CamelBak Signs Jeremy Jones to Roster of Elite Sponsored Athletes

PETALUMA, CA. — (May 8, 2006) – CamelBak Products, LLC today announced it has signed a sponsorship agreement with big mountain snowboarder, Jeremy Jones, naming CamelBak as his exclusive backpack and hydration product supplier through the 2006-2007 season. CamelBak will integrate Jones into its 2006-2007 marketing programs in addition to leveraging his experience and expertise to drive product innovation.

CamelBak will also use Jones’ knowledge of big mountain snowboarding to drive innovation in CamelBak’s Outlaw Series, a pack line designed for freeride sports. ”Jeremy is a great ambassador for CamelBak and exemplifies our shared values of excellence, innovation, and community,” said Mac Tillman, VP of Marketing and Product Management. “Jeremy is the best in the world at big mountain snowboarding and his knowledge of backcountry gear will have a direct impact on product development here at CamelBak.”

Jones, the 2005 O’Neill Verbier Extreme Comp champion, is one of the sport’s most progressive riders to date. Named by Snowboarder Magazine as “Big Mountain Rider of the Year” for the last 5 seasons, Jones has also appeared in over 20 action sports movies, and is currently a featured athlete in Nissan’s Xterra television advertising campaign. His peers describe him as an alien who makes snowboarding in the steepest ranges of the world look natural.

“I’ve been using CamelBaks for biking all my life, so making the jump to using them for snowboarding was a no brainer” said Jones. “Hydration is a key aspect to the type of riding I do in the backcountry. I’m really looking forward to having the opportunity to work with the CamelBak design team on
pack designs and fresh ideas for future winter products.”

In the off-season, Jeremy is actively working to set up a new non-profit called Protect Our Powder, an organization dedicated to slowing down global warming. The sole mission is to help offset the level of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere by supporting projects that reduce emissions in the environment.


About CamelBak’s Outlaw Series
The CamelBak Outlaw series is designed to meet the needs of many different freestyle and freeride athletes, from free skiing and snowboarding (park and pipe, big mountain skiing/snowboarding, hiking and heli) to freeride mountain biking (lift-op mountain parks, trail cutters), and motocross.

About CamelBak
CamelBak Products, LLC. is the originator of the Hands-Free Hydration system. Since 1991, CamelBak’s state of the art packs and hydration systems have benefited athletes, outdoor enthusiasts, and soldiers around the world. CamelBak continues to deliver innovative hydration products to the market with the belief in the performance advantage that proper hydration can deliver in any situation. The company is majority owned by Bear Stearns Merchant Banking and is headquartered in Petaluma, California.

About BSMB
Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, the private equity affiliate of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC) invests private equity capital in compelling leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital opportunities alongside superior management teams. BSMB currently manages more than $3.8 billion of private equity capital. Since its inception in 1997, BSMB has been an investor in over 40 portfolio companies across a broad range of industries. In addition to CamelBak Products, investments by BSMB include: ACA Capital Holdings, Balducci’s, Cavalry Investments, Multi Packaging Solutions, New York & Company, Reddy Ice, Seven for all Mankind, Stuart Weitzman, Transamerican Auto Parts and Vitamin Shoppe. More information about BSMB can be found at www.bsmb.com <http://www.bsmb.com/> .