Looking for a bladder to pop inside your pack? We reckon that this is the pick of the bunch especially when you add an Ergo Valve
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Camelbak Omega Hydration Bladder
Tested
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Price:
£21.99
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Capacity: 100 oz / 3
litres
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Features:
Ergonomic handle reservor holder with large screw cap, we
added Ergo HydroLock bite-valve (£5.99) made from
medical grade silicon, UV-stable Polyurethane
reservoir.
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Easy to fill and clean plus great bite valve.
Nowt really.
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The Concept Camelbak are pretty much the 'Hoover' of hydration
systems, to the point where mountain bikers tend to call anything
with a bladder and tube by the name. They're really only just
starting to appear in outdoors shops, but it's worth making the
effort to track one down, particularly if your pack incorporates a
hydration system sleeve and outlet.
Little and often is the most effective way of staying hydrated and
hydration systems make that easy. The Omega is Camelbak's latest
design and is aimed at providing an easy to fill and clean system
with good flow rates and low maintenance. It'll fit in any pack with
a hydration sleeve big enough and is also available in one and
two-litre guises. We like the 3-litre version for big days out, but
it won't fit some packs, so check before buying.
Note that for £5 more you can buy the 'Unbottle' version in
either two or three litre sizes, this incorporates a tough insulated
nylon cover and D-rings so you can strap the bladder safely to the
outside of your pack , but adds a little weight.
Features The Omega's a refinement of previous Camelbak
bladders and incorporates some neat features. The best of these is a
big screw-top opening complete with a plastic handle so you can hold
the bladder open with one hand while manipulating taps, energy
drinks, phones etc with the other.
The standard valve is the Big Bite, which is a non-mechanical
system made from medical-grade silicone but we upgraded to the
Ergo HydroLock bite-valve (£5.99) which
incorporates a right-angled mouth piece for more natural drinking
plus a small tap that allows you to turn off the flow of fluid
through the valve.
In Action We've used quite a few hydration systems over the
past couple of years, but ended up buying a Camelbak with our own
dosh and haven't regretted it for a minute. The blue-tinted
polyurethane reservoir is incredibly easy to fill - unscrew the big
screw cap and use the handle to hold, one-handed under a tap. The big
opening makes adding energy drinks and cleaning the reservoir after
use easy too. We also found it extremely resistant to tainting by
energy drinks.
The standard Big Bite valve gives excellent flow and the Ergo
version is just as good. It's hard to know why it's so much better
than, say, a Platypus equivalent, but it is and never leaves you with
that gasping, parched dog feeling as you try and suck fluid from the
tube. The right-angle of the valve puts it in just the right place
too.
We also like the Hydrolock a lot - no more wet car seats or
accidentally sitting on your valve during lunch and donating your
water to the earth worms. A top idea as long as you can remember to
use it. And so far it's proved durable enough, with no leaks.
Of course it also has the generic advantages of hydration systems,
keeping the fluid close to your back and allowing quick, easy,
hands-free access to drink on the trail.
Our hydration bladder of choice and now available in outdoors as
well as cycling shops. The Omega handle and screw-top opening makes
filling and cleaning a breeze and the valve flows appreciably better
than others we've used ,while sticking to a simple, non-mechanical,
trouble-free design - it's just a slit that opens up when bitten.
Mechanical bite valves we've used have almost always ended up being
problematic.
It's also low taint and low smell and the admittedly expensive
Ergo HydroLock bite-valve is the icing
on the cake. If you're after a hydration system, we'd say look no
further, though if you want to carry the bladder on the outside of
your sac, look at the UnBottle version which is also insulated for
cool / hot conditions.
Other extras available include an effective cleaning kit and an
insulated tube and mouth piece for extremely cold weather.
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Performance
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Value
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Pushed for time:
Our hydration bladder of choice and now available in
outdoors as well as cycling shops. The Omega handle and
screw-top opening makes filling and cleaning a breeze and
the valve flows appreciably better than others we've used
,while sticking to a simple, non-mechanical, trouble-free
design - it's just a slit that opens up when bitten.
Mechanical bite valves we've used have almost always ended
up being problematic.
It's also low taint and low smell and the admittedly
expensive Ergo HydroLock
bite-valve is the icing on the cake. If you're after
a hydration system, we'd say look no further. Also available
in one and two litre guises.
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you have questions you can mail
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Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear
forum.
