There are some questions you need to think about when deciding if a hydration pack will be useful to you.
On the face of it, it is simple enough. Are hydration packs comfortable when you're out running or not? Are they too bulky? These are the main things people consider before buying one. However, you should consider something more fundamental when wondering if they're worth it; Do I need it?
This really comes down to how much fluid your loosing which is really a product of how long you are out running for and how hot it is. It is pretty simple in that respect. If you train for 2hrs, you will sweat off more fluid that if you train for 1 hr. If you train on a hot summer day you will sweat off more that if you run on a cold winters day.
So the answer is really along the lines of getting a bit scientific and working out how much fluid you lose, under what circumstances. Then you can work out if it's worth taking one or not.
Work out a route that is similar to your normal routes in terms of hilliness, and a distance that will have you running for 1hr. Weight yourself naked before you go. Then weight yourself naked afterward. The difference is fluid loss. Do it a few times, a few weeks apart in similar conditions to get an average and make sure there wasn't some blip. Then the interesting bit. Do the same route on a much warmer day, or colder day, and see the difference in weight loss. You will almost certainly find the results very different. Outside temperature difference of 5 degrees can make a very big difference to the amount of sweat you will lose.
So is it worth taking a running hydration pack? Well know you can work it out. If you sweat 2 litres (1 kilo weight loss - 1 litre of water) in your 1 hr, and you plan to run for 2 hrs on a warm day, I would say you definitely need to plan your hydration. Hydrate before hand, and take a waist hydration pack holding 1 litre and you will offset much of the dehydration. As relatively mild dehydration severely impacts performance, if you work out you are likely to be sweating off many litres of fluid... yes, a running hydration pack is definitely worth it.
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