I’ve had this for some time now, but really wanted to test it in a variety of situations. Here on this site we want to know what works best for OCR’s, and so do I. Yet, the Geigerrig is for much more than that.
One of the first things I did with it was take it camping. We went on numerous hikes and the pack was always on my back. I love that you can pump air into it and pressurize the rig to spray water. This is convenient when hiking with other people, and kids that like to slobber all over stuff. I could just spray the water into their mouths and keep moving on. The bladder I have for it is 70oz and is plenty for a day out on the trails. Not only was it good for drinking, but because of the spray action we could rinse off when we got dirty.
The spray is a big win for OCR’s, especially on long one’s such as the Spartan Beast. I fit enough nutrition into the pack, as there is plenty of room. While on course and wanting a snack, I was able to rinse my muddy hands off so my bars/ gels or whatever else were mud free. I don’t think you could shower all the mud off with this, but for a quick rinse it was fantastic.
Normally, the pack is super durable. I’ve seen video’s of them blowing the rig up. Yeah, with explosives; it still held water afterward. I didn’t notice it, but I think a seam in the bladder had split a bit from the Tri-State Super just two weeks before the VT Beast. I did notice it though once I loaded it up with water and Tailwind in the morning. My right side started feeling damp, low and behold, it had a small leak. It was a must have for the race though and it had to make it through. Alas, it did! I asked this pack to do many things for me in VT. Hold my nutrition, keep me hydrated and even act as a flotation device. Yeah, you heard that right! Pumped up it acted like a flotation device during the swims that were at the race. I didn’t have to take any extra safety gear, this pack was perfect.
When I got back from VT I reached out to the company about the seam split and that day they put a new rig in the mail, no questions asked. In a consumer driven world, customer service is huge. These guys were on it and made me a happy guy that day.
As far as fit goes, I’m on the small side. At a whopping 140lbs and standing at 5′ 5″ this pack was not huge at all. At the Super I left in the stabilizer plate and found it not to be flexible at all. I removed it for the Beast and it conformed perfectly to my back and allowed me to get a nice snug fit. I didn’t notice any chafing from any of the races or any of the multiple runs I have taken this out on.
I did get the inline filter in case I needed to fill this on the fly. I have yet to use it, but they claim it can filter up to 50 gallons of water safely and make it drinkable. Above I mentioned about videos, and there is even one where a guy urinates into the pack, plugs in the filter and heads off for a 3-hour run. Don’t believe me? Check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlD2tLemuUE
All in all, I am really satisfied with the product and the company. They stand by what they sell and that is huge. I look forward to testing this out at Winter Death Race and seeing how it handles in the frigid temperatures…
Product info: http://www.geigerrig.com/
Rating: 5 Stars (Excellent)
