CamelBak
An EMT's IV bag, a tube sock and a hose at the 1989 Hotter'N Hell 100 — and now a Revelyst brand sitting in the same portfolio as Bushnell.
The origin story is repeated on CamelBak's own regional history pages and it is a good one: an EMT and cyclist at the Hotter'N Hell 100 rigged an IV bag, a tube sock and a hose so he could drink without taking a hand off the bars. That was 1989, and hands-free hydration went from improvisation to a category. The company now belongs to Revelyst, privately held by funds managed by Strategic Value Partners since January 2025 — which makes CamelBak and Bushnell portfolio siblings. It carries a real product recall in its recent history and publishes it on its own site, which is the right behavior and worth saying.
- 1989The Hotter'N Hell 100 improvisation that became hands-free hydration
- Jan 2025Strategic Value Partners completes the Revelyst acquisition
- ~46,000US units in the 2021 CPSC bottle-cap recall — 14 reports, no injuries
What we'd reach for
- Crux reservoirThe bladder most people actually mean by CamelBak. Reservoirs, bite valves and cleaning kits are the consumable end of ownership.
- M.U.L.E.The long-running hydration pack — the mountain-bike model that put the brand on backs rather than just in bottles.
- PodiumThe bike bottle line, and the product family involved in the 2021 cap recall. Check the date code before buying used.
- Chute MagThe everyday bottle that carried the brand into the non-cycling market.
- Eddy+The bite-valve bottle for people who never wanted a pack.
- Cleaning kitsBrushes and drying racks — unglamorous, and the difference between a reservoir lasting years and growing something.