out of, but harder to use as a cooling device. You can dump the water out of the fill opening, wasting a lot of water in the process. You can shower yourself by pulling the bite valve out of the tube and holding the tube over your head like a hose. Both those less-than-ideal options require stopping and fiddling around with the pack, whereas the O2 Cool mister is simple enough to use on the go.
Geigerrig has popularized pressurized hydration packs over recent years. While we have not had the chance to compare them head to head, the Mist 'N Sip system appears simpler and lighter than Geigerrig's hardware, as it doesn't require a separate pump. It provides a gentler mist as opposed to the more powerful spray of the Geigerrig, so it won't be useful for things like spray-cleaning and rinsing, just cooling.
O2 Cool will launch the Mist 'N Spray packs in a number of different styles, from minimalist hydration packs to larger daypacks. The 2- and 3-liter water reservoir packs will range between US$60 and $80.