HydraPak, Yakima, Küat - Interbike 2016

Yakima's SkyRise Rooftop Tent

With their new SkyRise rooftop tent, Yakima is branching out from bike racks in a way that will probably appeal to mountain bikers who are looking for a way to camp that doesn't involve setting up a tent on the ground or sleeping inside their vehicle. The company says that they focused on low weight - the small size comes in at a claimed 95lbs, the large at 105lbs - and ease of use. So while it does look a lot like a normal tent that you'd see on the ground rather than a hard-top RTT or Tepui RTT, Yakima is claiming that it takes mere minutes to setup and take down.

The whole thing folds open like a book, with the tent popping up and ready for campers to jump in as is. The rain cover is attached via spring steel rainfly poles (the cover can be left on when stored, but the poles have to come off) and the 2.5'' thick memory foam mattress with waterproof bottom can be left inside with your blankets or sleeping bags when the SkyRise is stored.




The SkyRise is back-compatible with all of Yakima's crossbars, and the base attaches by way of a nifty quick-release system - no tools required here. The limiting factor will be if the car's stock roof bars, the ones that Yakima's crossbars attach to, are rated for the tent and user's weight.

The $1,349 USD medium-sized SkyRise RTT measures 56'' x 96'' x 48'' high when folded out, and 56'' x 48'' x 12'' when stored away with its cover over it. The $999 USD small-size version is 48'' x 84'' x 42'' high when in use, and 48'' x 42'' x 12'' when folded up. Both models include a nifty quick-release ladder that folds up on itself and when not needed.






HydraPak's Hydrant Tube

While not strictly a mountain biking product, HydraPak's new Hydrant Tube system might be appreciated by riders needed to add some pressure to their sipping, or simply because they think it's a great idea to shoot their friends with water. That is a great idea, by the way. The Hydrant Tube can be plugged into any of HydraPak's reservoirs, and a squeeze bulb just up from the bite valve can be squeezed (of course) to force fluids out under pressure.

The valve is also pressure activated, so it opens automatically when you squeeze the bulb - hello, squirt gun. Or, if you're more mature than me, you can use it to spray off after a ride or to drink from it like it was a normal system.






Küat's New NV 2.0 Rack

The NV 2.0 looks a lot like Küat's original NV rack, but the $629.00 USD 2.0 gets a host of changes that should make it even easier to use. The most notable of these is a re-designed pivot system that sees the old side-mounted lever replaced with one that riders can reach easier from above. The lever is also dual-action, so you can either pull it with your hand or use your foot to push down on the opposite end to accomplish the same thing.

Handlebar to saddle contact has to be one of the most annoying things when it comes to loading and unloading bikes, and a lot of racks out there incorporate sliding trays that allow the bikes to be shifted laterally until everything clears. Küat has taken a different approach, however, by allowing the front wheel cradles to be loosened with a hex key (that's stored on the rack itself) and either raised or lowered via a keyed connection to the rest of the rack. Both trays are also home to new, longer cable locks than found on the original NV, and the rack comes from Küat with a hitch lock to secure the tool-free hitch cam system.




The Trail Doc built-in work stand has also been carried over from the original NV, but it features a re-designed, spring-loaded head that's easier to adjust by way of hand dials for both the clamp itself and the head's angle on the main post.