How Camelbak Started
The story of Camelbak began with a simple yet revolutionary idea: hands-free hydration. In 1989, Michael Eidson, an avid cyclist, participated in a grueling Texas race called the “Hotter’N Hell 100.” Knowing he would need to stay hydrated in the blazing heat, Eidson filled an IV bag with water, stuffed it into a tube sock, and slipped it into the back pocket of his cycling jersey. He then draped the thin hose over his shoulder and secured it with a clothespin, creating the prototype for the first Camelbak hydration pack.
This ingenious solution sparked the creation of Camelbak, a brand now synonymous with innovative hydration solutions. From its humble beginnings, Camelbak has grown to become a leader in the outdoor and sports industry, offering a wide range of products designed to keep adventurers and athletes hydrated, along with premium drinkware for the corporate gifting and specialty market.
Sustainability and Social Good Initiatives
Camelbak is deeply committed to sustainability and social responsibility. The company believes in producing durable, reusable products that help reduce single-use plastic waste. Camelbak’s sustainability initiatives include:
- REPURPOSE: Camelbak’s manufacturing and product design processes are focused on making safe, endlessly reusable, sustainable products. To that end, the REPURPOSE badges of REFORMULATE (products made with safer chemicals), REUSE (made with recycled materials), RETHINK (products made to be easily repaired and reused), REPACKAGE (minimal/recycled packaging), REDUCE (made to preserve resources and diminish disposables) are applied to products for an overall REPURPOSE rating. This makes it easy, when shopping for corporate gifts, to identify products that most align with your own corporate social good and sustainability goals.
- Tritan™ Renew – Camelbak has partnered with Eastman to switch all of their plastic drinkware to Tritan™ Renew. This innovative material features the same durability of Eastman’s Tritan copolyester, but features at least 50% recycled material, derived from a molecular recycling process that directly removes otherwise hard to recycled plastics from the waste stream.
- Corporate Social Responsibility: Camelbak partners with various organizations to support environmental conservation and social good. This includes initiatives like providing clean water to underserved communities and supporting outdoor education programs. Products for the corporate/promotional market are also part of 1% for the Planet, where 1% of all wholesale sales are donated to environmental causes.
Why Do We Love Camelbak?
In addition to being a sought-after brand that has consistently earned its reputation as the gold standard in performance drinkware, here is what our team has to say about Camelbak, what we love about the brand and its products, and why you should consider branded Camelbak gear for your team:
- Melissa loves how Camelbak products are built to last. She loves the durability of her CamelBak Eddy+ Bottle and Thrive Tumbler, and the fact that replacement parts are easy to get if needed.
- Jami loves how Camelbak bottles are tailor-made for active use. Her Chute Mag 25 oz. Bottle goes with her everywhere, and she loves that it fits easily in cup holders and backpack pockets, has a nice ergonomic handle, and that it is so easy to disassemble to clean.
- Valerie loves their rugged construction. Her Camelbak Can Cooler has a snug, secure fit and works well even on hot days outdoors, and her Chute Mag bottle has survived several drops with no cracks or damage to the lid.
- Matt loves the focus on small details with Camelbak’s product design and feels it is very noticeable with the Camelbak Straw Tumblers. The gasket on the lid and straw opening are both VERY snug fits, and combining that with the non-skid grippy silicone base, this is a tumbler that is both hard to accidentally knock over, and has very minimal leaking if you do. Plus, both the cup and lid are dishwasher safe!
- Maggie also loves how well Camelbak’s lids are constructed and how well you can get a snug and secure fit with them. She also loves that sizes bottle lids and tumbler lids are standardized with Camelbak, making it extremely easy to get a replacement if needed.
- Ryan loves that Camelbak drinkware is so easy to clean. Because it is made with Tritan™ Renew, his Eddy+ bottle is shatter resistant, resists odors and stains, and is made with 50% recycled materials.
In addition to all of the product design and tech that makes Camelbak great, we ALL love how great it looks with your custom logo. Nearly all Camelbak stainless steel products are available with laser etch for a beautiful and subtle permanent branding mark, and almost all of the tumblers and bottles (stainless or Tritan) are available with seamless full color wrap imprints, allowing you to expand your creativity in your branding and messaging.