Water bladders and LONG drinking tubes

[lamrith]

Looking for some guidance on what you folks are using in your packs. Old school cyclist here when I bought a pack last year that was setup to take a bladder I picked up a Camelback 2L kit.

Water capacity was "ok" for the hunt I did last year, but I do want to upgrade to 3L.

The big issue was the drinking tube length. It barely made it to my tube retention clip on my pack. I had to twist my head around or unclip it to drink, and it was not insulated so that 1st pull was always hot water.

What bladder/tube setups are you all using to get those longer tubes I often see on peoples packs?

[Indian Summer]

Good mornin' Larry.

First.... I switched from bladders to bottles years ago. There are a few potential problems with bladders. A common one is warm water in the hose. Just blow back in the tube before you shut of the valve. You do have a valve right? if not get one, they are cheap. Don't rely on the bite valve alone. I had a friend have his bladder completely empty inside his sleeping bag in sub zero temps while climbing Mt Rainier. Devastating. The opposite problem is when the tube freezes. That's terrible! A worse problem is bacteria. Those things are breeding grounds for it. If you continue to use one by the cleaning kit. Use the cleaning tabs and scrub it down good including the tube and the bottom corners of the bladder itself.

But to me the worst day I had with a bladder was when I was hiking along and felt wet on my ass. I immediately knew that my bladder had leaked. By then it had soaked through my pack, my wool pants, and my base layers. Soaking wet AND no water. Never again!

Instead I use Nalgene bottles. 2 of them. Three if you want. They fit the attachment that comes with the Katydyn filters which is nice. More importantly they are foolproof.

My Badlands pack has a bladder pouch up high so the hose is long enough. If the bladder is sitting in the bottom of the pack you'll have problems. You could always go to a hardware store and get new tubing and replace it.

Good luck!

[Ridgernr]

I am an archery hunter and I will cut my tube down so all I have is just enough to drink from, I don't want that tube popping out of the clip and me not notice it and have it get caught in my bowstring, I have it on the opposite side but it still seemed like it could shift to the string side.

[lamrith]

Thanks guys!

Yep I have a valve on mine, always use it for sure and also blow back to push water toward bladder between swigs. So far I do not do much cold weather hunting (yet) but leaks is a good thing to keep in mind. My pack has the bladder in the bottom which is probably the root issue on length.. That means I need a new pack right!?!? I might be able to get the wife to buy that.. yeah probably not.

I will consider the bottles, the concern would be their hard fixed shape and that I tend to go thru quite a bit of water, that form could be bulky and requires pulling bottle out of pack. Not uncommon for me to take 2L down in a morning hunt, and usually taking frequent hits while on the move.

Def makes sense on not being too long and fouling string another 2-4" would be perfect for me, put it on my check not hangning down, right no mine is up above my collarbone 1/2 the time.

[Ridgernr]

Bladder in the bottom of a pack would diffenately cause a short tube. No way to move the bladder, I would buy a longer hose

[WapitiTalk1]

Need to rig up something to make your bladder hang higher in the pack; that should help. I carried bottles for eons and won't go back, too much hassle to drink when you need to. The warm water coming from a bladder is hard to remedy but it helps to not have the bladder in your pack against your back but instead in a side pouch in the pack?

[Brendan]

You can probably hang the bladder along your spine higher up in the pack using some paracord. From a weight carrying perspective, that's the best location for heavy stuff.

I have a pretty long drinking tube for my MSR Dromlite (4L) that works pretty well. I also got some quick disconnects that I can pump directly into the bladder if I want, and technically I could also add an extra length of hose this way if I wanted to lengthen it. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Quick-Hyd ... B0007U018E

[lamrith]

Thanks for the ideas everyone!! Not much in my pack to tie off or connect something to hang a bladder from, but I will take a deeper look. Just hoping since I want to upgrade to a large bladder that maybe there is a specific bladder or brand that offers longer hoses, I will measure mine tonight so I have an actual tube length to compare to. Bring it all over to Phantoms place and compare to his as well.

You can probably hang the bladder along your spine higher up in the pack using some paracord. From a weight carrying perspective, that's the best location for heavy stuff.

