Backpacks

USWE Nordic 10 Vest With 2.0L Hydration Bladder | Review

The USWE Nordic 10 has an incredibly clever solution to your freezing water problem

Why We Chose The USWE Nordic 10 Vest With 2.0L Hydration Bladder: Clever cold-beating and bounce-free technology, great hydration solution for wintertime activities

USWE pretty much know everything there is to know about hydration backpacks. They pride themselves on producing packs that are 100% bounce free, a mission statement that has served them very well in the world of mountain biking. The team behind the brand grew up riding bikes in the Swedish countryside after all.

Their Nordic 10 Vest has seen USWE take a lot of what makes their usual fodder so popular, and develop it in ways that make it the perfect bit of kit for adventure sport missions in winter.

The USWE Nordic 10 Vest offers practical storage solutions. Photo: Mike Brindley

Who Is The USWE Nordic Vest With 2.0L Bladder For?

The Thermo Cell insulation technology in this backpack was tested at a bone-chilling -26 °C. Because of how well it held up in these brutally cold conditions, and obviously its rehydrating potential as well, it’s a product that cross country skiers are sure to appreciate.

More generally speaking, there’s also plenty of things about the USWE Nordic 10 Vest that all-season runners and mountain bikers will like.

Materials

The big selling point of the Nordic 10 is its use of Thermo Cell which stops the drink tube and bite valve from freezing in extreme temperatures. It works by reflecting the user’s body heat, built up during physical activities, via a thin mesh membrane. The rest of the pack is made from a lightweight but durable synthetic with a 3D mesh back.

Features

The Nordic 10 lives up to USWE’s carefully established reputation by being bounce-free. Thanks to the nifty NDM 4-point harness system, the chest straps expand along with the chest during physical exertion and this allows for a consistently tight and compliant fit.

Ergonomically designed, the shoulder straps here deliver an even and smooth distribution of the backpack’s weight. Joining forces with the chest straps to create the 4-point front system, all the straps are connected with a rotatable quick-release that securely holds the entire backpack in place.

“Ergonomically designed, the shoulder straps here deliver an even and smooth distribution of the backpack’s weight”

This is obviously a backpack designed for getting out and active with, something that’s underlined by its various features. The Nordic 10’s mesh back panel, for example, is lightweight, and designed in such a way that it will prevent that cramped, stuffy, sensation against the spine you sometimes get with other backpacks.

There’s a total of seven different pockets here (a lot for a running pack), including stretch mesh on the sides and two handy zipped ones on the chest where you can stash a phone or GPS.

Designed for use in winter, when the evenings are longer and darker than in summer, it’s good to see the implementation of visual reflective points on the front and back, as well as an easy and secure attachment for a bike LED-light. Safety first, and all that.

The vest's Thermo Cell technology was tested at -26 °C. Photo: Mike Brindley

The four-point front system has a rotatable quick release. Photo: Mike Brindley

Swedish brands tend to know a thing or two about the cold. Photo: Mike Brindley

Thermo Cell

We’ve touched upon the Thermo Cell technology a bit already. However, we’re so impressed by it that we feel like it deserves its own little deep dive section.

“No water flavoured slush puppies, or completely blocked up tubes, for you with this on your back”

When it was tested at -26 °C, the final recorded temperature in the Thermo Cell pocket where the hydration tube was stored was an impressive, comfortably-above-freezing-point, +19 °C. No water flavoured slush puppies, or completely blocked up tubes, for you with this on your back then.

Another useful thing about the Thermo Cell technology on the Nordic 10 is that it’s also been used here in conjunction with the hydration bladder itself. Winter athletes can heat their hydration liquid up to +35 °C, and it will stay above +7.5 °C for at least four hours. The hydration bladder can withstand temperatures up to +60 °C.

Conclusion

If you’re a fair weather outdoor enthusiast who only goes out on warm, clear sky days, in summer – you’re best off looking elsewhere for a simpler, cheaper, hydration solution. If, however, you live for getting active in seriously cold conditions, you’ll love what the clever USWE Nordic 10 brings to your wintertime adventuring.

Hydration systems (and seasons) aside, this is a functional and very, very comfortable pack to wear for all kinds of high tempo sports.