I have been looking into these two little gizmos for sometime now and could never decide between them.
So I bit the bullet, paid 50 bucks and bought both off amazon.
Smartube
Convertube
I plan to use one of these systems once I get out of the desert on my PCT attempt this year.
The Convertube comes in at 2.9 ounces
While the Smartube with the attachment to allow use on a Smartwater bottle comes in at 2.4 ounces
The flow rate of the bite valves seem to be the same when not connected to a bottle.
When connected to a bottle the relief valve on the Smartube seems to allow slightly less resistance than the Convertube.
The hose on the Convertube is slightly thicker, stiffer, and much sturdier than my camelback, platypus, hydrapack, and the Smartube.
The Smartube hose is near identical to the platypus hoses.
Here is where I start to draw the lines between the two systems.
The convertube connects to a smartwater bottle without any extra adapters, but requires the small plastic straw to reach from the cap/valve assembly to the bottom of the bottle.
The Smartube uses the length of the hose to slide through the cap/valve assembly to reach the bottom. The Smartube hose is roughly 4-6 inches longer than what comes with the Convertube.
The Smartube also requires an adapter to go between the cap/valve assembly and smartwater bottle to attach.
While I do like the bite valve and cap, and sturdier construction of the Convertube, and the lack of an extra necessary adapter to use with a Smartwater bottle.
The Smartube wins for two reasons.
I can ditch the hose completely, and carry only the cap/valve assembly and adapter for .4 ounces. I simply need to remove the quick disconnect elbow from the end of my platypus hose and thread through the smartube system when I no longer need to carry my platypus bladder.
Also price, at this time on amazon the Smartube comes in around $18 while the Convertube comes in around $24.
Additional factors include the Convertube has a small o-ring between the cap and the stem that goes inside the hose, the stem just snaps onto the cap. While the connection is VERY sturdy and I assumed it was one piece until I tried to pull the hose off the stem, loosing that tiny piece or risking breaking that connection by a strong yank like catching the hose on something while walking or falling would be seriously annoying… Although I believe highly unlikely, as I said it is a very strong connection.
The Convertube does come with more attachment options. but for my purposes I only am focusing on the Smartwater attachment.
So I hope I can save someone else some time and money by posting this little review and sharing my trick of just using the Smartube assembly without the hose and swapping over the hose from the bladder.
