bladders. leak.

[khyber.pass]

So, my DaKine bladder leaks at a constant rate from the hose connection to the bag. Found this out when my bag was soaked saturday morning after filling it up friday night. The damn thing is brand new, so that's going back.

So I put in my Camelback. Woke up this morning to find it had pissed all over the floor too. Not sure what's wrong with it, it's always been fine before.

I haven't tried a Nalgene bladder yet. What's up with these things? Any recommended models above all others? I don't want my gear / down sweater / jacket soaked while in the field with a damn bladder leaking all over me.

[XXX-er]

I got an apex pack with bladder ,the hose that disconnects at the bag ,they have a little o-ring on the tube you can get from the hardware store and easily replace .

No experiance at all with camel backs

[laseranimal]

I will say that the Nalgene bladders are FAR superior to either the camelbak or dakine bladders due to the ability to disconnect the tube from the bladder, that seems to prevent leaking, and if it is leaking its generally because you've lost the rubber O ring that seals the connection between bladder and tube


however I'm not a huge fan of bladders, so along the lines of

http://www.tetonat.com/archives/338/...free-camelbak/

I made my own with a nalgene

Took a 1/4 inch drill bit to the top of an old lid, threaded a drinking tube through. This was the challenging part

You have to make sure that the hole for the tube is as tight as possible, even slightly pinching the tube as it enters the lid. It can be a bitch to pull the tube through but the seal has got to be tight

Then I used a 1/16 inch drill bit to punch a second air hole in the lid. Now I carry two bottles with me when one's getting empty I unscrew the lid with the tube, screw the top back on and move the tube to the other bottle.

Yes when you tip the pack over you will get a tiny drip of water out the air hole, but air pressure stops the leak fairly quickly and the amount of water that escapes is MINUSCULE compared to a leaky bladder.

[mntlion]

the dakines have had issues for a few years.

camelbk is usually very good, but has a great warranty as well. local retailers can help usually.

[laseranimal]

oh and as another bonus IF your tube freezes you still have the ability to drink out of the nalgene, something you really can't do with a bladder

[splat]

I've probably worn out 7-8 bladders. I just love it when I set my pack down and the water leaks into my pack, then I put the pack on and the water runs down my ass. I kind of keep them on rotation in case I need to poach a valve.

I also love an insulated hose inside a zippered pack strap sleeve to keep the freeze off the valve.

[gunniride]

Bladders are for summer.

Bottles are for winter.

[bfree]

Dakine warranty kicks ass, I'm sure they would take care of you.

[AsheanMT]

I still have a platypus bladder that I bought 5 years ago. I've got 4 more that I beat the shit out of constantly. I've boiled them, froze them, let them sit for weeks in the back of my dirty ass truck and yet they all continue to work just fine. Even if one of them were to magically begin leaking tomorrow, I'd still get another one considering how well they've done for what I've put them through. Bottles suck because they are bulky. When you drink from the bladder you have more space in your pack not the same amount of space you started with. Also, when base camping or backpacking you can roll empty bladders into the size of a toothpaste tube and have the ability to have 4+ liters at your camp site.

[MashedPotatoes]

this is probably not your issue since you said it was new, but one thing that helps when that kind of leak develops over time is to slice off a little bit of the tubing at the end since it eventually gets stretched from fitting over the connector. learned this on a camping trip one year.

[laseranimal]

^

thats good info

[Dromond]

I've been pondering this myself. I drink a lot of water so the stop and chug method is pretty awkward. I use ~ 35oz of water every 2 hours so for a full 8 hour day that's up to four nalgenes which can get awfully bulky and awkward in my pack. A bladder seems like the obvious solution except that I'm going to be doing a lot more bc in cold weather this year. (The northern Rockies in December and January) I'm pretty concerned about the bladder leaking all over my gear and forcing an early retreat, the hose freezing, etc.

