ABOUT THE CAMELBAK CHASE RACE 4 HYDRATION VEST
The Chase Race 4 is Camelbak’s race-focused hydration vest, designed to give the necessary storage for race day essentials on your mountain bike rides. It’s built with the running-style hydration vest approach, offering a low profile and breathable storage solution. With a 2.5L gear capacity and room for the included 1.5L Crux hydration bladder, this is not a pack designed to sustain the most epic of rides, but takes a more minimalistic lightweight approach.
The Camelbak Chase Race 4 hydration vest uses a breathable 3D Stretch Grid Mesh for the straps and back, ensuring airflow and comfort. The pack body is made from Bluesign approved Rn40d Ripstop material, which is given a C0 DWR coating to fend off moisture and dirt.
Across the chest are two adjustable elastic straps, keeping the pack in place while minimizing breathing infringement. The harness features a zipped pocket on each side, letting you safely store items such as snacks and tools for quick access. The main pocket is designed to house the Crux 1.5L hydration bladder, with a quick release hose for easy filling and cleaning. The secondary outer pocket has stretch dividers to keep items secure in place.
The Camelbak Chase Race 4 Hydration Vest is available in Moroccan blue (tested) or black colorways, with a men’s and women’s-specific version both retailing for $115 / £100 / €104.99.
THE DIRT
As a bike reviewer, I spend a lot of time on the trail tweaking and experimenting with my bike setup. As a result, I like to be well equipped with tools, spares, snacks and water for all of my rides. I had grown fed up with my standard loadout becoming too cumbersome in hip packs – which often found themselves smashing off the trees that closely line my local trails. As such, I made an unforeseen transition back towards riding packs. With this move back to packs came extremely high standards for streamlined and breathable packs, since I’d gotten used to the freedom of hip packs. With this in mind, I had high hopes for the race-focused nature of the Camelbak Chase Race 4 pack.
The 4L total capacity is ample to carry the essentials, but certainly not cavernous. When the 1.5L Crux hydration bladder is full, the remaining space requires you to be very selective about what you’re going to pack. If all you need is a couple of tools, snacks, and a basic first aid kit, then this is likely to be a great pack for you. If you’re trying to carry proper sustenance, you’re not going to be well served by the Chase Race 4 hydration vest. It would have been great to see some provisions made to carry a layer on the outside – an elastic toggle or two go a long way as I found when using the High Above Supernatural pack. The stretch pocket solution worked okay, but it added notable bulk to the pack and changed the way it sat on my back when I had a layer stuffed in.
On the straps, the zipped “command center” pockets were awesome, with one side stuffed full of snacks and the other housing a couple of quick-access tools. They were sized intelligently, keeping the contents from moving too much in use but without restricting access in a pinch.
When loaded, the Chase Race 4 pack stayed put fairly well, but needed to be cinched down fairly hard to avoid any movement on the most hectic sections of trail. Regardless of how much I crammed inside, it remained comfortable. The stretch mesh straps distributed the load well, and were soft enough that they would likely work when wearing a sleeveless jersey. The sternum straps were effective and easy to fasten and release, but they would move up and down and often bunch together. They continued to do their job even after shifting, but it would be nice for them to sit in place a little more solidly. The mesh material had a tendency to pick up debris such as pine needles if the pack was laid on the floor, but I guess in a race scenario this isn’t likely to happen.
I’m not the biggest fan of the Crux reservoir, even though it serves its primary function – holding water – very well. The screw lid feels big and bulky compared with the sleeker fold-top of a Hydrapak and is both harder to fasten and to fill. The lockable bite valve and quick release on the Camelbak bladder are both solid though, and it’s by no means a poor-quality hydration system.
The Wolf’s Last Word
As a minimalistic hydration pack for shorter and more aggressive rides, the Camelbak Chase Race 4 Hydration Vest is a stellar offering. It’s not the most versatile, but a well-considered and high-quality pack that’ll offer the right kind of rider with a perfect storage solution for their saddle time. 
Price: $115 / £100 / €104.99
Website: Camelbak.com
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ABOUT THE WOLF
Robert’s habitat is the Tweed Valley, Scotland, which is renowned for its root-littered enduro mountain bike trails. Robert has been developing his bike handling skills for the last 16 years. Since he was a pup, he’s been riding everything from BMX through to enduro and downhill bikes. Combining a playful style with occasional speed-focused aggression, he favors supportive bikes, and does his best to push them hard.
Rank: European Tech Editor
Size: 6’2” / 189cm | 220lbs / 100kg
Social: @robert_johnston
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