Dual ports in a Unaweep bag
Statistics: Posted by kevin_t — Thu May 08, 2014 3:26 pm
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
You can also put the bladder bag on the wearers back side of the unaweep by attaching it to the harness attachment / adjustment section. I had worried this would interfere to much with on the fly adjustment but once the pack is adjusted it is not a big deal. The only downside I see is the water is pretty close to your back and may get warmed from your body heat pretty quickly
Statistics: Posted by kevin_t — Fri Apr 25, 2014 7:44 am
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
]]>
First, we are not going to offer hydration ports in the Unaweep as a standard option. It fits with our core better to offer a bag that can be made waterproof (with seam sealing), and with a waterproof pack bag it makes no sense to put a potential 3 Liter water leak inside the pack bag. Secondly, hydration ports on some bags and not on others adds cost, complexity, and more cutting and management time than you would expect, which drives costs up over the whole product line. We'd rather say "NO" and offer other very workable solutions.
I have been a water bladder user for close to ten years now. In the last year and a half I have slowly and unintentionally been converting over to water bottles. Why? Well, I got a sawyer filter bottle.
With this I simply scoop up dirty water, flip the lid to expose a straw, and drink. The bottle contains a sawyer filter so I drink clean water from a dirty bottle. With our pack system, I can carry the sawyer bottle in one side pocket and a 1.5L aquafina or dasani bottle in the other pocket. I carry dirty water in both bottles, and simply refill the sawyer bottle when it runs dry from the other bottle. I like this system because I can access both bottles without taking the pack off! When I come up to water I simply reach back, grab the bottle, refill, and "reholster" it all without taking off my pack. It is much much faster and easier than what I've done with bladders in the past. In fact these days all I'm using a bladder for is water storage or as a gravity filter (which the sawyer bottle can be adapted to do).
So, on to the bladder diehards. I've used a 3L bladder in a Day Talon pretty extensively. In terms of ease of use a Talon is the best bladder carry method I've tried. The bladder is very easy to access, you can put inline hookups to connect to a pump filter easily, etc. The drawback is that the weight is further from your back affecting COG. This can be mitigated somewhat by loosening the bottom straps from the load shelf and tightening the two top compression straps, effectively raising the talon and the weight. Higher is better in this case, and compressing the pack bag to get the water weight closer to your back helps as well. Packing your pack so that the middle is compressible and heavier items are in the top helps too, as those heavy items up top work with the weight in the Talon to balance the pack a bit. It's a workable solution and something that gets better with a bit of practice.
Putting the bladder in the pack bag and running the hose out the rolltop is easy, cheap, and works well. But it's not something I'd ever personally do. If you get our bag so you don't need a raincover, why put water inside the bag?
You can put the bladder in a top lid which is easy and works well, and you can also suspend the bladder from one side compression strap and secure the bottom in a water bottle pocket, but the drawback here is if you go through brush you could get a hole, and you have to balance the side to side weight carefully when packing.
In conclusion, if I'm taking a bladder I'll probably stick it in the hydration pocket on a Talon, but most of the time I'll be using water bottles for ease of use and simplicity.
Statistics: Posted by Nathan C — Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:17 pm
]]>
Actually, the Mchale top lids are similar the Paradox ones in that there is no side skirt or bungied edges. It's important to have relatively vertical straps to cinch down the top pocket and keep the tension even on both sides.
Statistics: Posted by ernda — Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:34 pm
]]>