They are allowed, no problem at all. In fact, I think I remember seeing a woman pro at this years race in Kona with a camelback. I'd have to look to go see who it was. If you watch the IM broadcast today on NBC I'd bet you'd see her with it on. (I found it, the pro wearing the camelback at Kona this year was Lisbeth Kristensen. Triathlete Magazine (Jan. 07 issue) has a picture of her at Kona with her camelback)

I have a friend that's not too coordinated, she actually wiped out pretty good during a race trying to put her water bottle back in the cage. So now she uses a camelback, I told her to get an aero-bar water bottle so she wouldn't have that problem.

For short distance races you wouldn't need it. For a half or IM, maybe. The thing is, most races, not all have a good setup when it comes to aid stations, they are there to help you replenish along the way during the race. So, you don't need to worry about not having something to drink during a race.

If I'm doing an 75-100 mile bike and the road I'm going to be on doesn't have many places for me to stop and buy something to replenish with, I'll take a camelback on the ride. For a race I'll have my aero-bar water bottle and one other water bottle on my bike, that's it, for 1/2 IM and IM distance races.

Oh yeah, don't worry about what other people might think or say, you do what you are comfortable with. If that's what's going to get you through the race, then use it.

Another vote for NOT using a Camelback for anything less then a HIM. The reasons are simple - you're not going to consume 70 oz of water on the bike in a sprint or oly; it just another item to put on in T1.

I use mine religiously for training anything over 50 miles especially in the hot weather. Otherwise, I use my aqua rack or bottles on the bike.

hmm ok thanks for all the input guys. For now I'm defiantly going to stick to using it. Still unsure about the race as I'm not the most graceful/balanced person on the bike I'd prefer to just grab the hose from the camelback instead of fumbling around with my water bottles.

Another factor not yet mentioned is HEAT. I find that wearing a camelbak on the bike makes my back all hot and sweaty, even on cooler days. I just wore one for a marathon, and liked it, but on the bike, it's just too hot for me.

Also, maybe I have my camelbak set up poorly, but because of my very aggressive position on the bike, I can't get any water out of the thing while in aero. I have to go up on the hoods so that gravity can do its work and get the water to come out of the straw. Just a thought.

Maybe a guy thing - but I find the camelback very hot on the bike when temps go up. The contents definitely did not stay cool for very long at all. The sports drink from the camel back was actually hot to drink. Maybe because of being in an areo position on the bike and baking under direct sun. Just not something that I'll do again. Better on the run, (Only for training) but mine must not fit great as I will chafe with it. It also made the steep hills seem worse. Thinking of carrying this weight up the hills.