While Giant is best known for its vast range of mountain bikes, it’s also been pushing into the gear sector in recent years and the latest products to emerge are these two hydration packs.

The bigger of the two packs, the Cascade 2+ boasts 13 litres of cargo capacity with a 3 litre bladder. For the bladder, rather than designing their own, the company has taken the smart decision to employ a Source WidePac bladder, which is made easy to clean with a wide opening and a removable hose.

A padded back features a ventilation panel with contoured shoulder straps to support the weight of a fully loaded bag, and wide waist straps are padded to spread the load. A lightweight nylon and PU 120d fabric cuts down the weight and YKK lightweight zips seal the pockets securely.

If you want a smaller pack just big enough to carry the essentials, then the Cascade 1 has minimal storage capacity, just a small pocket on the front and an easy access mesh pocket totally 3 litres in total.

A smaller WidePac 3 litre bladder fits into an insulated compartment and, like it’s bigger brother, the shoulder straps are shaped and contoured for a more comfortable fit and there’s an adjustable docking station for the hose valve. Reflective strips give a boost of visibility in low light.

See the full range at www.giant-bicycles.com