Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

Some things I don't want lightweight. This is one. When I'm in the Grand Canyon or Escalante, a hard 10 hour hike to the next water, I don't want to worry about anything getting a hole in it. With a Dromedary, I don't.

I've been using my six liter Drom with hydration kit for over five years. It has well over 600 days in the field. I replace the hose and bite valve once a year, and rinse it out rarely.

Those who don't hike in the desert likely don't need anything so large, and I don't fill it full that often. But when I need that much water, it's good to have the option. Running low on water is no fun.

My only complaint? I think the newer versions are made of slightly less burly cordura. If you're going overkill, go all the way.

One of my top 5 of all time bits of gear.

(I've never tried to use it as a solar shower, but others have said it works great.)

Rating: 3 / 5

The attraction of this bag for me is its versatility - a wide mouth for filling, a hydration kit for trail use, and a narrow mouth/spigot for camp use. A shower attachment is also available, but I haven't tried it.

In practice, I've found that this versatility comes with some annoyances. Although the bag has a wide mouth, it is actually pretty difficult to fill in slow-moving water. The material is so flexible that the bag collapses and won't fill just by being held under water. Instead you have to move it through the water. This is OK unless the water is also shallow, in which case you'll stir up muck and debris.

The hydration kit adds to an already-high profile, making it difficult to get the bag in or out of the hydration sleeve, especially with a full pack. The floppiness of the bag compounds the problem.

The bag also had some serious taste problems at first. Several rinses failed to get rid of the plastic taste, and treating with baking soda didn't help. The solution was to fill it, add a few drops of Dr. Bronner's soap and let it sit out in the hot sun for a day. After a few rinses to get rid of the soap the plastic taste was gone for good.

In short, this is a good camp water bag, but a pretty mediocre hydration bladder. And there's really no excuse for the plastic taste - this problem should have been solved years ago.