CamelBak Unveils New Pack, Redesigns Two Favorites for 2019

LAS VEGAS -- CamelBak showed off its new tactical line of packs at SHOT Show 2019, including a new, one-day assault pack and redesigned versions of its two most popular packs.

New this year is the Sparta, a 2,000-cubic-inch or 33-liter pack that features a front panel with CamelBak's new Laser-cut Mountain MOLLE attachment system, offering a slightly larger opening in the slits to make it easier to handle, according to Seth Biden, spokesman for CamelBak Products LLC.

The Sparta includes two zipper pockets on the front for storing maps and organizing small administrative items. It also has a wide strip of Velcro for mounting name tapes and patches.

It has top and bottom compression straps on each side and antenna ports for carrying a tactical radio.

"Another thing we have added to this pack is a full, clamshell opening, which means that the zipper runs all the way to the base. So this has a 180-degree opening so you can access gear quickly," Biden said.

The main compartment has four zippers, so it can be opened at the top or at the bottom to get at items stowed lower in the pack, he said.

The main compartment also features zippered mesh pockets for organizing gear.

In addition, the Sparta includes CamelBak's new three-liter Crux lumbar reservoir.

"It's going to give you 25 percent more water per sip. It's a big difference on flow rate and how much energy you have to put into consuming water," Biden said.

The Sparta comes in black, coyote and MultiCam and retails for between $223 and $247.

CamelBak also redesigned two of its flagship models, the Motherlode and the BFM.

The Motherlode is very similar to the new Sparta but offers about 2,400 cubic inches or 40 liters of cargo space.

It features Mountain MOLLE on the front, as well as the sides of the pack, for attaching additional pouches and gear.

This is probably the seventh redesign of the Motherlode in the past 10 years, Biden said.

"There was a little bit of a conflict internally. There were some battles going on but, honestly, if we can make it better, we are going to update it, even if people are like, 'Hey, if ain't broke, don't fix it.' We will tweak it a little bit," he said.

Like the Sparta, it features a full, clamshell opening on the main compartment and four zippers for easy access to the top and bottom of the pack.

It also comes with the three-liter, Crux lumbar reservoir.

The new Motherlode comes in black, coyote and MultiCam, and retails for between $252 and $276.

This year, the CamelBak BFM received a more extensive redesign.

"If you are familiar with the BFM, we made some pretty drastic changes. The reason we did this was because we had some pretty good updates," Biden said.

The BFM still features a large front admin pocket and large side pockets that set it apart from the Motherlode, he said, adding, "This year, we added a whole new piece to really set this thing apart."

The BFM for 2019 comes with the Futura Harness, designed by Mystery Ranch, Biden said.

"So the really unique thing about the Futura Harness is, first off, it carries the load very well, so if you are running a bag this big, it is going to be super heavy. ... It's going to have ammo, radio, batteries, water -- sometimes they will carry two different reservoirs in here so you are talking about 15 pounds of water. So you want to have a really huge stability waist belt to transfer that weight to your hips and a harness that will allow you to do that," he said.

"The biggest advantage of the Futura Harness is you can raise and lower this on the fly, so a short person can wear this, a tall person can wear this. It doesn't matter what torso length," Biden said, adding that the Futura Harness adjusts "super fast."

The BFM features Mountain MOLLE on the front panel and a Crux three-liter vertical reservoir.

The BFM is also a flagship model that has undergone multiple redesigns in the past, Biden said.

"We knew we could do better," he said.

The BFM holds about 3,000 cubic inches or 50 liters of gear.

"This is your traditional three-day mission bag that's going to carry everything you will need for multiple nights out," Biden said.

The new BFM comes in black, coyote and MultiCam and retails for between $300 and $325.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.