Hydration Pack MOLLE Daypack - Bladder Sold Separately

Water on your back. Hands free. No stopping.

A bottle buried in a pack is a bottle you don't drink. You'd have to stop, drop the bag, dig it out, drink, put it back and shoulder it again — so you don't. You tell yourself you'll have one at smoko.

Getting behind on water doesn't announce itself. You just get a bit slower, a bit shorter with people, and your judgement slips before you notice it has. On a hot day, on a site or up a hill, that is exactly when the mistakes happen.

This is the carrier that removes the stopping. A flat 460 mm pack that holds a water bladder against your back with the hose clipped to your shoulder strap, so a drink costs you nothing but turning your head. Two zip compartments up front carry the rest of the day — phone, keys, a fleece, a first aid kit.

Read this before you buy: the bladder, the drinking hose and the bite valve are not in the box. This is the pack on its own. The supplier's own artwork says so in plain words, and we are not going to bury it in the fine print. It takes a 1 to 3 litre bladder, and we sell one that fits — Quick release 1.5L–3.0L water bladder.

What It Does

• Carries the water: a sleeve against the back panel takes a 1 to 3 litre bladder, with a hose exit at the top left and a clamp on the shoulder strap to stop the tube swinging.
• Keeps your hands free: the bite valve sits on the strap by your collarbone, so you drink while you're still walking, riding or working.
• Sits flat, not bulky: 60 mm deep unloaded, so it rides close to your back instead of hanging off it and catching on everything.
• Carries the small stuff: an upper zip pocket with an internal organiser for pens, cards and a torch, plus a lower zip compartment big enough for a rolled fleece or a set of ear muffs.
• Takes your own kit: a laser-cut MOLLE panel across the lower pocket and webbing MOLLE across the upper one, so pouches, a knife sheath or a torch clip go where you want them.
• Stays put when you move: adjustable chest and waist straps on side-release buckles hold it against your back instead of letting it bounce.

Key Features

• 460 x 240 x 60 mm: the supplier's approximate external figure, measured flat and empty. It gains depth in the middle once it is loaded.
• Fits 1 to 3 litres: the bladder range the supplier states on its own spec panel. Read the Limits tab before you order a 3 litre.
• 600D nylon shell: the supplier's stated fabric. No independent figure was found to check the denier against, so take it as stated rather than measured.
• Air mesh back panel: two vented pads either side of the spine and one across the lumbar, to keep a cold wet bladder off your shirt.
• S-shaped shoulder straps: padded and curved to follow the shoulder rather than cut across it, with D-rings for clipping gear.
• Hook-and-loop patch panel: across the upper pocket, for a name tape or a flag. Patches are not included.
• Paracord zip pulls: big enough to grab in gloves, and easy to replace with your own cord when one wears through.
• Top grab handle: webbing loop, so you can pick it out of the ute tray or hang it off a hook.
• Three colours: khaki, black and army green, all at one price.

Limits

What this pack will not do, stated plainly.

• No bladder, no hose, no bite valve: the pack on its own. The supplier's own artwork carries the note "Item Comes Without Water Pipe". Every photo showing a hose is showing you where it would go, not what you are getting.
• A 3 litre bladder is a tight fit: our own 3 litre bladder measures 188 x 520 mm empty, and this pack is 460 mm tall on the outside. The 2.5 litre is 188 x 470 mm. On stated numbers only the 2 litre (180 x 390 mm) clears comfortably. Those are two sets of supplier figures rather than a fit we have measured, so treat 3 litres as the supplier's claim, not ours.
• It is not waterproof: no IP number and no hydrostatic head is published for this pack, and the zips are not sealed. The nylon will shed a passing shower. It is not a dry bag and we are not going to call it one — if what is inside must stay dry, line it.
• Nothing here is certified: no standard is printed on the pack and no certificate has been sighted. It carries water and small kit. It is not load-bearing or life-safety equipment.
• The waist strap is a stabiliser: plain webbing on a buckle, not a padded load-bearing hip belt, and there is no internal frame. The weight rides on your shoulders.
• Nothing is insulated: no insulated hose sleeve and no insulated bladder pocket. Water left in a pack in the sun gets warm, and so does an exposed hose.
• It is a day pack, not a hiking pack: 60 mm deep flat, so a tablet fits and a full-size laptop does not. Overnight gear is the wrong job for it — pick a larger pack for that.

Q & A

Does it come with a water bladder?

No. You get the pack. No bladder, no drinking hose, no bite valve. The old listing title said otherwise and it was wrong. The bladder is sold separately — Quick release 1.5L–3.0L water bladder — in 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 litre.

Which size bladder should I get?

The 2 litre is the safe answer. Our 2 litre measures 180 x 390 mm empty against a 460 mm pack, so it goes in with room to spare. The 2.5 litre is stated at 470 mm and the 3 litre at 520 mm, both longer than the pack's outside height, so they may not sit flat or may not go in at all. Both figures are supplier approximations rather than a fit we have measured, so if you want certainty, take the 2 litre.

Will another brand's bladder fit?

Most likely, if it is 3 litres or under and no longer than about 460 mm by 240 mm. The sleeve's internal dimensions are not specified by the supplier, so measure your bladder flat and empty before you count on it. The hose exits at the top left of the back panel and the clamp is on the left shoulder strap, so a bladder with its port on the right may route awkwardly.

What is the bladder made of, and is it BPA free?

That question belongs to whichever bladder you put in it, not to this pack. Ours is polyurethane with a silicone bite valve and a screw-top filler. No BPA-free statement is published for it, so we are not making one.

Can I run or ride in it?

Yes. The chest strap and waist strap are there for exactly that, and 60 mm of depth keeps it close to your back. A full 3 litre bladder will slosh and it will tell on your shoulders after a while — if you are running, half-fill it or use the 2 litre.

How much will it hold besides water?

The supplier's own photo shows a tablet, a rolled fleece and a set of ear muffs going in alongside the bladder. Overall volume in litres is not specified, so go by the dimensions: 460 x 240 x 60 mm flat, gaining depth as you fill it.

Specs