I just saw a photo on the JMT Facebook group of a backpack rigged with a bladder on the front. I've hiked a hot of miles with bottles up front but never considered a bladder in this application before. Has anyone here tried this before?
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Bladder up front
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I've stuck a 2L bladder in each of the front pockets of an Aarn on a few occasions (so total 4L). Does that count? It works great for carrying a lot of water on a desert hike, with more in the pack and side pockets. That's what my Aarn has been relegated to, now.
I fiddled with a front bladder setup years ago. Stabilizing a couple kilos of water in a bag is a challenge and the you have the issues of being able to get the pack on and off. Like any front pack, it blocks ventilation and the rigging adds weight. The only case I can make for using it would be with small packs that are overloaded. You still need shoulder straps that are up to the total load, which would be rare.
I can't imagine that having that much weight up front would be very comfortable. If one really wanted to carry water up front and still have the benefit of hands free hydration that a water bladder provides, then I would suggest just using a water bottle with an integrated straw and attach the bottle to the pack's shoulder straps using water bottle holster straps. I recently made such a bottle using the bite valve and tubing from an old hydration bladder. It is very easy to drink from while walking–even when it is still attached my pack's shoulder straps. Here it is: 
I don't carry a bladder but if I did it would definitely be in the front. I usually carry about 5 lbs in my front bag, including a quart of water.
@ Daryl and Daryl (both of ya) Very clever setup, hanging the front load like that! Most of its weight carried by the pack's belt and user's hips, I recon.
"Most of its weight carried by the pack's belt and user's hips, I recon" Correct. None of the weight is carried by the shoulder straps. They don't rest on the top of the shoulders.
The Aarn front pockets have aluminum stays in them that put the weight mostly on the hipbelt as well. It's not like there's a ton of front weight on the shoulder straps. I do occasionally have irrational anxiety about the two aluminum shivs pointed directly at my common femoral arteries, though…
That fear might not be so irrational! Maybe carry some clotting agent in your front pack?
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