New From The OMM

The Original Montain Marathon Company - OMM - has always come up with some interesting lightweight kit and there's more on the way for spring / summer 2009.

Cunning Hydration Pack

The new Sportivo 12 hydration pack, which is hitting the shops imminently, has a couple of interesting new ideas. For a start, the colour scheme is a bit of a departure for OMM being bright orange for visibility and with lots of added reflective for after dark safety.


Then there's something the brand is calling a Crud Protector. It's a removable panel that sits on the back of the pack and doubles as a stowage pocket. The idea is that once it gets covered in mud from say, running or mountain biking, you can simply remove and wash the Protector rather than the entire pack. It's a neat idea, though it might make more sense to protect the underside of the pack rather than just the back of it.


The other interesting idea is a hydration pocket with transparent window so you can see how much fluid is left in your bladder. It sits right at the rear of the pack rather than against the back, which we're not sure is going to work - three litres of fluid weighs 3 kilos, which it makes sense to carry close in to reduce leverage. Plus the level is hard to judge if the pack and bladder are under compression.

As with other OMM packs, you can add optional features like a Trio Chest Pouch or, if you prefer, save grammes by chopping the attachment points. We've got one on test, full verdict to follow.

New Bottle

Also from the company is a 600cc drinks bottle produced in conjuncion with Science in Sport and marked with SIS mix levels. The bottle is low profile with a wide mouth for easy filling, has a distinct taper to reduce sloshing and is stuff pocket friendly.