Any hydration bladders that DONT leave a funky taste?

[Marshall Willanholly]

Originally Posted by J_Sims

So you are supposed to clean your bladder... Mine is just starting to taste good. It has taken over a year to grow a natural filtration system within

Maybe now would be a good time to add some Sea-Monkeys?

[dubl_xl]

Originally Posted by Marshall Willanholly

Maybe now would be a good time to add some Sea-Monkeys?

Or a Plecostomus
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/All/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]

[dubl_xl]

Originally Posted by b5driver

Good to hear. I just picked up a Nomad from SAC and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

I have been using a Dakine Nomad for almost a year now and love it. I don't notice any unusual "plastic" taste and have never used anything but tap water to clean it out. I do use filtered water to fill it and never leave residual water in it over night. I just give it a tap water rinse, flush out the tube and mouthpiece and store it in a ziplock baggie in my fridge crisper drawer.

[OldDogDan]

Everyone's right about keeping it clean of course, but I've got to second ohyeah89's tip to use ice. I put in ice & fresh water (got a filter on my tap) right before every ride, then purge the air. Keep it out of the sun on the drive to the trail, & purge the warm water in the tube, like he said, first drink. Put in ice even on a cold day (nearly fill it with ice on a hot day) and it will greatly reduce the plastic taste. Plus -duh-cold water is way more refreshing!

[el_d00der1n0]

i have a camelbak that tastes just fine. i only put water in it, and i keep water in it. i used to try to dry it, but if i'm riding regularly, there's no need. just rinse it out, refill, and go...

[bighit8]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

It's the plasticizers (fluids used to soften) in the plastic that you are tasting. Nalgene has a good history of using less in quantity and less volatile plasticizers, hence less of a taste. Lemon juice and bleach won't remove the plasticizer taster, but they may cover it up with other flavors. Also, the more you use it and rinse it, the more of the plasticizers you remove.

The best bet is to go with a bladder that begins with little to no residual taste or odor. Before buying a bladder, open it up and smell the inside. The stronger the plasticizer odor, the stronger the taste will be (duh). If you find one with little to no odor, you should be in good shape.

So hey Sam, on the deuter it is a stiffer type plastic ( in lame terms) is it a different mix of plastic they use?Just wondering.I get no plastic taste at all.

[Collette]

I've been using this for the last three years.

http://www.msrgear.com/hydration/cloudliner.asp

All I've done is a simple rinse prior to use.

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by bighit8

So hey Sam, on the deuter it is a stiffer type plastic ( in lame terms) is it a different mix of plastic they use?Just wondering.I get no plastic taste at all.

Probably is a different type of plastic formulation, though I can't be sure. My work is not mainly in plastic.

As for adding ice, colder temps obviously reduce the solubility of plasticizers in water, hence the reduced plastic flavor. I do agree that cold water is more refreshing and worth doing no matter what.

The plastic taste shouldn't have anything to do with what you run in the bladder (water, Cytomax, etc.). Letting energy drinks spoil in the bladder brings a whole host of new flavors as it ferments.

[COLEKO]

Originally Posted by Marshall Willanholly

Maybe now would be a good time to add some Sea-Monkeys?

Forget about Sea Monkeys. These work much better.



But as for cleaning my Hydration bag I have tried Listerine and it works really good.

[thephat]

Originally Posted by DISCO

Well said brewmaster, too bad the nalgene bladders leaked for me....

Don't get the one with the swivel where the hose enters the bladder, that seems to be the main leak area.

[Big Guy]

I don't have a problem with the bladder. but for plastic bottles, I keep them filled up in the fridge. The water does not turn bad but it soaks most plastic particles. Before I ride, I empty the bottle and fill it with fresh water and have no taste.

[Pain Freak]

Brewmaster pretty much nailed it. It's the plastizers you're tasting. Some of the other bags have less and these tend to break more often then not. I'm not sure of the plastic used in Colettes post, but I've been told now by a number of people these are the best money can buy for eliminating that taste. I typically just use distilled water and that helps although I know the plastizers are still there, I just don't taste them as much. I did have Platypus bag a while back, that had less of the taste, but it failed me on an epic ride and I lost all my water 15 miles in to a 35 mile ride. That was a long pain full day.

[Flat Broke]

It's definitely not the water I'm using, as it's 0tds (RO/DI and tested every 10 gallons) and tastes fine in polycarbonate bottles. I don't usually run ice because it cheats me of water volume and I'm a thirsty pig. But I'll try it on Wednesday and let you guys know what goes on.

Since it's the plasticizers that are causing the taste issue, will they ever diminish in concentration to the point where there would be less taste? If so, how bout rinsing the bladders/tubes/valves with near boiling (I'd have to see at what temp the welds can hold to) water repeatedly to help leach more of the plasticizers out of the system?

In the end, it's not THAT big of a deal, but I might check into one of those MSR bladders just out of curiosity.

Thanks,
Chris

[rockyt70]

I would have to agree and say the platpus ones are the most taste-less but I still use the camelbacks

[faded1004]

i use the new camelbak lobo, with the omega bladder... blue one. and i don't think it has a harsh taste... when i am riding, i do'nt even notice it at all...

[danophoto]

Here's a tip that will reduce cleaning your baldder: Post-ride put the remainder of the your bladder in the freezer instead of leaving it in the hot/warm garage. Freezing it will fight off the funk/mold from growing inside the bladder and tubing. I let it thaw out a couple hours before I go on a ride.

[sdyeti]

+1 for Platypus (but I still use a Camelbak which doesn't have any taste).