Water Buffalo Oasis Hydration Bladder – 3L Water Bladder for Hiking Backpack, Leakproof Design with Insulated Hose & High-Flow Bite Valve

I wanted to test this a bit before reviewing so my wife and I took it on a few hikes and then to Disneyland. I have a backpack that is outfitted for a bladder system but did not come with one.It did great for the hikes. We noticed it was difficult to get water from the mouthpiece at first but it seems the more we used it, the easier it became. On our first day in Disneyland, it sprang a leak. We thought it was where the hose connected to the bladder but something in the backpack pierced the bag. We patched it with some super glue and didn’t have any issues after.The optional cleaning kit is a must. The hanger that comes with the kit is crucial to keeping your bladder lasting. We’ve had others that we thought we had dried completely only to find out on our next use it tasted moldy. Once that taste sets in, it never goes away.To clean, I highly recommend warm (not hot) water and baking soda. Any soap will also leave a taste you can’t get rid of. Wash it after every use or if you know you’ll be using it the following day, keep it filled overnight and simply rinse it out before it’s next use. Make sure it is 100% dry before storing. It usually takes about 48 hours with some adjustments in between.The same goes for the hose. Detach it, rinse and with the mouthpiece in the open position, blow any remaining water out. Use the hose brush by inserting it in the connection end and hang to dry in the open position with the cap off.All in all, this product is great and as long as you take care of it, it’ll work great.

I love this hydration bladder for my camelbak. It holds 3 liters which is enough for me and my bf to share. I really like the slide across closure vs the twist cap because I freeze my bag when not in use and the twist cap freezes shut. It has a nice insulated tube to sip from and it's easy to open amd and close to drink from. It is durable and with stands my daily freezing and thawing.I highly recommend hydration bladder cleaning tablets. Just fill it up with warm water, add 2 tablets and shake. Make sure tube also fills with cleaning stuff. Flip it a few times overnight. Next dsy rinse and use and no more gross plastic taste.

Perfect for hiking and backpacking. Awesome locking mechanism, so much easier that a screw cap. Especially for folks that suffer from any arthritis in the hands.

, The one I purchased only had to be replaced due to a hiking partners operator error and after hundreds of miles of alpine climbing and backpacking. It held up in extremely cold temperatures and tons of use, having the cover on the hose was huge, you usually have to buy those separately, but it does a decent job of keeping it cool unless it's really hot out but also the black in very low temps helped keep my line unfrozen. One of the members of my party wound up having to clamp their water after it froze. If you're trying to trim weight over reliability, safety and preparedness on your little backpacking trip, reevaluate your priorities, don't turn into a rescue response.

works great...easy to fill...easy to clean...been beating the hell out of this thing for 4 months now doing some tough hiking...no leaks and no complaints

Problems I ran into:My box came damaged but there was nothing wrong with the product!I had some trouble sliding the closure mechanism on and off. After doing it for a while, it loosed up and now I can do it without putting a significant amount of force into it.I washed it twice before usage and no problems with the water tasting weird.Next thing I encountered was how to open the bite valve so water could come through. Just like the closure mechanism, it was difficult at first but became easy after some break in. If you are wondering why water isn't coming through, it's because you need to pull on the bite valve and pop it into the open position. bite down and pull it, it should open up like the pictures. It may pop off the whole piece the first time, like it did to me. I know was confused at the mechanism at first.Good things:PriceInsulated hoseHolds a good amount of waterGood designEasy to cleanComes with extra o-rings for quick disconnect hoseFeels durableCap to stop dust getting in the bite valve(I work outside in dusty environments, keeps the saw dust and dirt out)I rate my experience as a 4/5 due to the box and small thingsI rate the product a solid 5/5 for the price. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good hydropack.

Seems well made, easy to use, hasn't leaked, but I can't get past the smell and taste, even my hands smell like this thing! I followed instructions on packaging to wash with a little soapy water and the smell hasn't really lessened. I will attempt to return, I did not notice reviewers mention anything about a smell—my old camelbak reservoir never smelled like this.

This is my third hydration bladder. I've given it some field testing and I like the build quality, zip closure, capacity, and watertightness, but the bite valve is hot garbage. I really chug when I need to hydrate and the flow rate is frustratingly slow. My travel partner has weaker lungs and they observed that it takes quite a bit of suction to get water out of this bladder and I agree with that assessment.I replaced the hose and valve with a GYZR from Mazama and that resolved the issues. I did have to transplant the original quick disconnect to the new hose to make it compatible. This left me with an extra GYZR quick disconnect, which just happened to fit on my DIY Sawyer Mini pump setup, so now I can pump stream water directly into the bladder through the fittings and don't have to worry about holding a floppy bladder open while operating the hand pump.I've never had any hose insulation keep the water in the hose cold and this was no exception. I do think it helped keep the hose from freezing during an overnight cold snap.