Hydration Reservoirs in Review:
Camelbak Antidote Reservoir ($35.00)
Osprey Hydraform Reservoir ($34.00)
Platypus Big Zip SL ($34.95)
GeigerRig Hydration Bladder ($49.00)
Before receiving these four bladders to test, I had only owned a Camelbak bladder. It worked great, but I got sick of trying to clean it and eventually it just ended up collecting dust in the back of my closet. Instead, I lugged around water bottles. With my dusty old hydration bladder in mind, I considered the following things in my review:
- Ease of filling with water, sugar drinks and ice
- On-the-go refilling, access and use of water found along the trail in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds
- Ease of drinking during aerobic/anaerobic activity
- Ease of accessing the water for cooking, cleaning and sharing
- Ease of cleaning and maintaining
Conclusion:
I quickly decided that the GeigerRig was an innovative system. Despite a few extra pieces, it’s simple and it fits my needs. While I like the pressurized feature, I was sold on how easy it is to clean. The other bladder that really stood out to me was the Big Zip SL by Platypus. Having now used a pressurized system I don’t think I could go back, but I still really like how simple, light-weight and easy to clean the Platypus is. I really liked aspects of the Osprey, like the wider tube, and the handle that made it easy to fill, but the design makes it difficult to clean and in the long run I’m afraid it would get funky. I also don’t like that the tube doesn’t come off, like the others.The Camelbak Antidote has a nice wide opening and legs that make it much easier to clean and drain. The Antidote is a big improvement over my older model Camelbak. Even with it’s improvements, I find that I prefer the opening of the GeigerRig and Platypus over the screw-top lids of the Camelbak and Osprey.
What an awesome video review Whitney! Great work and very helpful. The backdrops for your video were amazing. It looked like a perfect place to test bladders!
Good stuff to know! After lugging around entirely too many water bottles this weekend, it’s time to upgrade to something a little more effective!
I definitely know how that goes!
Love your video. It is so informative and really allows us to see all the differences between the hydration bladders. Very nice.
Thank you!
I love that you can clean it in the dishwasher!!
Very informative & cool video, Whitney; enjoyed it a lot (and I usually don’t bother to watch Youtube videos that are so long =)
Thanks Hendrik! I always try to keep my reviews around 2 minutes but there was A LOT to discuss with 4 bladders.
Thanks for posting this comparison. I am really excited to get my hands on a GeigerRig Hydration Bladder as it seems like it would be amazing to squirt the water into your mouth.
Great review and video! So happy to have discovered this site! Such valuable information that will surely add much enhancement to our outdoors Summer adventures. We are an outdoors loving family that loves great outdoors gear with advanced technology! Even my daughter commented just yesterday how advanced and amazing the outdoors gear technology has become. She just completed a 42 mile back pack hike in the Upper Peninsula along the Lake Superior Lake Shoreline. This is a trip that would have been much more difficult to endure without today’s advanced outdoor gear technology. If only we had such gear when I was her age!
Looking forward to connecting with all of you here, Facebook and on Twitter too! Happy Trails!
Kimberly Ciesla
Twitter: @ciesla504
Thanks Kimberly! It really is great to see how innovative gear is becoming.