Dromedary Hydration

[Serge Giachetti]

There's a lot of reasons not to carry a hydration bladder, and from what I can tell few of us here do.

But I must say I've been consistently jealous of my climbing and skiing partners who use them, mainly because it makes hydration more seamless with whatever you're doing. Its the obvious selling point, but the contrast becomes painfully obvious when you're fiddling with water bottles all day and you haven't even noticed that your friend, who's more hydrated than you, has even taken a sip.

Platypus bags are pretty good, but they will eventually break or leak, and always at an inopportune time. So I think I'm going to go the ultra heavy solution ;) and get a dromlite bag with a hydration hose. These bags have a reputation for being truly bomber.

I want to make this my hydration method for all outings/sports, so I have two related questions. From a quick search, I couldn't find a comparable product to the platypus insulator. I'm wondering if someone knows of an effective third party or DIY solution for insulating a hydration bag. I've thought I'd using my puffy jacket for an insulator, but it ads complexity and hassle to the system. Insulation for the tube is easy to come by.

My other question also relates to winter. My biggest issue in winter/shoulder seasons is cold toes. Putting boiling water in a nalgene in my sleeping bag has been an effective way to warm them back up. Although the dromedary's are rated for boiling water, I'm wondering if anyone here has experience with using one of these with boiling water in their sleeping bags. The thought scares me, so I could use some confidence.

When backpacking, I primarily camel up at water sources using a squeeze filter. I'm thinking I can stick with this method using the new sawyer fast fill method, so long as my backpack is not to full. Hoping that works at least, or I may just do the hoser for day trips.

[Rick M]

del

[David Chenault]

When I use a hydro bladder I use a Dromedary.

They're just fine with boiling water, I've used mine for a hot water bottle at home. In winter I bring the small lid, and remove the hose attachment at night. Blow it clear and sleep with it and you'll be ahead of the curve with preventing freezing.

Headed to the desert next week and the Drom will be coming with.

[Max Dilthey]

My feeling is that a platypus or a camelbak is durable enough. None of mine have broken in about 1.5 years of use…

[Serge Giachetti]

Thanks guys. I'm going to give the dromilite a shot. I'll let you know how it goes.

Dave, thanks thats what I was looking for. Enjoy the southwest. If the stars aline I'll be down there in late october.

Max, platypus is the best I've used, but I've broken more than I can count, and its getting harder for me to buy stuff that I know I'll need to keep replacing.

Thanks for the info on hydrapack, rick. Haven't tried them, but I'm liking the thicker nylon bags of the dromlite system.

Cheers, and still welcome to more input. I'll also post back about using the fastfill system. If it works, it'll solve my main issue with hose systems.

[Jon Leibowitz]

I love my Osprey 3L. It is bomb proof (been using it for 2+ years now) and has a built in back piece (it is hard) which acts as the frame in my frameless daypack.

I never bring it on long trips though – I always use two 1-liter smart bottles for long trips. But for day hikes? Osprey all the time.

[David Ure]

Both Camelback and Source Military spec hydration bags hold boiling water, have insulated tubing, and are low profile in that they don't barrel. They are over spec in durability. Unfortunately, they are also heavy.

[Susan D]

I've had a regular 2 liter dromedary and a 4 liter dromlite for well over a decade. Both have handled boiling water many times, and I've never had a problem. They are pretty bomb proof.

The one recommendation I have is to be careful when you swap out the hose and the small cap. I lost (forgot?) two of the small caps in less than a month last year. I'm thinking of putting something bright on the cap to make it more noticeable. Nail polish, maybe?

[Serge Giachetti]

thanks susan. ten years is impressive. camelback has had plenty of time to up there game, but the first and only camelback I had about 12 years ago, busted open in my pack like the 2nd time I used it. The platy's tend to leak rather than castrophically break, but nontheless, I'm tired of replacing them. I ordered the platy and cambelback insulator systems to see if they'll fit the drome bag, but I'll probably just jerry rig something with my bivy pad or puffy for winter stuff. Cheers.

Still open to DIY ideas or 3rd party products for water insulation, too. MSR should just make a winter version the the drome, I bet it would be a hit.

[b willi jones]

i have a dromedary bag and it sure is tuff. the thing i dont like… the way it taints your water. i havnt been able to get rid of that taste.

i really prefer the platypus, never had one blow out or even leak… and the taste… or lack of… heaps better

[Serge Giachetti]

Just a quick update: ordered a few different options to compare and see if the drom would fit in another insulated hyrdo pouch. The 4L drom fits quite well (filled with 3L of water) in the camelback stowaway pouch. At a glance, I much prefer the quality and features of the camelback stowaway to the platy insulator despite being $10 cheaper. I'll try out a few different DIY insulation solutions with my new hydro compatible alpine pack coming next week, but I may just hold on to the stoaway for the convenience on ski tours and climbing. I've only been on a few multipitch alpine climbs so far, but my basic gear fluency seems to go out the window when I'm in vertical terrain (the joys of being a newb again), so having an simple autonomous way to keep my water insulated is a definite plus. The antedote bladder fits well in my small MH running vestpack too, so thats a plus. Dave was right, it doesn't barrel out because its got a baffle system, and I like that its wider and shorter than the platy.

I'm being extra thorough about this because my DIY hydro solution failed on a very cold climb last year with related consequences. I won't be climbing on a day that cold anytime soon, but I also much more aware of the importance of hydration.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Thanks, everyone for sharing your experience with Dromedary bags. After multiple failures with Nalgene soft-sided cantenes [sic], I finally bought a Drom based on it's reputation for durability. Nice to hear that it's reputation matches actual experience.

I haven't rigged mine up as a hydration system, but I might try that if and when my 3L Platy dies.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[Andy F]

"I'm thinking I can stick with this method using the new sawyer fast fill method, so long as my backpack is not to full."

What is the sawyer fast fill method?

How are you able to keep your filter from freezing in the winter? I'm afraid to use mine in winter because I think the part not in contact with my body might freeze even under a light jacket if it's cold enough.

[alex hansen]

why not make a reflectix envelope cozy for the reservoir? probably lighter than anything you could buy, would it keep the water from freezing?

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