Product Review 2014 Part 4 of 5, Osprey Packs, Advocare and Discount Code for Christopher Bean Coffee

2015 Enduro Race team plans are coming together. With contracts signed, Stan's NoTubes and Osprey Packs are back as sponsors!  

See earlier post for photos of the 2014 Stan's NoTubes products we used. 

Here are some examples of the Osprey gear we depended on for 2014 traveling, training and racing.

Also, see below for Advocare products and a discount code for Christopher Bean Coffee. It is great having a web based coffee sponsor, coffee is roasted and shipped when ordered so it's always fresh and can be shipped to wherever we are!

photo credit: Dan Holz

Osprey Packs: High quality, intelligent  packs for every part of your day. 

Zealot, for carrying everything, pads, helmet, jacket.  More on this one soon.

Anthony Diaz with Zealot   photo credit: Dan Holz

My current favorites for traveling and riding: 

Shuttle 32" Large Capacity Gear Hauler. 

Ultra lightweight Ozone carry-on with attached laptop backpack.

Meridian 22" with attached laptop backpack. 

Carry-on and additional personal bag can be zipped and/or buckled together till you get on the plane. (left)

It also has hidden backpack straps you can also wear the entire thing. (right)

Krista Park with Transporter   photo credit: Dan Holz

See those straps on the first suitcase (Shuttle 32")? You can strap another bag, like the Transporter that I am carrying here, on top and use the Shuttle wheels/handle to pull both. Then wear the Meridian 22" carry-on as  backpack, with laptop bag attached to that. This leaves a free hand to pull an EVOC bike bag.

As far as on-the-bike: 

Rev hydration packs 1.5 and 6 are shown above, there are also 12, 18 and 24 versions.  I used the smallest two options (shown) while Diaz used the 6 and 12.

Rev packs with their chest harness system are the best for all-mountain riding with a minimal pack. Or, for riding with a broken collarbone or sore back... Since, for the smaller packs, there is no weight felt on the low back, no weight on the shoulder straps, and no pack shifting to knock the back of your head on steep descents.  

The harness hugs the pack to your ribs so the pack moves with the ribcage, no bouncing or twisting. Also the packs are shorter than normal so if you have jersey pockets you can still access those.

There is also the Rev Solo :)

Of course there are many other on-the-bike and everyday Osprey packs.

Second to the Rev I like the women's Raven 6 (the hip pockets are great) and Verve 5 on the bike. The Talon 22 is an awesome general pack and favorite of my bikepacker friends. 

Porter is another gear bag, but with more structured walls/not as collapsible as the Transporter line.

On a personal note, I love Osprey Packs for their involvement in the community. Utilizing athletes for skills clinics, supporting community events and hiring athletic employees results in designed-by-outdoor-enthusiasts/athletes-for-outdoor-enthusiasts/athletes products.

One example, Durango Devo coaches are given Osprey packs to carry essentials. Packs were filled with a first aid kit, tools and tubes before being distributed to the coaches. Each coach then adds from experience, extra powerbar blasts for those who forgot to eat since breakfast, a jacket for the one who insisted they were fine leaving their parent's car in cloudy 50 degree weather, etc. 

My cousin Mahina offered her Advocare product to me, she was curious to see what I thought of it. I am asked to try a lot of magic supplements and find it fun, but usually I finish the free product and decide that while I might take it if it was given to me I wouldn't pay for it.  

So, would I really spend money on Advocare products?

Yep. I like the Performance Elite line for amino acids and protein powder, I also like the one-stop shopping of the Well line. (please use Distributer # 14068779 when ordering)

My Favorites

From the Performance Elite line: Bio Charge amino acids and PRO-20 (20 gram protein shooters) are my favorite, I also like Muscle Gain for a protein powder at "home". I'm looking forward to trying O2 Gold when I get back to cardio workouts in the Spring.

From the Well line: I liked the Fiber Drink and would like to try the CitriZinc chews.

At first the website felt overwhelming.  I would tell someone reading this blog post to start by looking at the Performance Elite line and for vitamins, minerals or items you would purchase from a drug store go to the Well line.  Or calling/messaging my cousin. 

After using the Advocare products for a month or two I am now conditioned to look at their website for products before purchasing elsewhere.  For example with everyone having colds right now, I looked for a Vit C/zinc product and found the CitriZink chews. I also found Calcium and Joint ProMotion.

Basically you can find any item you are searching for and see if it is Informed Choice approved as each item is labeled. The entire Performance Elite line is labeled Informed Choice approved.

("The INFORMED-CHOICE program adheres to regulations put forth by WADA, and NCAA as well as professional sports organizations including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, PGA, ATP, WTA, LPGA, and NASCAR.")

Healthy Diet Guide

Advocare has a 24-day Challenge. It's a kickstart to paying attention to your diet while learning about some of the products they sell.

You can custom build your own challenge. For example,  I would choose the following for my own 24-day challenge:  Peaches and Cream Cleanse, MNS3 and Catalyst

Then I'd use this guide:
https://www.advocare.com/24DayChallenge/VirtualCoach/default.aspx or the app shown.

Christopher Bean Coffee: Internet based coffee. Order, Roast, Ship.  Always fresh. Huge Selection

My favorite flavor right now is the Roubaix.  Christopher Bean has the perfect coffee for every connoisseur and you can't beat the freshness and convenience!

Use Discount code Park25 for 25% off entire order.