Hydration Pack Review

High Sierra Model “Soak 2″ hydration pack (www.highsierrasport.com) cost me about $23.00 CDN including taxes. Compare this to the Running Room’s hydration pack at $45.00 CDN or a “Camelbak” at about 50 or 55 dollars. The Running Room’s pack seemed as feature full and as complex as the one I bought but I did not examine it in any detail, in fact, I gave it a passing glance after seeing the price tag. The Camelbak seemed small and featureless by comparison but it was cute. Again I did not examine the Camelbak. I tested this bike riding, and plan on testing it running as well…

The High Sierra model I purchased and tested today was very good. It performed very well but I have an issue with it. Before I talk about it in detail, here are a few pictures:

This the back view with the water bladder installed. The hose is threaded through the pack and hangs off your left or right shoulder depending on which side you choose to thread it:

This picture is a side view with the bladder removed. You can see the foiled inner lining that helps to insulate the contents, also note the end of the tube has a black “dirt shield” attached to the bite valve:

Here is a view with the bladder filled and ready to insert back into the pack. The bladder holds 2 liters. To put it back into the pack you have to thread the hose through partially first. It is easy to do. You have to get the knack of filling the bladder because in spite of the large screw cap, the bladder is collapsed and you either have to poke something in there or hold it just right to let the water flow into the bag. It is not a huge problem, you’ll easily get the hang of it. You can also fill the bladder while it is in the pack:

Here is a picture of the sales card that comes with the pack, note that this is from Costco. Maybe this is a discontinued model or one made special for Costco I don’t know. I wonder because a replacement bladder online costs about $20.00 US and that is more than the whole thing cost me at Costco:

And here is the back of that card with all the features listed on it. I saved this picture at a higher resolution so you could hopefully read it:

Today was hot and windy on my 100 km bike ride. I used the whole two liters by the 70 km marker and had to stop at a local gas station to put in another liter. I don’t know why I just put in 1 and not 2 liters, but there you have it. Silly. But that 1 liter easily lasted me the rest of the way. Is anything perfect? Probably not and this pack is no exception. The one thing that spoiled this test was (I am certain) the bite valve. To drink you just stick the end of the hose in your mouth and gently bite down, opening a valve and allowing you to sip from the tube. The problem was the bite valve had a bitter, vile taste like new rubber. The valve worked very well otherwise. Awful taste! But it was either tolerate the taste or die of dehydration so I managed to gulp it down. The exposed tube is insulated but that insulation could not keep the water cold. So I resorted to sucking 2 or three small sips and spitting it out before I got to the cold stuff. I had carried a couple of partially frozen cold paks along, as well as a 750ml bottle of Powerade Sports Drink, plus two sandwiches, all in the pack. There is no way to get anything else in that pack unless it is fine sand.

I did not need the Sports Drink at all, but I did eat the two sandwiches. I had washed the bladder in soapy water and rinsed it after I bought it and before I took it with me for the first time today.

Here is a picture of the bladder again showing the tube and the bite valve:

And here the bite valve has been removed for cleaning, something I did not do before the ride:

Finally here is a wider view showing the bite valve removed and the cover on a string which is the dirt shield that goes over the bite valve when not in use. While riding the bike I did not bother with the dirt shield, I just let it dangle. Otherwise you would have to use two hands and that means stopping your bike which sort of defeats the reason for a bite valve in the first place:

To try to fix the bad taste problem (after I got home), I first removed the bite valve and rinsed the system and put fresh water into it and tasted it through the now valveless tube. I did not have that bad taste so I concluded it was the valve. I tasted the blue plastic (silicon?) covering the valve and it did not seem bad so I concluded it must be the (rubber?) in the valve itself. I soaked the valve in a solution of dish soap and baking soda for an hour or two, occasionally working the valve with my fingers to pass the solution through the valve. Then I rinsed it thoroughly and put it a fresh baking soda only solution where it sits as I write this review. I will rinse it out tomorrow morning after leaving it in the solution all night. I am pretty sure that should fix the problem. If all else fails, time and use may fix it too.

The pack itself comes with two handy straps, one to clip across your upper chest, and one to clip across your waist, both of which are designed to stabilize the pack during use. After first thinking the straps were too narrow (about 1 inch), I concluded they were just right and left me with a feeling that the pack was secure and stable, which it was. Plus it was a great place to hang my cell phone! It also has a mesh hideaway thingy that you can put a bike helmet in. Or dry your wet things. Or whatever. I would recommend this pack highly overall, but only with the faith that the bad taste issue will be resolved.

I promise to let you know how the taste issue stands within another week…