I’ve been looking around at hydration packs and was pretty settled on a Camelbak Rogue but i’ve just come across this Tesco bag for half the price and it has waist straps (the Rogue doesn’t):

Gelert Hydro Speed Hydration Rucksack 5l

http://www.tesco.com/direct/gelert-hydro-speed-hydration-rucksack-5l/210-0390.prd?skuId=210-0390&fromRV=true

Firstly has anyone used one of these and if not am I likely to see much difference between this and a more expensive pack?

Cheers

Edit: this is my first hydration pack too.

It’s like Aldi crisps, if you are good enough the Camelbak/Dakine boys can’t laugh.

well that’s one way of looking at it 😀

Honestly i’ve only been riding for about a month or so but they just seem much better/more efficient than carrying water bottles inside a rucksack and they guys I ride with swear by them.

That Tesco one looks canny. Sure you only want 1.5l of water though?

its only a brand name, i got a 2010 2l camelbak via chainreaction for £20,and now i go no where without it, for something like a water carrier i wouldnt worry what name it has on it as long as it does the job.

Sure you only want 1.5l of water though?

He’s riding in England, its plenty!

Yeh i think 1.5l would be OK for me although it looks like a 500ml bottle of something could fit in the main pocket at a push. Yeh in England too so not too warm.

I rarely get close to filling my 3L bladder in my Camelbak Mule but I like the way larger bladders stay flatter with say 2L in than a 2L bladder that’s full. I do use it quite full when out with the dog on a hot day when I know we are not going past any streams or cow troughs as she shares my water.

It’s a Gelert one so not a Tesco one and should be okay, certainly looks nice and discrete and as you say just stick a bottle in a pocket or in a bottle cage – I do this when on all day 40-50k XC rides as well as a 3L camelbak.

yeh thanks for the replies, i’ll think i’ll go for it. It’s only £25 at the end of the day 🙂

I’ve got an unbranded one. “Only” 1.5 litres, but I find that’s plenty unless I’m doing a long ride when it’s really hot. Which isn’t that often, TBH

I had a Gelert one with the same bladder. It wasn’t good for a number of reasons-

1- The bite valve fell apart easily and wasn’t easy to bite.

2- The hose grew mould a lot quicker than a camelback one.

3- The straps were flimsy, and the waist band came off after a few months.

4- The zips blew soon after that and the seams on one of the front pocket were coming apart.

I use Dakine bags these days as they are much higher quality and very tough- chunky zips, good stitching, better quality buckles and a nice bladder. These are about £60 for something like the Gelert one but one of mine is 5 years old now and my Gelert lasted 6 months and cost £20, which isn’t good maths.

Have to say, I’ve had cheap hydration packs, now have a Camelbak and a Dakine and I wouldn’t go back – better ones are just better made and more comfortable, less sweaty, etc.

Liking the crisp analogy…does that mean if you’re fat enough it’s ok to eat them?

I have a Gelert bag, the bite valve is shite, you have to suck really hard-which of course I am rubbish at.

This is a good small camelbak for near your budget:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/lobo-id_8180818.html#anchor_ComponentProductFeatures

#Edit – for some crazy reason its different prices depending on which store you want it delivered from. It’s 29.99 from Giltbook.

you can get clone Camelbak bladders from Sports Direct for a fraction of the camelbak price. I can’t tell the difference between mine and the genuine CB one that came in my Mule.

http://www.sportsdirect.com/Products/Default.aspx?DescriptionFilter=hydration%20bladder

sounds like a dealbreaker regarding the bite valves being shit and the build not being great.

That decathlon link looks like a better deal I think so thanks for that.

These karrimor camelbak s look like camelbak s to me!

These karrimor camelbak s look like camelbak s to me!

They are not
Don’t get me wrong for the price they are excellent, for twice the price they are very good
But they are not a camelback
Although if I was buying just a bladder on its own I would go for the cheaper one over the camelback, difference dEfinately doesn’t warrant the price premium. Just make sure you clean it properly after each use (from experience 😉 )

You talking the whole packs or the bladders. I can’t tell the difference in the bladders.

My original Aldi one is still going strong somewhere and I still have the spare bladder in the freezer as a backup. Tesco were knocking out the same ones a couple of years ago for something like £2 more than buying their bladder on it’s own.

