Firstly, why do marketing people still think it's kool to use a K
instead of a CK in wordz like Camelbak? How awfully 1970s.
Anyway, I've generally been pleased with my Camelbak Lobo, a 1.5 litre
bladder in a back pack (bakpak?) with a couple of handy storage spaces
for tools, wallet, keys, watch, pump and calories, and a zig zag
elastikated strap to hold a spare sweater or waterproof.
I'm still not sure it's hydration positive though: does the seaty patch
it creates on your back cause more fluid loss than the 1.5 litre bladder
can replenish? Would a waistpack and bottles be better? I'm
undecided.
I went for a few weeks without any serious riding, and didn't use my
Camelbak. When I returned to it, I thought I'd found the elusive
weapons of mass destruction: a huge colony of vile-looking slime. (As
Spock might say, "Seems biological, Captain."😉
Eventually, I purchased a bottle brush on a wire which was nearly long
enough to clean the drinking tube. I thoroughly cleansed the Camelbak.
It seems OK.
But... what about the mouthpiece? Mine had a Camelbak Hydrolok
mouthpiece with a cunning valve operated by a rather flimsy-looking
plastic lever. To my mind, the lever worked in the wrong direction.
Most of the time, it is in the closed position, and in that position, it
looks most vulnerable to being caught and broken.
I decided it would be a wise precaution to sterilise the mouthpiece, and
that the best way to do this would be to put it in boiling water for a
while.
Haha! Ever since then, it's leaked! I tried dismantling it, and found
a tiny little clear rubber (silicone?) O ring. Reseating it proved
impossible. I could not find a position in which it would stop the
valve leaking.
And worse, when I was trying to drink from the mouthpiece, I found
myself swallowing lots of air, which was seeping in around the edge of
the valve. I could only use the valve by pushing the end of the valve
hard against the seat.
So, I decided to buy a replacement valve. I went to the local sports
megastore (Decathlon) and was horrified to discover that Hydrolok valves
are about £7.49 (15% of the cost of the whole Camelbak).
I also noticed that some of the Camlebak lookie-likies don't have a
Hydrolok-style valve, but just a mouthpiece that you bite (like the
Camelbak Comfobite (yes, really!)) mouthpiece.
So, I've simply removed the Hydrolok and fitted the Comfobite
mouthpiece directly to the end of the drinking tube. So far, it appears
NOT to be leaking. Certainly, the air-bubbles-in-the-mouth problem is
removed.
So, unless anyone knows better:
Don't boil your Hydrolok.
In fact, manage without it. Less to go wrong.
--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling
So many pedestrians tell me I've lost a wheel.
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