Geigerrig Hydration Engine

Was at an sports retail outlet and came across this new, or at least new to me, bladder bag.

My attention was drawn to the very outstanding caption on the pack "Never suck again".

I was rather intrigued by the slogan. And since my current bladder bag's hose was almost like totally coated with slimy yucky stuff and algae, I decided to give this a try. I rather like the idea of not having to suck on the tube especially when I remember how sticky the mouth piece can be. And moreover, the promotion video that the store was playing was talking about dirt and dust gathering on the mouth piece and how unhygienic it can be. 

Out of the pack, these are the various parts:

1) The main bladder itself. It is rather small for its 2 litres capacity and the material is very thin and light. It can even be turned inside out for washing and the instruction there said it is very tough and will not tear.

2) There are 2 outlets on the bladder. One at the bottom of the bladder connecting the tube to the mouth piece and another at the top connecting another tube. More of that tube later. What I like about this is that the rubber hose can be removed easily. Just press the grey catch to release the tube and the tube can be washed thoroughly or even replaced!

The removed tubing. Just like those I used for my fish tank air hose except this is bigger.

3) The other tube leads to this pump like thing which the manufacturer call the bulb or "grenade" as one runner called it when it dropped off midway through a run. What is the function of this pump? To work the whole setup, one need to press the pump several time to create  a pressure. Then just press the mouth piece and voila, the water will squirt out. Hence no need to suck. Can spray the water into the mouth, wash hand, wash the dust and dirt off etc....... Very useful hor?

4) Unfortunately when I hooked up the whole contraption, I had this feeling that the pump will drop off even though I added on the optional holder.

And true enough midway into my run at MR, the pump bounced off and the lady who was behind me screamed "grenade"! ha ha ha.  Subsequently I realise I should have wrapped the bulb in the bulb holder instead of using the bulb holder to secure the tube.

5) Without the pump, the air was released and I can no longer spray out the water. Fortunately, I can still suck on the bite valve and even though the valve has no anti-drip head or twist lock, it did not drip at all.

The whole thing could fit very snugly into my North Face Hydration bag but there are a few issues with it.

- The bladder puff up like a puffer fish when it is inflated and it was rather uncomfortable on the back. Moreover, because I did not fill it to capacity, the sound of the water sloshing inside was very loud and distracting. Fortunately, when the bulb dropped off, the pressure was released and the bag deflated and life went on as normal.

- The tubing does not have a magnet holder and it dangle and swing wildly. I will have to remember to remove the magnet holder from the old bladder to hold it in place. 

- The size of the bulb is rather distracting. And if one is using hydration bag with front pocket for bottles, it may not be possible to use the bulb with the bottles.

On the plus side, I really like the idea of not having to suck the water out from the mouth piece especially if I am running in dusty and sandy area. I also like that I can just aim the tube and spray away to wash my hands or wash away dirts and dust from cuts.

- I also like the removable hose. If I need to remove the bag to refill, I do not need to pull out the tubing from from the hydration bag. All I just need is to unclip the hose. 

- One of the problem with conventional bladder bag is that it is very stiff and not easy to wash the inside. The Geigerrig bag can be turned inside out to wash every corner. 

Overall, I think this is a neat and very innovative product and suitable for use for those who have problems with washing the bladder bag or replacing the tube.

The bag also comes with an optional filter that can filter stream water and render them into clean water free of particles.

More information and video on the Geigerrig Hydration Engine can be found on their website.