Review: Hydrapak Soft Flask

http://www.hydrapak.com/store-2/#ecw...roduct=2526111

These come in 5-oz and 8-oz versions.

First off: if it grosses you out to think about sucking a viscous fluid out of a flaccid cylinder on a public street, stop reading right now. :p I'm pretty immune to gross-out and suggestive resemblances, but I seriously had to get over this.

With that out of the way...

Likes:

They don't take up much more room than the contents. Nice when I might want to start a run with a partially filled flask, even nicer as I empty it along the way. That's especially true with the 8-oz flask, which I can now use on my longest runs in place of two partially filled 5-oz hard flasks.

It's easy to squeeze the last bit of gel out.

No noticeable plastic taste.

Surprisingly easy to fill - as floppy as the plastic is from side to side, it's strong enough to stand up inside a cup or whatever while being filled.


Dislikes:

The contents need to be slightly more diluted than full strength Hammer Gel to flow easily through the valve.

I haven't dropped one yet (touch wood), but the floppiness makes it feel insecure in my hand and harder to get out of my vest or belt.

There's no real way to clean it besides shaking it up with soapy water inside and squeezing it out the bite valve. They're okay so far after just a couple of uses, but I'm not that optimistic about what the bite valves will look or smell like a year from now.


Overall, I would recommend these flasks to anyone who uses gel or similar concoctions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

http://www.hydrapak.com/store-2/#ecw...roduct=2526111

These come in 5-oz and 8-oz versions.

First off: if it grosses you out to think about sucking a viscous fluid out of a flaccid cylinder on a public street, stop reading right now. :p I'm pretty immune to gross-out and suggestive resemblances, but I seriously had to get over this.
.

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AHAHAHA. Sorry. I think my inner child might actually be a 14-year-old boy. :rolleyes:

The race belt I wear is designed for pre-packaged gels and/or phone and ID, so it fits quite flat against the small of my back, and the Hydrapak soft flask was actually much easier to access during a race than the molded polyethylene flask I'd used before. I could just grab an edge or corner between my fingers and pull it out, and my impression was that it was also easier than the rounded flask to get back into the belt. I'd had a Bad Experience at my last marathon with a holster-type belt, so I tested this setup several times before race day and was pleased.

Cleanup turned out to be fine with a bowl full of denture tablets and a few squeezes while they were fizzing. It now looks and smells clean as new and ready for my next long run. I have other bite valves of the silicone over hard plastic type that haven't responded terribly well to this treatment, but this flask's bite valve seems to have fewer convolutions.

Fewer convolutions may be related to the need for a more diluted gel, which is still a bit of an issue. This race I had to expend more energy than I'd have liked, trying to suck my paste out of the flask. But I think that's mainly a matter of experience, and if I'd sacrificed a tablespoon or two of HEED in my energy paste, added more water instead, and possibly taken a gel from an aid station to make up the calories, I'd probably have been fine.

Bottom line: still highly recommended.

Thanks for that. I just bought a 5 oz to try out with a DIY gel I want to make. Good to know about the viscosity, and genius idea about the denture cleaner!

I've had one of these for about a year now and really like it.

Thom's in charge of cleaning it - cleaning is really not my forte. :rolleyes: Not sure what he does, but it hasn't gotten gross yet.

Funny, I never made any of those associations. Thanks :eek:

Veronica

I'm not sure I'd want anything quite that minty fresh where the Diva Cup goes. :eek: