Camelbak Modification…loose an ounce!

[Shane S.]

Not sure if this has been covered before, I did look and didn't find anything so here it goes…

I swear by my CamelBak 100oz bladder over the Platypus (I do use the Platypus liter containers though and they are great). The only problem I have with the CamelBak is it is a few ounces heavier then the Platypus of equal volume. Sooo…after an afternoon brainstorm I realized that the Camelback’s large plastic ring can come off…Great!

All you have to do is get a screwdriver and pull up the tab on the plastic CamelBak collar and twist and it will come right off. It may take a few times; I actually put my screwdriver in a vise so I could use both hands to twist off the plastic ring.

Now in order to still be able to hang the bladder inside the pack and also to hang it from a branch around camp, I attached a spectra cord to it via the 4 small studs that are molded into the mouth of the remaining filler cap where the large plastic ring used to be. I super glued the knots so they would stay put and there ya go!!

This will drop one solid ounce from your CamelBak bladder! If you don’t use the mouth piece adapters for a water filter quick fill, then this bladder should weigh 6oz now…very comparable to the Platypus.

[Tom Caldwell]

Never thought of that. Good idea.

The last two Camelback bladders I had lost ounces on their own.

[Jeremy Greene]

"All you have to do is get a screwdriver and pull up the tab on the plastic…" -grinder

This can be done to the Nalgene bladders without tools (just pull) and without string. Because Nalgene has a different hanging system, this part is redundant. The cap can also be replaced with a simpler one for some savings.

Weight of parts:
17g plastic ring (redundant part mentioned above)
21g super-ergo cap
15g blue cap from bottle, delete tether
60g bladder w/o hose or above parts

A touch more could be trimmed, but I am moving away from hose systems for hiking.

[Jeremy Cleaveland]

great idea. I've always found my camelback hard to open, and the black piece gives extra leverage for opening it. Do you find this to be an issue without the black thing?

[Shane S.]

It doesn't effect screwing on the lid cap at all. There is actually a 1/4" hard plastic rim molded into the base of the filler opening. If you look in the photo, you can see this ring. It is ridgid and easy to grasp.

[Jonathan Duckett]

You're the man! I have a 100 oz bladder too and just did this mod. Mine had a large insulating sleeve around it and I never even realized I could remove the bladder from the sleeve. You just saved me several ounces and having to buy a platy hoser. Thanks and Keep the gear mods coming!

[Shane S.]

Your welcome!

[Dave Weston]

Thanks for the tip, I will be modifying mine this weekend

[Don Meredith]

You can do the same with the MSR hydration bladders. I like them because they're a little more robust but they are a bit porky. I was able to remove the plastic ring for about 5/8 oz. I replaced the lid with a Nalgene lid off of an old HDPE bottle. I pulled the keeper ring off of that one and ground the boss off of the top. This modified lid saves another 5/8 oz over the stock lid. I also replaced the bite valve with a CamelBak valve – smaller and more comfortable to me (years of habit forming from cycling). Now the whole 3L system weighs 5.1 oz.

[Andrew Priest]

I know that I am bringing back from the dead an old thread but this thread just helped me re-purpose an older Camelbak bladder I had as a “dirty bladder” for a gravity filter system.

So a big thanks Shane. Oh BTW if you are still around is the Spectre cord you are using 3 mm?

[Nick Smolinske]

Jeremy,

Have you tried blowing air into your camelbak through the hose before trying to open it?  I’ve found that it makes them much easier to open.

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