Any hydration bladders that DONT leave a funky taste?

[Flat Broke]

I had been using a blue Camelbak 100oz bladder in my old DaKine heli-pro and I never really got over the way it tainted the flavor of the water. So when I got my new Camelbak Transformer a while back with its super-cool chemical warfare proof or whatever hydration system, I was encouraged because the bladder was black (and baffled no less). Alas, the water out of that bladder tastes about as bad as the water out of my old (2006) blue Camelbak bladder.

Do any of the bladders from the REI hydration packs, or perhaps the Dakine bladders have less of an effect on the taste of the water? Any other suggestions? I hang the bladders out to dry after every use, and they've both been cleaned with soap and water in hopes of eradicating that plasticy taste, but no luck.

Thanks,
Chris

[station]

serious they all taste bad.

[Elisheva]

Every so often, I soak the entire bladder and mouth piece in a bleach solution (water & bleach) and rinse well. This practice eliminates bacteria which would cause an odor.

[Flat Broke]

It's not an odor, but rather the plasticy taste from the bladder. I was just wondering if there were different composition bladders that didn't give off that taste. It's not the end of the world, but I figgured I'd ask just to make sure I wasn't missing the hot ticket.

Thanks,
Chris

[Banana Up]

i have a platypus bladder and i do not notice a taste. It could be there though. the only taste is the every once reminiscent taste of red bull and vodka that i had in there...

[bighit8]

I Have found that my Deuter bladder has no plastic taste.

[DBD]

I never really noticed. Maybe some Fabreeze will help?

Seriously, I have mine filled up and ready to go for this mornings ride, just took a sip ... alright, there is a SLIGHT plastic flavor to it, nothing that a few drops of sweat wont cure once I start to ride.

[thephat]

I have found that th Nalgene branded bladders have little to no plastic taste. This goes for the Dakine bladders too as they are relabeled Nalgene.

[DirtymikeTDB]

Denture tabs, and a cleaning kit do wonders in any water bladder

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...Brush+Kit.aspx

[b5driver]

Originally Posted by thephat

I have found that th Nalgene branded bladders have little to no plastic taste. This goes for the Dakine bladders too as they are relabeled Nalgene.

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

[brion]

A buddy of mine told me that he squeezed a couple of lemons/lime and cleaned out the inside. He says that it took away the plastic taste.

I was thinking of maybe using Listerine or mouthwash.

[ohyeah89]

I can't stand that plastic taste as well but I have found that it mostly comes from the water stagnating in the mouthpiece and tube. Cold water helps, so I always add ice to my bladder. I then purge the "stale", warm water from the mouthpiece tube before I swallow any by taking a long swig, spit that water out and then start drinking the cold water. Hope that helps. =)

[dudevf1]

I have gotten rid of the plastic taste by using a cap full of bleach in a bladder full of water and letting it soak for several hours. (Cap full from the cap on the bleach bottle.) The trade off is that you taste bleach for quite a while afterwards no matter how much you rinse. So it depends on whether you prefer the taste of plastic or bleach.

I wonder if a lemon slice in the bladder would help? I have never tried that, hmmm....

[Zippy]

Nope. They all taste like vinyl. Mine seem to get better the more I use them, though I might just be getting used to the taste.

[J_Sims]

Originally Posted by DirtymikeTDB

Denture tabs, and a cleaning kit do wonders in any water bladder

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/HY306F00-Camelbak+Brush+Kit.aspx

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

[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.

[DISCO]

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

[SAR_boats]

Eh, just use Elixir or Motortabs to hide the taste.

[Kritter]

I use purified water and have 5 or so camelbacks for various activites I do that I have never cleaned or drained and let dry. All taste fine and im a water snob. My buddies who use tap water have shit growing in the tubes, smelly water, bad tasting water etc..I have honestly never cleaned any of mine and dont even own a cleaning kit.

I love water and it tastes the same from my camelbak that it does from my water dispenser at home in a glass. I have black bladder military type packs, camelbak classic packs and commuting day glo packs...all are tasty.

[evdog]

I've never noticed a taste with mine, and its a replacement reservoir by Source.

If I could offer any advice - if you don't like odors, don't EVER try filling it with beer. Especially not corona with limes. Bad idea