MSR Dromedary Failure

[Justin S]

I have a 10L MSR Dromedary that I bought a year ago. I’ve only brought it up on one trip. Today I packed it into my backpack and it unloaded 10L of water into my pack. It appears that the larger cap is made of two pieces of plastic that are glued together and the glue delaminated. The bag itself is still in great condition. I’m pretty disappointed given that the bag is billed as being able to “handle abuse inflicted by expeditions”. It’s just been hanging in a closet in an air-conditioned apartment. If this had happened a day or two away from a water source I would have been in serious trouble. A reminder that no one should have a single point of failure for water storage.

 

[Justin S]

I was going to send in a warranty request, but I just noticed on MSR’s website that there’s a warning that the MSR Dromedary and MSR Dromlite expose you to lead. Now, I’m actually thankful for the failure!

[steven w]

Yes, do NOT suck on the brass grommets while holding a mouth full of Cola…in a few hours you may dissolve a few atoms of lead.

More seriously, I hawk using the MSR shower kit https://www.msrgear.com/water/shower-kit. While the cap is probably not quite as overbuilt as yours it does not have a glued seam. Having a valve is very handy(and one that has a hose drain position, even more so) and since I would carry a piece of hose anyway for filtering to/from the bag, I get a shower function for about 3grams weight penality. The shower function is used for rinsing off gear, filling small neck bottles with zero spillage and of course indescribably wonderful showers.

[Jenny A]

I am curious where you see that using MSR’s Drom and Dromlite bags exposes one to lead.  All  I see on the website is the standard lingo regarding California’s Prop 65.  I did see a product recall FROM 1986 because of a chemical used in the laminate, but that was 22 years ago.

I use the drom and dromlite bags fairly requently, so I am interested in your source.

[Jenny A]

Edit date of recall to 1996, not 1986.

[Tipi Walter]

Any kind of water container failure is serious on a trip.  Most especially if this failure happens inside a down bag when it’s stored inside during a subzero night.  Don’t do it!!

[Ralph Burgess]

A reminder that no one should have a single point of failure for water storage.

Yup, I just don’t see the point of these huge bladders.

10L Dromedary weights 10oz

2L (actual capacity ~2.2L) folding Platypus weighs 1.5oz

I just take as many 2L Platypus as I need if there’s a water haul.   Two will fit in side pockets, so there’s no risk to your pack contents at all.    And they pack flexibly to arrange the weight inside your pack.

[Tipi Walter]

I’m on my third or fourth Platy 2 liter bag (it’s actually a 2.2 or more liter bag) and they just wear out over time.

Last year I brought a full Platy inside the tent and after about 2 hours noticed several of my clothing items were damp.  The dang bladder bottom at the welded seam sprung a small leak.

Now I replace them once a year as a precautionary measure.

[Ralph Burgess]

Now I replace them once a year as a precautionary measure.

That may be overly cautious, but I agree that for their modest cost it’s safer to replace them periodically.    I do so every 2-3 years, and I’ve never had a failure.

[Justin S]

Yeah, I agree about multiple containers. I originally bought the 10L for multi-day climbing trips with little to no water. I got the dromedary specifically since it could handle boiling water, which is a technique I often use to add warmth to my sleeping bags. There are some long ridge climbs which are cold and also have no water. The bags are often around jagged rocks, so I wanted the durable outer. I immediately regretted the decision once in use because it fits so awkwardly in a pack. For my use case, I don’t think the Platypus bags are durable enough. I’ve been using some DromLite bags lately which scare me but seem to work well. They’re still reasonably durable if I’m careful. Within the same model of bag there’s a significant weight savings by sizing up.

The 10L dromedary weights 10oz.

2x 4L dromedaries + 1x 2L dromlite weigh 18.4oz

If I had to do it over, for a water carry, I think I’d go with 2x 4L bags.

With regards to the lead warning, it’s on MSRs website under the description:

https://www.msrgear.com/water/dromlite-bags

https://www.msrgear.com/dromedary-bags

WARNING: Contains brass that can expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproductive harm. – P65Warnings.ca.gov

It’s possible I may have overreacted to this warning. It’s a little unsettling. If there’s no brass touching anything that you drink from, then maybe it’s not a deal breaker. The warning is not very clear about that, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of lead to be a problem around children and pets.

[bradmacmt]

The warning is about the little brass grommets around the exterior of the bag.

Utter hysterics.

[Jenny A]

“With regards to the lead warning, it’s on MSRs website under the description:

https://www.msrgear.com/water/dromlite-bags

https://www.msrgear.com/dromedary-bags

WARNING: Contains brass that can expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproductive harm. – P65Warnings.ca.gov”

Thanks for that link.  Guess I should stop licking the brass grommets.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Hard to resist that shiny stuff.

I have a Dromlite bag, 4 liter, that I have used a lot. At 3.6 ounces for 4 liters it’s not bad weightwise – though of course I see that the new ones are heavier – and has been tough. I like the big opening because I can shove snow in there and leave it in the sun to melt the snow. I note that the cap in your photo is quite different from my old (probably from around 2002 or so?) cap which is molded in one piece – except of course for the smaller cap on the smaller opening. I assume threads are the same – I would contact MSR and ask if they have any of the old caps laying around – I bet they do, I had to get a replacement a couple years back when I lost mine and had no problems getting one.

And I might add that the MSR warranty service is usually pretty good. At the very least you’ll get a replacement cap no problem.

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