Considering getting a Camelbak-like bladder

[Josh the Aspie]

So, getting in a simple habit is actually more reliable than adding more gear/weight?  I think I'll need to be learning that habbit.  Thanks Endurance.

And yeah, I really liked working with them over the phone.  Communicating with them through tech is a bit awkward though, as I never got a reply to my e-mail, and their message taking system is full.

I'm glad you like the modifications.

And Source has had detachable systems that work with full bladders available for a while.  They've got multiple improvements over Camelbak, which may have forced Camelbak to absorb the improvements (sort of like IE improving because of FireFox).  That said, I'm cool with folks who want to use Camelbak, or the non-military style Source.

I recently saw that they had a page with that "Story of Stuff" woman on it, so that's more evidence that I don't want to do business with Camelbak.

But really, knocking someone doing buisness with Camelbak is like kvetching over a choice between Chrome and Firefox when there are still loads of IE6 and IE7 users out there.

I'm the sort of guy who tends to go with minimum-levels for recurring costs, and pays for top-line utility on products I'm buying for permanent or semi-permanent use.  I wind up spending less, and (over the long term) getting more.

[Adam Campbell]

I recently tried out someone's bladder they bought at Wal Mart — probably an Ozark Trail or something...

Anyway, the bite valve looked pretty beefy compared to the basic one on my Camelbak bladder but I could NOT get the water to come out no matter how hard I sucked on the thing! It was so bad I would die of dehydration before I could ever get the water out fast enough to quench my thirst. I wanted to take a pocket knife and cut the opening a bit larger but my friend wouldn't let me (but she was complaining about the same thing too).

Just something else to be mindful of when checking these out because it usually is not kosher to put your mouth on things at the store before you buy them to test them out!

[Josh the Aspie]

Thanks Adam.  The "bite" that comes with this system (the "Storm" valve) is closer to the pull/push valve you find on a lot of water-bottles, rather than one you actually bite down on.

[Adam Campbell]

That's cool I would like to go back when I have a minute and read through the posts in the thread I missed. I am not in the market for anything like that now but my bladder I use is getting old and will probably need replaced sometime.

I prefer the bite down ones but mine, even though it really lets the water through, it also drips on me throughout the hike or bike ride.