I have a Blacks one (3l) that I bought for £25 5 years ago and still going strong. If you hunt around there’s no need to go for big names. Even buying a camelbak bite valve at their extortionate prices would be a good deal.

LOL, the above answers say more about the power of marketing and the strength of brands than,about anything else.
It’s a plastic bag with a tube on…

Really? My cheap bladder split, the bite valve leaked, the bag stitching came apart and my back got far sweatier than with my Camelbak that also doesn’t suffer from any of the other issues. No marketing involved…

Yup, sure your back got sweatier…

Did you fill it with Kool Aid, cos you all appear to have drunk it…

It’s a plastic bag with a tube on…

And a bite valve and stop valve, both of which are crap.

Seriously mate, you’re the one that needs to stop speaking with no experience.

Um, yes dear…

I used the first ever edition of the Camelbak all those years ago for XC racing and for the 3 peaks cross race. Isn’t it more likely that the Tesco stuff is at least as good, some 20ish years later?

Whatever. It works for me.

Camel back havoc lasted 6 years before the zip went on the little pocket. Still using it. I”ll replace with another comeback. Purchase price has little to do with it lifespan is more important to me.

LOL crikey, have a pretend hissy fit cos you don’t know what you are talking about 🙄

have a pretend hissy fit cos you don’t know what you are talking about

Au contraire, mon ami.

I’ve used the Camelbak stuff, and been charged extortionate prices for the bite valve alone*, and used the cheap stuff which has worked just as well. It’s your call, but it’s still just a bag and a tube, and is easy to duplicate at lower cost.

*These ‘brilliant’ valves fail, I’ve had 3 do so and been surprised by the cost of replacements, especially when I can buy a complete bladder, tube and valve for the same price.

The Gelert ones are crap, I know cos I have one.

I’ve got a Trek (not the bike company, the ones they sell in TK Maxx) one at the moment, having developed a leak in my Decathlon one. Prior to that I had a Camelbak one which lasted for 4 years. The Decathlon one was 7 years old though.

I’ve not really got the energy to argue into the night about it, but it’s not a hi-tech thing, and the cheap ones are, in my opinion, as good as the others.

Your mileage may vary.

My point is more about the way mountain bikers and cyclists hold certain brands in high esteem; it’s not always deserved…

Had one of these a couple of years a go. They were okay for the price but they start failing quickly. Better to go with a more expensive brand like the camelbak

I hate the taste you get from cheap bladders especially when the water starts to warm up. I would try and get a cheap camelbak from the web

If anything else I have bought from Tesco is to go by, it’ll do the job and do it fairly well. I usually shun supermarkets for these type of things but I recently had to buy a few bike bits from Tesco in an emergency and was pleasantly surprised.

I got my lady one of the Tesco jobbies last year (not the same model as above) for £12. I’ve used it a several times myself and it works just fine. Not the slick and refined drinking experience you get from a camelbak 🙄 but it delivers liquid down a tube if you suck hard enough. Decent enough kit for the money imo.

I am after a 10L ish pack and looked at camelbaks, even after a trade discount I am going WTF @ the pricing 😐

Off to Tesco!

The Gelert bags are rubbish. The stiching holding the straps on failed on mine and as others have said, the bladders split.

I use a Decathlon bladder and either a Decathlon bag or an Alpkit Gourdon 20 if I need more room.

All very good kit at reasonable prices.
Camelbacks have crap zips, are too complicated and stupidly expensive.

The tesco ones arernt very durable, the bladder split leaving me in tthe middle of nowhere with a soaking wet arris and nowt to drink. I replaced it, then one of the plastic clips snapped in the cold weather. Then the new bladder split again.

I like my hydrapak, the bladder opens along the top (like an old hoover bag) so you can turn it fully inside out to wash and dry it.

Quality of the bag itself is on par with camelbak.

I had a Gelert one and as others have said the bite valve was poor. I bought a Vaude and the difference was noticeable. You can squeeze the Vaude valve between your fingers and the water pours out where as you would need to suck hard to pull water through the Gelert.

The Vaude was much more comfortable to boot. I would buy secondhand rather than a new Gelert and buy a new bite valve for Hygiene reasons.