For many athletes, they are now part of the fixed equipment, but even with longer recreational and day trips, they have become indispensable:

Bladders. The trick – unlike drinking bottles athletes need not interrupt, unscrew the lid, start the bottle to drink and then stow again. Instead, there is one backpack(= „Fluid bladder“) on the back. About one of the Hydration projecting hose that you can easily pull in between your mouth, you can at any time easily and without interrupting the sporting activity, drink liquid. Especially mountain bikers and motocross riders took pleasure in using the Hydration and so the gadget became more and more popular.

features

A Hydration consists of two elements – a backpack and the associated hydration system. The latter includes the actual Hydration , a hose and a matching mouthpiece. The Hydration is filled with any beverage and packaged in a backpack. The hose is placed over the carrier so that it can be gripped quickly when needed; Mostly it can be fixed to the front of the carrier. The mouthpiece may have different functions depending on the manufacturer: some have caps that protect them from dirt – these must be opened before use. However, almost all have a bite valve, which prevents the loss of fluid through the mouthpiece. So as soon as you want to drink something, you bite on the valve and sucks the liquid according to the straw principle.

Advantages and disadvantages

Comparative winner at testberichte.de in 2013 was the Hydrapak Shape Shift Reversible Reservoir (Test Score 1.0). By means of a dividing wall one can reduce their volume if required, whereby the hydration bladder becomes flatter. The hose can be quickly and easily attached to the backpack and remove. The mouthpiece impresses with an optimal design and a high output. The 3-liter Shape-Shift Reservoir has a built-in Snap-Zip divider that can be opened at any time, allowing the reservoir to be pulled to left before cleaning and drying.

Very popular is the source water tankWide Pack. It holds between 2 and 3 liters, has a large opening for filling and drying and a triple odorless and tasteless coating. For a few customers, it happened that the shutter opened and water spilled out.

The Camelbak company was one of the first to combine hydration and backpacking. The quick link system allows easy separation of the drinking tube and bladder. In addition, the closure is very large, so that the hydration can be filled quickly. However, a few customers complain about the difficult cleaning with this product.

Also Deuter, one of the best-known backpack manufacturers has a variety of drinking bubbles in the range. The „streamer“ (available as a 2 liter and 3 liter hydration system) is easy to clean, a light plastic odor is rarely objected to. The bags are produced by the company Source, which is why spare parts can be requested from both Deuter and Source.

What to look for when buying

First and foremost, you should pay attention to the reviews that the product has already received – whether customers or reviews by consumer insiders. Here you will usually quickly find evidence of a pros and cons for a purchase decision. Also important: Almost all backpack manufacturers carry in their range hydration packs for various sports: mountain biking, running, motorcycling, climbing, hiking. Inform yourself before the purchase, which Hydration packor which hydration system fits your sport. Also, check how easy or difficult it is to get replacement parts or accessories. Especially with the insulation, there are some differences among the manufacturers and not always fits every insulation to each hydration. Also think about buying a cleaning brush.