One idea is to go for a newer pack with an insulated hose sleeve and nalgene bottle compatible hydration system. That solves the stop + chug problem and also offers a backup for the frozen hose problem but still leaves a lot of bulk. Has anyone considered combining this with one nalgene bottle with a wide-mouth cantene? I wonder if there would be durability issues with stuffing that thing in a pack.

edit: those 48 oz HDPE bottles would be a bit more space efficient and require less switching with the bottle-tube system. Two of those would give almost 100oz and I could add a third bottle for extra warm/long days. Hmmm...

[laseranimal]

what about going with nalgenes and a jetboil?

as trackhead has shown you can make water while moving, might solve some of your bulk problems

if I can get some decent shots I'll post up my nalgene system later

[GeezerSteve]

MSR Dromedary and DromLite bladders are much tougher than poly bladders and now have improved connections and bite valve

[Dromond]

what about going with nalgenes and a jetboil?

as trackhead has shown you can make water while moving, might solve some of your bulk problems

if I can get some decent shots I'll post up my nalgene system later

Bringing a stove when I otherwise wouldn't doesn't seem like the best way to save bulk. Also, making water from corn snow on a mild spring day seems very doable but I doubt it would work so well when it is 10 degrees and you are surrounded by dry (i.e. low water content) cold snow. Perhaps someone would argue otherwise?

[smthgfshy]

MSR Dromedary and DromLite bladders are much tougher than poly bladders and now have improved connections and bite valve

The EX-O concurs.

[laseranimal]

Bringing a stove when I otherwise wouldn't doesn't seem like the best way to save bulk. Also, making water from corn snow on a mild spring day seems very doable but I doubt it would work so well when it is 10 degrees and you are surrounded by dry (i.e. low water content) cold snow. Perhaps someone would argue otherwise?

good point, I hadn't thought about the water content

[XXX-er]

BTW you can fix damn near any leak with liquid ureathane which is aqua seal ,seam grip and maybe shoo goo

[El Chupacabra]

Dakine uses Nalgene bladders (same thing), and Dakine's warranty department is great. Email them and they'll take care of you.

[gunniride]

Bottles suck because they are bulky. When you drink from the bladder you have more space in your pack not the same amount of space you started with. Also, when base camping or backpacking you can roll empty bladders into the size of a toothpaste tube and have the ability to have 4+ liters at your camp site.

Good point. I wish I could find the old style platypus bladders with the large nalgene style top. With the camelback version I've had trouble with hoses leaking, or more often freezing, even with an insulated sleeve. At that point, I really don't drink enough.

Anyone ever heard of a soft style (compressible) thermos?

[Roxtar]

So, my DaKine bladder leaks at a constant rate from the hose connection to the bag. Found this out when my bag was soaked saturday morning after filling it up friday night. The damn thing is brand new, so that's going back.

So I put in my Camelback. Woke up this morning to find it had pissed all over the floor too. Not sure what's wrong with it, it's always been fine before.

Perhaps it's time to pull the thorn out of the pack

[khyber.pass]

Dakine uses Nalgene bladders (same thing), and Dakine's warranty department is great. Email them and they'll take care of you.

Yah, I just realised this today when I went to buy a new bladder. DaKine is stocked by Nalgene, so I'm going to first see if I can replace the o-ring or otherwise seal the leak, which is right at the point the hose meets the bladder. If that doesn't work, warranty time.

As for the Camelback, it's been fine for years, so I need to check out what the hell is going on.

FYI my Camelback has an insulated hose. Used it in Quebec for 6 years, it would freeze at -20c but I could always unfreeze it within a minute or so by sucking / blowing.

That sounds awful.

[XXX-er]

I thot that o-ring looked kind of shitty ,on mine it was made of a clear material that didnt look so bomber ,I got a rubber or neoprene one commonly available at the hardware for <1$ and no problems

[coreshot-tourettes]

I have a Camelbak Unbottle and have used it 5 years or so backpacking, skiing, and mountain biking. It hasn't leaked ever because the bladder is shielded by ripstop nylon and foam from dust/rocks/sand getting in there and cutting up the bladder.

[yippeekiyayMF]

never had the leak problem with either my platapus or camel back, but i can't get rid of the shitty ass plastic taste of them.

i've tried washing them but that doesn't do anything. and i've tried putting lemon juice in it too; but neither of those have worked.