Carrying Hydration Pack Ideas?

[craigclu]

I recently added a hydration bladder to an Amazon order...  Now I'm trying to decide on how to implement it into use.  Riding friends have can and bottle holders on their wings as there are plenty of accessories and mounting space on their big bikes.  My Norge doesn't seem to have an easy solution for that duty.  Are any of you using bladders?  Any clever ideas for mounting inside a jacket?  I've got a mesh jacket with plenty of room to carry the bladder inside but thought I'd see if there were some clever ideas that I could use for using the bladder (1.5L).  I know they're meant to use in backpacks but don't want to go that route.

[PJPR01]

The bladder is meant to be worn inside the Camelbak...I've never contemplated just wearing the bladder itself as there are no straps to put over your shoulders to keep it in place.   A full bladder is going to be uncomfortable when in the Camelbak worn inside the jacket if it is full of liquid/ice.

Very comfortable when worn outside the jacket, and on a hot day, you can pour a full large 32oz container of ice in there, and you'll have cool drinks as the ice melts.

[rtbickel]

Do you have a tank bag?  Do you tie a roll bag to your pillion?

[Guzzistajohn]

I keep mine in the tank bag with a flask of Jameson's underneath for night time refreshment. I offered a snort to an Irish chap at the Davenport Ia. Swap meet one time, he said "sweet mother of god you Americans think of everything" cracked me up

[Guzzi Gal]

If you don't have a backpack to put it in, attach the hook to the fabric loop at the nape of the jacket's neck or in your back protector pocket and it will keep you cool on a hot ride. They work best when you fill the bladder to capacity with ice, then top off with cold water or other beverage.

[Perazzimx14]

I have a backpack with a hydration bladder in it. Its is a monumental PIA. While it works good cleaning and drying them are not worth the hassle. I used it 2 or 3 times and I threw it away and kept the back pack.

I use a modular helmet so if I were inclined it would be no problem to put a flip top water bottle in a tank bag and just lift the chin bar and take a swig.

As it turns out stopping for fuel or to pee happens evey couple of hours or more frequently when really hot. Easy to get a drink then. Also bladders get hot so you get a nice refreshing drink of hot water that tastes like plastic.

[PJPR01]

FILL THE BLADDER WITH ICE....as has been stated now twice above!  Simple solution for keeping drinks cold.

[Perazzimx14]

FILL THE BLADDER WITH ICE....as has been stated now twice above!  Simple solution for keeping drinks cold.

I have never tried to drink ice.

[craigclu]

This reminds me that I have an un-used tank bag stored away somewhere...  I think I'll give that a shot.  As I get older, I seem to notice hydration issues more and am thinking a system would have me more conscious of keeping some fluid replenishment.  I don't tend to take many long trips and have mostly a tank of gas loops of length as I'm surrounded by nice, low traffic curvy roads.  I'll see how fiddly the tank bag seems to be.

[PJPR01]

I have never tried to drink ice.

Funny!  Ice won't pass thru the narrow drinking tube...problem solved, just keeps the rest of the liquid cool and melts while you're out riding when it's hot! 

[Darren Williams]

There are some really good threads on hydration on ADV rider. Clinically the body can only absorb so much drank liquid and excess is discarded. When riding and exposed to high temps and wind, your body can loose more fluid than you can get it to replenish. Other than the pleasure of sipping something while riding, a camelback or other bladder things can be replaced with just drinking 12 oz. of water or electrolyte drink every hour or so (when real hot I like to do a quick stop every half tank to stretch and drink, and usually pee). That will be more than your body can absorb.

The real key is to get your body hydrated the DAYS before the riding. Remember too much water can flush your body of the minerals it needs and caffeine in drinks will cost you hydration, not help.

[Rich A]

Put a piece of (sticky) velcro on the drinking tube near the mouthpiece. Put another piece of velcro on the front tankbag strap or someplace that will hold the tube in a convenient place.

Rich A

[vstevens]

Hydrating can be life or death... last summer I took it to the extreme and passed out immediately after pulling over to the shoulder of a busy highway.  Nobody stopped.  When I woke up I had serious burns on my right wrist.  As I passed out, kickstand down but engine running, my arms dangled over the headers as I laid on the tank.  Could of been worse, but after months of healing, burn scars, and incredible pain I ended up selling my bike.

A simple drink of water 💦 would have prevented it.

[Bulldog9]

I fill my CamelBak bag with ice and stuff it in my tank bag. Which reminds me I need to get one of those gas cap tank rings and a new tank bag for my Norge before my summer trip. My old magnetic bag won't work very well on these plastic tanks.

[normzone]

I wore my Camelback under my jacket on a trip to AZ and it was not at all uncomfortable - I filled it with ice, and of course it turned to water bit by bit and I sipped it off. Spinal air conditioning provided, and not uncomfortably cold.

Back in my Eldo days, I ziptied a bottle of fruit juice to the handlebars (this was all pre bite valve) and stuck a piece of line through the cap. Looked down to notice that the sipping end of the line had escaped my control and was spiraling in the slipstream, siphoning a spray of fruit juice onto the car behind me.