I have a pretty long drinking tube for my MSR Dromlite (4L) that works pretty well. I also got some quick disconnects that I can pump directly into the bladder if I want, and technically I could also add an extra length of hose this way if I wanted to lengthen it. Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Quick-Hyd ... B0007U018E

Did that bladder come with the long tube or did you fashion one up using the connectors you linked?

[lamrith]

Found those MSR unit son amazon..
You use the Dromlite, any thoughts on it vs the Dromedary? The Dromedary has more grommets to suspend is and is only $4.00 more for the 4L. I see a few comments in the Dromlite reviews about both having a bad taste but the black Dromedary being he worse..?

Dromlite:
http://www.amazon.com/MSR-DromLite-Bag- ... op?ie=UTF8
Dromedary:
http://www.amazon.com/MSR-Dromedary-Han ... l_huc_item

This is probably the tube kit you have? 42" sounds WAY longer than my current tube.
http://www.amazon.com/MSR-Hydration-Kit ... _mrai_1_dp

[Brendan]

I have the dromlite, but have never used the dromedary. No issues with taste that I ever noticed. I want to say I picked the dromlite because it was a little lighter, but it's been a couple years.

That drinking hose is exactly what I have, but I cut it and added in the quick disconnect for my katadyn so I wouldn't have to take the bladder out of my pack to fill it.

[WapitiTalk1]

The MSR dromedary and dromlites bags are really designed for filtered camp water storage. MSR does make some really good pack bladder systems tho.

[lamrith]

Great info, thanks guys!

Yeah I see they make them in much larger sizes, I was thinking 3 or 4L so it would last a full day. Never know when phantom might decide to run me up and over the next ridge rather than break to camp mid-day.. When the elk are a singing, you gotta dance to their tune!

4L I think is a bit overkill, but on hot days I have drained my 2l in morning and evening so be nice to fill once and be set for whatever the day may hold, but means hauling more weight too.. I like that they are build heavier for hanging that way I can suspend in pack as well to help with tube length though I think the

[Brendan]

The reason I picked the dromlite is the size - I carry a 4L. When I'm working hard in warm weather, I'll go through up to two of those a day, and it's a pain in the butt to have to go find water when you're out at an inopportune time.

[husky390]

Just an idea, but If you have a tube port and a pack handle, tie a piece of paracord to the handle, run it down through the port to your bladder.

For water bladders, I use a dromedary 4l and tie it off up high in my pack.

[WapitiTalk1]

Wow, you cats are packing some serious water! I'll go through 3L's some days but not every day.

[lamrith]

Just an idea, but If you have a tube port and a pack handle, tie a piece of paracord to the handle, run it down through the port to your bladder.

For water bladders, I use a dromedary 4l and tie it off up high in my pack.

Awesome idea!! I like that husky! I have a Camelbak right now with the big opening and flange I could probably tie paracord thru, I will check that out..

Hrmm must make note to siphon Phantoms water bladder out and add some rocks to his pack when we take a food break.. that way I can carry a 2L and not run out of water...

[husky390]

Hope it works out for you.

[Lefty]

It is almost sad reading theses posts; Ive experienced all the situations Indian Summer mentioned. Except not quite as much water and in the sleeping bag,.. and the night was 60 degrees,.. and I had an extra sleeping bag along.
I used extra water bottles in the desert all the time. I like the foil packet juices for the sugar and they are quiet when empty.
I also bought a bladder with a long tube, after experiencing the too short of tube pulling out of its stirrup and having to redo my pack.

I carry a filter straw and a bladder now

[Northman]

Lamrith- Take a look at Platypus. They are a after market bladder to use in any pack. They already come with a quick connect from the factory. The quick connect is a standard size to fit packable water filtration pumps. I refill at springs in the area and just snap the drink hose out and the water filter hose in. The drink hose is blue to cut down on bacteria growth. I have used my 3 litter for 4 years now without any problems or leaks. Nothing sucks worse than a leaking water bladder. You can pick up a 3 litter online at REI for $37 and a cleaning kit for $13.

[Northman]

Oh, and I have frozen my Platypus bladder solid 3X's on a late season hunt this year -7 deg in the mornings warmed up to a balmy +15 deg middays. It didn't leak or break. I would thaw it out at night on the motel radiator and use it the next day until it would freeze up again. Very tough product.