Deuter Race X Air 1
By James Sharp

Camels are pretty amazing creatures. The single hump, or dromedary, camel is capable of drinking 100 L (30 gal.) of water in just 10 minutes. Unlike most mammals, a healthy camel's body temperature fluctuates throughout the day from 34oC to 41.7oC (93oF-107oF.) This fluctuation is important because it allows the camel to conserve water by not sweating as the environmental temperature rises. Camels store fat in the hump, not water. What do camels have to do with outdoor gear? Well, we humans are not camels, we cannot fluctuate our body temperatures and we sweat with exertion. A lot. We cannot drink copious amounts of water in a short amount of time, but we need to drink continuously. If we mountain bikers have a hump on our back, chances are it is a pack full of water, not fat.

Hydration packs are becoming more and more common, particularly in mountain biking. In fact, is not that uncommon to find frame builders only putting one set of water bottle mounts on a bike, citing the use of hydration packs as the reason. Deuter (pronounced doy-ter) started making backpacks in Germany in 1894. In 1987, Deuter introduced the Air Comfort suspension system, used on the Race X Air 1, reviewed here. This system utilizes spring steel stays and a mesh back to keep the wearers back cool and comfortable. (More on that later) They know backpacks, but not necessarily hydration bladders. Deuter specs Source hydration bladders for use with their packs. This is a good thing, since the Source bladders are made of polyethylene. The bladder walls smooth and less likely to grunge up, and include an integrated anti-microbial compound. The bite valve is nice to use, though not as comfortable as the perennial favorite, CamelBak’s Big Bitetm valve. The valve didn’t leak during the test.

By far the neatest feature, and what you notice as soon as you put it on, is the Air Comfort suspension. (See picture) The main body of the pack is held away from the users body by two spring steel stays. A mesh panel is the only thing that comes in contact with the wearers back, allowing air to circulate freely. This facilitates sweat evaporation, keeping the wearer cooler than if they used any other hydration pack. The steel stays add a small amount of weight which isn’t really felt when the pack is in use.

The Race X Air 1 has a whopping 850 cubic inches of space. This is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because you can fit a lunch, rain jacket, arm warmers and tools in there with room to spare. That much room is a curse since it is almost entirely in one BIG main pocket. There is room in the outside pocket for a multi-tool, energy bar, lube and keys. All else needs to go inside the main pocket to rattle around and get lost. I would like to see it more compartmentalized, but retain the same shape and capacity. There is an elastic helmet/cargo holder that stashes into the bottom of the pack. This does a nice job of increasing its carrying capacity. The outside is made of a rip stop nylon weave that has held up to scrubbing trees and general man-handling without a sign of wear.

Summary: The Deuter Race X Air 1 comes with a 70 oz reservoir, however Source’s 100 oz bladder will fit without any problem. For $79 you get a well made, and above all else, comfortable hydration pack that can fit all your gear. I cannot say enough about the fit of the pack. With a mesh back and mesh shoulder straps this pack is made for summer!

James Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com specializing in mountain biking.

For more information, contact:
Deuter USA Inc
PO Box 606
Niwot, CO 80544-0606
Phone: (303) 652-3102
E-mail: info@deuterusa.com
www.deuterusa.com