Quick release 1.5L-3.0L Water Bladder Hydration Bag

Water you can reach without stopping.

You drink when drinking is easy. Pull up, drop the pack, dig the bottle out, drink, put it all back — that is a minute and a half you will not spend halfway up a hot climb. So you don't drink. You get behind, and you don't notice you are behind until the headache turns up and your feet start getting sloppy on the rocks.

A bladder takes the decision away. The hose sits over your shoulder, you bite and sip while you are still walking, and the water actually goes in.

Where most of them let you down is the day after. The hose is welded on, so filling means wrestling the whole assembly under a tap and cleaning means threading a brush past it. This one unclips. Press the catch, the tube comes off, and a shut-off valve in the port closes behind it — so a full bladder with the tube off does not empty itself into your pack.

What It Does

• Hands-free drinking: soft silicone bite mouthpiece on a hose you route over the shoulder, so you sip on the move instead of stopping.
• Hose comes off: a push-fit quick release with an auto shut-off valve in the port, so the bladder seals itself the moment the tube is detached.
• Fills and cleans easily: a 90 mm screw cap you can get a hand, a bottle brush or a fistful of ice through.
• Locks off: the mouthpiece pulls out to unlock and pushes back to lock, so it will not dribble when the pack gets squashed in the ute.
• Four sizes: 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 litre, in army green or blue.
• Drops into a pack: flat profile with a moulded top handle and hanging slots, and it suits most packs built to take a bladder.

Key Features

• Polyurethane film: the supplier states the bladder is polyurethane (PU/TPU), not PVC. Heat-welded seams, no stitching.
• 90 mm fill opening: the supplier's panel gives the screw cap as 90 mm internal diameter.
• Auto shut-off port: the valve closes when the tube is unclipped, for filling, draining and storage.
• Dust cover: a tethered cap over the bite valve keeps grit and flies off the mouthpiece between drinks.
• Moulded fill marks: litre graduations pressed into the film so you can see roughly what is left before you set off.
• Food-contact symbol: a fork-and-spoon mark is moulded into the film. It is a manufacturer's marking — we have not sighted a test certificate behind it.
• Ice through the top: the wide cap takes cubes, which is the only cooling this thing has.
• Free delivery: Australia and New Zealand, no minimum.

Limits

Buy a size up. The usable capacity runs under the label. This is the honest one, and it is the thing you should decide on. Buyers who measured what actually went in reported a 1.5 litre bladder taking about 1,350 ml, and a 3 litre order that arrived marked 2.5 taking about 2,250 ml. Another got the full 2.5 litres in only by tilting it to the right angle. The shape of the fill port limits it. If you need two litres in the pack, buy the 2.5 or the 3.

Cold water only. No temperature range is stated by the supplier. The film carries a moulded care symbol that appears to rule out both freezing and hot liquid, so treat it as cold water and ice, and do not put a hot drink in it or throw it in the freezer solid.

We are not calling it BPA-free. Other sellers of this same design describe the film as BPA-free and food-grade, and one of them claims an FDA certification. We have not sighted a test certificate or a test report, so we are not repeating any of it as ours. What we can tell you is what the supplier states about the material and what is physically moulded into the bladder — both are in the spec table.

It may taste of plastic at first. Cheap bladders usually do for the first few fills. The supplier makes no statement about taste either way. One buyer of this exact bladder reported no taste after three rinses; we would rinse it a few times with warm water before the first real trip and not assume.

Not dishwasher and not freezer rated. Neither is stated by the supplier. Wash it by hand through the wide cap, hang it open to dry, and store it dry with the tube off.

The coupling can weep. One buyer reported a few drops at the point where the hose clips into the port. Seat the tube fully home and check it before it goes in with your sleeping bag.

No pressure or load rating. One of the supplier's own images shows a person standing on a filled bladder under the words "pressure tolerant". No burst pressure, no load figure and no film thickness is stated anywhere, so do not read that picture as a number. It is a water bag, not a crash pad.

Not a water filter and not a purifier. It stores what you put in it. If the source is doubtful, treat the water before it goes in.

Bladder only. No pack, no insulated hose sleeve, no cleaning kit and no hanging hook are included.

Q & A

Which size should I actually order?

Work out what you want to carry and go one step up. Buyers keep measuring these short, so if you want a genuine two litres on the hill, take the 2.5 or the 3.0. The price step between sizes is small compared with running dry.

Will it fit my pack?

Any pack with a bladder sleeve and a hose port should take it — it is a flat rectangle with a moulded top handle and hanging slots. The only figure the supplier prints is 430 x 193 mm on the unit photographed, which carries a 2.0 litre top graduation. Per-size dimensions are not published, so measure your sleeve against that and allow a little more for the bigger capacities.

What is the bladder made of?

Polyurethane — PU, commonly sold as TPU film. That is what our supplier states and it matches the material recorded against the product. It is not PVC. There is no test certificate behind it and we have not sighted one.

Does the hose and bite valve come with it?

Yes. The bladder ships with the hose, the silicone bite mouthpiece, the lock-off collar and the tethered dust cover, all fitted. The hose length is not specified by the supplier.

Can I take the tube off without emptying it?

That is the point of it. Press the catch and the tube unclips; a shut-off valve in the port closes behind it. It makes filling at a tap and cleaning at home much less of a fight, and it means the tube can travel separately.

How do I keep it from going furry inside?

Empty it after every trip, rinse it through the 90 mm cap with warm water, prop it open so air gets in and let it dry completely before it goes away. Store it with the tube detached and the cap off. A bladder that gets put away damp is a bladder you throw out.

Specs