Looking at the Top Three Hydration Pack Reservoirs Available

Generally speaking it is safe to say that most hydration packs are designed to be used with the reservoir made by the same manufacturer. However, if you have multiple hydration packs and regularly put them through hard use, it is not uncommon to mix and match reservoirs and packs as needed. The following is brief look at three of the most advanced hydration pack reservoirs on the market today and points out some of their advantages.

First there is Camelbak’s line of Omega™ reservoirs. They come in various sizes and have become almost universally well known as Camelbak has come to dominate the hydration pack market. Many of the cheap imitations on the market specifically clone the Omega™ style and features. The reservoir has a large opening which makes it quite easy to open, clean, and dry out when not in use; but is not quite as good in this respect as some of its competitors. However, one thing that really speaks volumes about Camelbak’s reservoirs is they offer a full Lifetime Warranty, which is something none of the others are willing to do.

Probably the next best reservoir on the market is Hydrapak’s Reservoir II™. A close competitor with Camelbak for many years, Hydrapak took a giant leap forward when it first introduced its fully reversible reservoirs as it made it much less difficult to clean and dry than the older ones. Hydrapak’s Reservoir II™ also makes it very easy to attach/detach the feeder hose directly to the reservoir which is unique. Hydrapak uses a clip system to keep its reservoirs properly positioned in the pack, as a bit of an enhancement over the pocket system preferred by Camelbak and its imitators, but the clip is not strictly necessary.

Next there is the Osprey Hydraulic’s HydraForm™ reservoir which offers a number of new and unique features (several of which are already being integrated into Camelbak’s new line of reservoirs being introduced in 2011). The primary advantage of the HydraForm™ reservoir is that it has a semi-solid spine, which keeps the reservoir properly positioned within the framework of the HydraLock™ frame system (a revolutionary new development introduced by Osprey) and helps to stabilize the water load much more than any of the other reservoirs. The real catch is that the reservoir is specifically designed to work with the HydraLock™ frame system and can be somewhat awkward when used in other packs with pockets.

All of these reservoirs also have a number of things in common as well. For example, all of the are BPA and PVC free, all of them are either made of special plastics or treated to eliminate “plastic” tastes or odours, and all of them are treated with various anti-microbial agents meant to retard the growth of microbes (bacteria, fungus, mould, etc.). In general, the reservoirs are all interchangeable with the various packs, with the exception of the Osprey packs, which do not perform near as well without the appropriate reservoir. Further, all of the various reservoirs described above come in a variety of sizes.