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8 Hydration packs to the test...

Much easier to stop and down a few bottles of filtered municipal bottled water when fuel is needed than go through all that trouble inmho.

That all depends on how off the beaten track your adventure takes you.
 
I use separate vessels stowed here and there on my rig.....I like to stop and stretch take in the scenery, etc. The camel backs are a **** to clean out, etc. I can more easily vary what I want to carry, say two liters of ice tea, two of water and one of homemade soup, and a liter of moonshine. Can't do that with a bladder......:sun:

If you are getting mold or anything growing in your bladder you're doing something wrong. As long as you only run water in them they generally last a very long time. I've went years without cleaning a bladder and never had any kind of stuff growing in it. But I never put anything but water in mine.

The only ones I've seen that get moldy are ones that are stored empty with no water in them but still moist or the biggest one is folks who run stuff like powerade in theirs. The sugar in those drinks promotes bacteria growth.

Much easier to stop and down a few bottles of filtered municipal bottled water when fuel is needed than go through all that trouble inmho.

Sometimes you don't have the option. If it's really hot out you need to be drinking water between stops to stay hydrated properly.
 
I carry bottles of water in a cooler in those situations.

I used to do that also. But when I began trail riding it forced me to start using a hydration pack. Once you use one correctly you won't go back and now I use it when street riding also. Much less hassle and effort required than packing and strapping on a cooler. Anybody that gets funk inside is doing it wrong. Fill with ice and your water will stay cool for the better part of a day. When done fill up completely with water and that's it. Next use dump out water and refill with fresh. No smells and no tastes after 3 years. I use simple refrigerator filtered water for drinking and tap water for storage.

_
 
I still use my camel back. I just have the preference to use bottled water when possible.
 
They get mold etc after a while...I use full strength bleach overnight, and the result is a clear tube and bladder. When I finish mine for the day, I remove the bite piece and swing the hose around to force all the water out. It helps prevent the tube and bladder from forming mold at least for a while.

RB

It also helps to not run anything but water in your hydration system. Sure is easy to keep clean that way.

***EDIT - well crapola, didn't see this second page. :giveup:
 
I have one of those fancy new Camelbacks that hold water in the hip belt. It's barely noticeable but the material is really thin and the zippers don't seem to care for caliche dust.

On the otherhand my Gieggerig 1200 is a beast and seems to shrug off branches (and the ground) quite well. Only problem with it are the CPC(?) quick connects. They suck for fuel lines and they suck here too. If there's anything in the pack then any small jump (ie cattleguard) and the one attaching the water hose disconnects. I'm going to have to figure out how to get it to stay put. Sometimes it even comes loose when putting the bladder in the pack. If I can't get it to stay in place I'll shove a Platypus BigZip in there and be done with it. Furthermore the zippers are either big enough to not get clogged with dust or have good seals over them keeping the caliche out.

Sent from my HTC using magic.
 
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