Thoughts on a Camelbak

[w00hoo_kent]

[QUOTE 3776953, member: 9609"]so how does the water get in, do they somehow extract it from the air or simply just recycle the sweat from your back.[/QUOTE]
I think the phrase should be 'you don't have to fill them all the way to the top' :-) I can tell when I'm getting close to empty on mine, the water starts to get warmer.

 

[Kestevan]

Ive got a cheap decathlon copy. Almost as good, but the mouthpiece is a bit more fiddly. I replaced the bite valve with a genuine camel back one when it got a bit chewed

 

[Cyclist33]

This may be a knee jerk reaction to the recent hot weather, but I am thinking of getting a Camelbak or similar.

I managed to get myself what I believe to be dehydrated earlier this week.

By the time I realised, it was too late to do much about it.

My cycling skills don't extend to using a bidon while riding, so the idea of being able to sip regularly, rather than stopping for the occasional bigger slurp, is appealing.

I've had a brief look online - Camelbaks seem a lot of money for what they are.

Is it worth paying eighty odd quid, or would a much cheaper one do?

I think I grasp the use of one, but is care and maintenance a faff?

Any thoughts/recommendations appreciated.

I am by no stretch of imagination the most gainly, coordinated or generally capable of cyclists, but I can get a bottle out of a cage and drink from it and put it back. How can you not do that??!

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Ive got a cheap decathlon copy. Almost as good, but the mouthpiece is a bit more fiddly. I replaced the bite valve with a genuine camel back one when it got a bit chewed

Yup, did the same with the Platypus, which had a very large bite valve that I couldn't get on with. Slotted it off and put a camelbak one on.

I am by no stretch of imagination the most gainly, coordinated or generally capable of cyclists, but I can get a bottle out of a cage and drink from it and put it back. How can you not do that??!

I find the stretch down and grab could have me waggling around for the bottle (this has gotten easier with time) a pain and can see me wobbling the bike a bit and putting the bottle back in the cage solidly similarly unsettling. I don't like doing it if cars are overtaking me at the same time. I don't like doing it if I have something else I should be concentrating on. Even though I don't look, it is still distracting. For my commuting, I want to be able to just grab the tube, drink and drop it back again. I can do that when I'm thirsty, pretty much irrespective of what is going on, and that's what I'm after.

 

[Cyclist33]

Okay, although you could always do the drinking bit when a car is not passing or you are not being forced to concentrate on something else!

 

[Hacienda71]

Tesco do a half decent one for £13. I use it regularly when out on the MTB.
http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-h...pid=342-4022&gclid=CJeu_qaFv8YCFasEwwodNe8MyQ

 

[Pale Rider]

Tesco do a half decent one for £13. I use it regularly when out on the MTB.
http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-h...pid=342-4022&gclid=CJeu_qaFv8YCFasEwwodNe8MyQ

This link won't work for me, but rooting around the website I found a couple of hydration packs, including one for £10.

Even better, when I ordered it, the screen told me I have £28.50 in unspent clubcard vouchers, of which I was unaware.

So I've used those to order this pack, which will do to see if I get on with one.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-hydration-pack-bladder/300-1990.prd?skuId=300-1990&pageLevel=

 

[tribanjules]

Good one in aldi or tesco have them under £20

 

[TreeHuggery]

Rinse the bladders and hoses out, pop them in the freezer between rides.

yep took a few trips out with foul tasting water to realise that storing em in the freezer is the way forward - is there anything worse in life than gagging for a drink only to find that it actually burns your throat....

 

[Smurfy]

I bought one of these a while back

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-hydration-pack-bladder/300-1990.prd

They are pretty good value for money

 

[DRM]

I have a camelback for use on the MTB, I got mine from a military surplus shop, think it was £25 it's in an insulated cover, in desert DPM camouflage, with an insulated tube, the bladder is a 3 litre capacity, and was brand new unused surplus. However I do use bidons on the road bike, as they don't get as dirty as they would on the MTB.

 

[djb1971]

I've recently changed over to a waist /lumbar pack instead of my camelbak. It has room for my stove and food, also has pockets that hold extra water bottles.

I used it last week in the highlands on my cx and fatbike on the hottest days, no sweaty back, no back ache and extra water. I'm now a convert

 

[tribanjules]

I've recently changed over to a waist /lumbar pack instead of my camelbak. It has room for my stove and food, also has pockets that hold extra water bottles.

I used it last week in the highlands on my cx and fatbike on the hottest days, no sweaty back, no back ache and extra water. I'm now a convert

What make ?

 

[djb1971]

north face