Untamed Adventure Racing Gear

There's nothing worse than strapping on your pack and heading out for a run or a ride, only to feel the steady trickle of water against your lower back. I'm not talking about rain, here, I'm talking about a leaking hydration bladder and they've left me in a tough spot more than a few times.

After a few Camelbak-brand bladders, I decided I owed it to myself to find a better solution and I started trying out several of the alternatives. After a few other products, and a few leaky lids . . . or leaky bite valves . . . or leaky seams . . . I finally found one I can rely on: the MSR Hydromedary.

I've decided to use this product because it does a simple job very well: store water without leaking, and let me drink it through the tube when I want. It's a very durable bladder, with a reliable screw-top cap and the grommets on top make it easy to attach the bladder to a boat or a bike, or whatever you want (other than the obvious: in your backpack). The photos below show how I've rigged my MSR bladder on the back of my bike before, using the grommets and carabiners to secure it. Yes, this was in a race and literally took a load off my back; worked like a champ for the 48-hour race!

I've even been told the mouth of the MSR bladder dovetails seamlessly with some of the MSR water filtration pumps (so you could pump directly from the stream into the bladder without having to hold all the pieces together yourself); I've never tried using an MSR pump in conjunction with one of their packs, but it's cool if it works. As a side note, I suppose I should share my water filtering strategy at a later time.

Check out the MSR website for more information on this bladder; it's worth a look and I'll be bringing a few of these down to South America with me. One on the paddle (fastened to the deck), one for the pack (or the back of the bike), and one as a backup just in case.

/ Grant

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