Lots of ways to dry
Bend and insert a coat hanger or use one of the Camelbak drying racks to keep insides open and hang up.
I find shaking them out and then stuffing in a couple paper towels to keep it propped open to air dry (and wick water out of the corners) does the trick.
Simplest thing is DO NOT let them sit around full of stuff that can get nasty. Dump and rise as soon after done using it as possible. Refrigerating naturally slows things down too. I’ve tossed a half full one in for a week or so with no problem.
As already mentioned - tap water seems chlorinated enough to freshen up unless you really abuse them.
Mine tend to take on an orange Gatorade smell - but that’s about it. If filled with water and put in the frig they will begin to take on any frig smells.
Like I said - keep dry. Takes very little time. A low maintenance piece of gear that’s more than worth the minimal effort.
bottom knee tube
i’ve always wanted a knee tube on the floor of the kayak (uh the hull)that you could slide a bladder (platypus or camelbak) into to keep it there held onto the bottom, maybe in the day hatch or behind the seat…then a waterproof hole in the deck for the hose to pass through on the way to the paddler…
The theory is that the water weight held on the bottom by the ‘bladder tube’ would act as righting balance.
The plus with bladders on the PFD is that you will have (some) water if you are separated from your boat…but the negative for me is that during rolling I FEEL the extra weight of the water on my back…so in the best of worlds I’d have a small bladder on the PFD and the ‘bladder tube’ inside the 'yak.
I either mount the
water bladder on the back eck or under it and run the tube forward. Platypus brand has longer tubes I have found.
extrasport has a new small one
extrasport has a new smaller pfd back located bladder, it comes with adaptors for your pfd. It has the advanctage of working with a tow system under it. Check it out, several folks from ConnYak had them and love them.
http://www.outdoorplay.com/store/Product3.0.asp?DeptID=316&SKU=EOU_ETRBP
That’s what I do too
I keep them frozen (full) and just drink the melted water.
I usually keep the bladder behind the seat and run the tube through the skirt
Second that!
I let the kayak carry mine. The drinking tube on mine is long enough to reach my mouth, though I do need to grab it with my hand first.
The one I use was originally designed for x-c skiing. So it has a valve cover, which can be open and close with one hand. I found that very useful when I paddle on water that aren’t exactly clean. I close the valve cover so the dirty water splash on deck doesn’t dirty the drinking vavle. It does require one extra move to uncover the valve. But since I’m not racing, it’s no big deal.
thanks
Want to thank all for help. Found Platypus on sale at Campmoor for $ 10 figured how can I go wrong. Hoping to put it inside kayak & run tubing thru skirt. Everyone has been a big help.thans again. Phil
All these fancy drinking devices…
..doesn't anyone just use an old gallon milk jug anymore? Rinse it out once, add water (yeah, it has a sort of milky odor and taste, who cares?), and just drink drink drink. A whole gallon. When done, simply chuck it in the water. End of drink.
re
www.Campmor.com has great prices on , camelbacks, MSRs, and platypus’s hydration systems
on the trail, we would clean them every 2 weeks or so by adding a bleach water mix to bag and hose in the evening and letting it sit overnight…
i now just use 1 liter soda bottles
RE: All these fancy drinking devices…
No
Jim
GOOD ANSWER!!!
LOL
-MEAT
chuck it in the water?
troll or troglodite either way try doing that in four foot chop and you'll know why I use a hydration bladder.
anything works on a pond except trashing the joint.
Cheap dryer
I took a of plastic clothes hanger, heated it over a stove burner and stetched it out. The result is an inexpensive (basically free) dryer that keeps the bladder open and has a handy hook on top.
All these fancy devices…
…hell we are all sitting on tens of thousands of gallons of water in our yaks and canoes; sometimes water as far as the eye can see. And we are having a blogboard on “what $50 device can I buy to store my water, and how do I clean the mold out of it?” Please. People. You’re killing me.
Dip in the sweaty hand, take a couple of generous slerps. Quenched. Resume paddle.
Some People
Some people feel they don’t have the time to take a drink. Of course they are the type who die of heart failure because of all the things they worry about. I paddle for the enjoyment of being on the water and experiecing the environment I’m in. Speed means nothing to me. I know I can get just as good a workout in a slower more stable kayak as in a sleak faster one.
GAIA makes a good one
website is gaia.com it’s called a pod holds 2-40 oz bladders so you can use one for water one for gatorade whiskey or gasoline to flame those throwing milk jugs in the water ;o)>
The pod has four straps to secure it to a PFD or deck and a Y-harness to carry on your back. It works good and good quality. Rutabaga may carry it I got other GAIA stuff there.
SYOR
Randy
Take a look…
at Octopuskayaks.com. They have a neat behind the seat (or it can be mounted in the back hatch) set up that has the tube coming thru the deck. It looks pretty neat…as long as it doesn’t allow water in. That’s my concern.
Lotus
I have the Lotus, and it was probably more expensive than it should be. It was the first time I’d seen one, and I bought it on the spot. With it, I find that I drink more often and feel better in the hot sun because I stay hydrated.
It’s only 1L, so I have to refill it during breaks instead of just once a day. The bigger ones are nice, but you’ve got just that much more weight on your back all day.
The Camelbak
50oz bladder will fit in the Lotus EFT pack quite nicely.
Not too heavy and gets you along for a couple of hours or so before needing a refill.
Much easier to live with than the Platypus style supplied by Lotus.
Holmes
Slime?
I’ve used the same Platypus for more than 4 years now and I’ve never had any slime form in it. Then again the only thing I put in my water bladder is water. I do clean it periodically by adding some bleach to a full bladder and letting that sit for a while before rinsing it out a few times. As for drying it out, well, it gets used too often for that to happen.