Hydrapak Shape Shift Reversible Hydration Bladder Reservoir

Bought this a replacement bladder for my MSR drink system. We use them when riding dirtbikes. Old bladder got small cracks in the tube and needed to be replaced. Got this one. Great system! The tube disconnects and can be left in my system while the bladder is removed for filling and cleaning. Also lets you leave the bladder in the fridge to stay cool. This is a great feature that my old bladder did not have. Also the entire top of this system opens for easy filling. This also allows you to turn the bladder inside out to clean and allow it to fully dry.I have tried several different drink systems and bite valves, and always had problems with leaking bite valves. This bite valve works great and does not leak at all. No leaks from the quick disconnect hose either. Watched some torture test videos on Hydrapak's website and convinced me to try this one. Have thrown the bladder around quite a bit with the tube disconnected and not a singe leak.The only issue is the plastic clip on top of the bladder. My old system had a hole in the front for filling. The plastic clip is a little wider than my hydration pack, so I have to not quite fill it all the way and put the plastic clip at an angle to fit inside. No big deal, still works great and has a lot of room for water. Not the manufactures fault at all, just doesnt fit quite right in my pouch. Definately worth it for the large opening to fill and clean the bladder. I would highly recommend this product and will buy again if a replacement is needed!

The main reason that I purchased this bladder from Hydrapack was the fact that you can turn the pack inside-out for cleaning. I've had too many Camelbacks and other brands that have developed the infamous green slime over time. That feature alone makes this a great bladder. Note that it is also a nice feature that the hose disconnects for cleaning.After purchase, I immediately took the Hydrapack bladder on a weekend backpacking trip. Let me note here that the bite valve is top-notch. It has the ability to completely close off so that nudging the valve will not cause an unintentional leak. That's a nice feature when jostling the bladder around a campsite.Now for the downside... As with other brands, I placed the bladder at the top of my pack and stretched the hose around and over my arm. I connected it to my backpack strap using the magnet clip that was provided. During normal use, it just kept falling off and behind me. I see the intended purpose here. The designers wanted to make it easier for the user to "unclip" the hose to bring it to their mouth. However, the provided magnet is just too weak. The hose fell away so many times that I had to fashion a better solution with a spare carabiner. I recommend that Hydrapack look to putting stronger magnets in the clip. They definitely exist out there... I'm tempted to pull one out of an old hard disk drive and replace the present one, but I'll likely just pull the clip off an old Camelback system.All in all, this is a great bladder. The hose clip could just use a little improvement.

First of all, the hydration bladder itself is great- since it can be turned inside out, it's easy to keep clean without a lot of special tools or cleaners. Its slide closure at the top is secure and easy to use. Having said that, the bite valve is terrible. I have tried this bite valve three times and have yet to have one work the way it should. When open, it constantly drips. You have to bite down pretty hard to get the water out. It does have a twist valve that can close it so it doesn't drip, but it is very hard to twist- I can't do it with one hand. Therefore, in order to turn the valve off or on, I need two hands--leaving none free for steering, brakes, etc. The only time I can turn the valve off and on is when I am sitting still, like at a red light. If I could find another valve that would fit this tubing, I would get it (camelback valves don't fit very well).

I bought the 3L reservoir. This does its job well. Features I like are the ability to reverse the reservoir inside out to dry, the quick release for the hose and the magnetic clip for shoulder straps. These are GREAT features.My only dislike, and this cost it a star, the divider in the middle of the pack is essentially a ziplock seal. When I fill my reservoir all the way up the ziplock divider begins to come undone at the bottom. I checked on it partway through a hike and sure enough, the slight sloshing feeling in my pack was the divider completely separated allowing water to flow back and forth through the entire width of the reservoir. I only docked it one star for this as I could barely tell water was moving. The reservoir is narrow enough that it did not seem to make a big difference. I will see how it fares on some of my longer day hikes. Also make sure you have something to clip the top of the unit to inside your pack otherwise it will collapse on itself as the water decreases.Still, overall pleased with it.

I had reservations about the closure on this hydration pack prior to purchasing it, but read many reviews which said leaking was not a problem. I couldn't agree more. I have used this many times now and it is easy to fill, easy to clean, and leak-free. I have been very happy with it thus far. My only complaint would be the length of the pack -- I have one or two back packs (hydration pack-compatible) where this rests somewhat awkwardly in the designated pouch due to the fact that it is longer than my back pack allows. By making it slightly wider and less tall I think it would fit more easily into more packs. I am a small person, however, and naturally tend to use smaller back packs, so it may simply be my size. All in all, I love this resevoir!