Hydration Systems

Summer is hard upon us and, given the usual temperature forecast, don’t be surprised if you see a blue heron burst into flame in mid-flight.

With the hot weather that traditionally starts this month, it is a good time to consider using a hydration system during your outdoor endeavors.

If you are hiking, fishing or conducting some other type of outdoor business during hot weather, these systems make it easy to drink water at regular intervals without more than a passing thought. The ease of drinking means that you stay adequately hydrated, which is the key to staying upright and mobile during summertime outdoor activity.

A hydration system is a simple arrangement of tubing and a water storage bladder that allows for continual sipping while on the go without the hassles of stopping to open a canteen or bottle. Since their introduction in 1988, hydration systems now offer several great features that make them more useful than ever: wide-mouthed openings that accept ice cubes, quick-detachable hose systems, secure drinking valves that offer easy drinking but don’t leak and a variety of other improvements, they have evolved to the point of being eminently useful and virtually foolproof.

The undisputed product leader in the field is Camelback Systems. In a somewhat rare case of the biggest being the best, there are few complaints concerning Camelback products and engineering. Personally, I own many Camelback items and have a difficult time finding fault with any of their stuff.

Even though Camelback is the more-or-less undisputed leader, there are other good products in the field. However, our most important advice is to stay away from the low-end, no-name products. After many field excursions, we have found that the cheap stuff leaks like crazy, isn’t durable and gives up water only after you apply enough suction to coerce the proverbial golf ball through a section of garden hose.

For starters, the best option is to buy just the bladder and drinking tube. This is the heart of the matter and can be tucked inside a waist pack, backpack or other load-bearing equipment. From there, you can spend a little or lots of money for more gear carrying capacity though the water system remains the same.

The biggest single problem with hydration systems is the matter of cleaning and drying. If you put off or forget to clean the bladder after a day afield, you will end up the proud owner of the most amazing collection of bacteria and fungus you’ve ever seen. Even if you do clean the bladder but aren’t scrupulous about drying before storage, you’ll end up with the same result. In any case, hydration systems are wonderful but the cleaning process is a major pain in the butt!

A worthwhile purchase is a cleaning kit that includes special brushes (including a long thin brush to clean the water tubing) and a plastic gizmo that holds the bladder open to dry. You can also improvise a method to hold open the bladder for drying using her kitchen gadgets or crumpled paper towels. In any case, it takes several days for the farthest corners to try so don’t rush the process and put it away damp.

One trick we discovered is especially useful when you’ll be using the hydration system frequently: store it in your freezer. Once the whole system is clean and drained, carefully fold or wrap the tubing and bladder on itself, place it into a heavy plastic bag or container and freeze the whole assembly. The cold won’t affect the plastic unless it is mechanically damaged by a frozen chuck roast but is easily thawed within two minutes by a cold-water bath. Once rinsed, the system is fresh as the day it was put in the freezer.

One other trip: if the weather is unbelievably hot, fill the bladder only three-quarters full and freeze. Then, as the water quickly begins to melt, it will remain cold for hours. The downside is that the bladder will “sweat” unmercifully so keep this in mind when placing items in your pack.

Of course, it won’t be the only thing sweating but at least you’ll have nice cold water!