High Above Cascadia: Redefining the Hydration Hip Pack
It began, as these things often do, with a problem that seemed impossible to solve. Two years ago, a rider in Bellingham loved everything about High Above's hip packs, except she couldn't wear one. Her small frame left no room for a water bottle cage, and she needed more water than any hip pack could reasonably carry. It's the kind of feedback that either gets dismissed or becomes an obsession. For High Above, it became the latter.
Today, that project has a name: the Cascadia. It's High Above's first hydration hip pack built entirely around a 1.5L bladder from day one, and after two years of prototyping and testing, the team is finally ready to put their name on it.
The shell is made from High Above's new proprietary M200 Molecular fabric, a blend of UHMWPE and nylon that is roughly 40% lighter and four times more abrasion resistant than the 400D nylon used in previous packs.
Borrowed Wisdom
The solution borrows a page from backpacking design: a stiffer back panel paired with larger, foam-infused wings that disperse the weight of a liter and a half of water without loading up the waist strap. A dedicated bladder pocket keeps the water close to your back, cutting sloshing and keeping the ride steady no matter the terrain.
“For years we’d resisted making one because every hydration hip pack we’d tried seemed to suffer from the same problem: once you added enough water to actually matter, they stopped carrying particularly well. They bounced, sagged, shifted around, or generally made us wish we’d brought something else. So we spent the last two years trying to solve that.”
The Cascadia Hip Pack includes a 1.5L double-baffled Hydrapak bladder with magnetic attachment.
The Cinch Factor
If the Cascadia looks familiar in places, that's intentional. It pulls several details straight from the Supernatural, the pack we featured earlier this year, including the integrated bungee carry system, intuitive internal organization, and those signature high-visibility orange accents. Inside, a zippered pocket with a key clip and two reinforced stretch pockets keep tools, snacks, and the day's essentials in order.
The Cascadia also introduces High Above's new M200 Molecular fabric, a woven blend of UHMWPE and nylon that's roughly 40% lighter and four times more abrasion resistant than the 400D nylon they've relied on for years. It's a quiet flex of materials science, wrapped around a pack that also debuts a magnetic Cinch Designs buckle. High Above claims it's the first major pack brand to use one, and after testing it ourselves, we understand the choice: durable, intuitive, and far easier to operate with gloves on than anything they've used before. The waist strap carries over the side-pull design from the Venture3D, a detail riders have consistently gravitated toward.
The result is a pack that carries more water without losing the ride feel that's made High Above's hip packs some of our favorites to begin with.
The hip buckle is a magnetic closure from Cinch Designs, marking High Above as the first major pack brand to feature one of their buckles.
Cascadia Key Features
4L total storage - 1.5L Hydrapak bladder + 2.5L cargo.
Foam-reinforced back panel and hip wings disperse water weight. Minimizes bounce and sag.
Proprietary M200 Molecular fabric - 40% lighter, 4x more abrasion resistant.
Cinch designs magnetic hip buckle - Glove friendly, super durable.
Precision details - YKK waterproof exterior zipper, integrated bungee carry system, key clip inside.
Lifetime Guarantee - High Above will repair or replace it, no questions asked.
The Cascadia is High Above's first hydration hip pack designed around a 1.5L bladder from the start. Total storage capacity is 4L: 1.5L for water and 2.5L for cargo, and weighs 15 oz (565 g) including the reservoir.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The Cascadia is available for preorder now, shipping August 1, 2026. Order by July 31 to lock in the launch price of $135.99, down from an MSRP of $169.99.
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