Badlands Hydration Reservoir with Insulated Drinking Tube

Now that I have used this bag for several weeks during my elk and deer hunt I can leave an honest review. I have been using it in my Badlands Silent Stalker pack. Let me start by saying up front that this bladder is junk, or rather, the hose system is. The bag it self seems to be made of a durable material, easy to fill and clean, and it has no discernible bad taste. This is where the good ends. The hose quick disconnect leaks. Be prepared to have all of your gear wet. And if that isn’t irritating enough there is the mouthpiece. It is a two handed affair to turn it on and off, and I do keep it off when not using it, because, yep it leaks like mad. Even worse, once I do turn it on and go to take a pull of water the mouthpiece has a vacuum leak so most of what I get is wet air. To get a good slug of water I have to remove the mouthpiece from the hose. At least I take heart in knowing that I was going to have to use both hands anyway. I got this thinking that it will work the easiest with my pack, but my old Camelbak and Platypus bladders are far superior to this piece o’ junk.

I’ve had platypus and camelback packs but neither were as good as this one. The camelbacks were difficult (aka impossible) to thoroughly clean. I liked platypus, but they were stiff and one ended up springing a leak. That was after several years of use, though, so no real complaints. But for the price, nothing beats this badlands bladder. It’s very sturdy....,my BF accidentally hooked the hose where it sticks out of the top of my backpack and ended up dragging the whole thing out of the truck. Flipped the bladder upside down inside the pack with the entire weight of the pack being held by the hose. No damage or leaking from the the bladder or plug and play port.Super easy to clean and dry. LOVE the foldover wide open seal for filling and for cleaning. After washing I simply stick an empty soda bottle in the open end and hang it upside down. Dry as a bone by morning. Nice to be able to remove the hose for cleaning, too. The bite valve is easy to use and does not leak, even in the “on” position. I haven’t even found the need to turn it “off”. Like the attached cap to cover the bite valve when in dusting/muddy conditions.I bought the 3L size for those longer treks, but often only fill it 1/3 or 1/2 full for day trips. Very versatile.

Okay so these are my first impressions on the Badlands 1L Bladder along with a few things about it:1) I ordered this bladder for my Haley Strategic Flatpack (the smaller of the 2). My units SOP says we need a hydration source when wearing our FLC in the field so this compliments my Micro nicely while staying in regs and I don’t have to carry an awkward canteen.2) This bladder upon first impression felt thick enough to take a beating. I wouldn’t trust it with your life but as a nice spare patrol water source it’s good to go.3) This bladder seamlessly fits into the Flatpack and doesn’t feel awkward. The hose seems a bit long but you can remedy this by either A) cutting it down a bit or B) Snaking the spare tubing into your packs bladder sleeve. The mouth piece also slides through the Flatpack’s straps made for a radio antenna nicely and that’s where I’ll keep my hose in the future.4) The slide lock portion on the top of the bladder doesn’t lock into place as securely as I’d like and I’m not sure it will hold its integrity under hard side to side movements. I’ll remedy this by putting shock cord through the 2 holes on the left of it and make a rope catch on the side of the bag.5) For those who can’t read well or are Marines the bag clearly says you need to lubricate the hose before insertion into the bladder. Just lick the O-Ring or put some water on it before you insert it and you’re good. I have had 0 leaks so far. I even went as far as putting on my kit and leaning against the bladder in a wooden chair. Not even a drop of lost fluid and I sat there for 10 minutes.6) This setup could also be ran with a Sawyer mini or normal sized filter in the hydration line fairly easily to be left inside your pack and if you bring this thing down range I’d recommend that. I’m not sure how iodine tablets would effect this but expect heavy discoloration.My overall thoughts:I think this bladder is well made. I took one star off because I don’t like that the top doesn’t lock into place securely. I think this bladder will hold up for years. My only big issue is I’d love to see this come with a patch or two so you don’t get utterly screwed in the field of you spring a leak. Other than that I would definitely recommend this thing to anyone who wants a hydration source for their Flatpack.

Bought this to use in my Badlands Monster fanny pack on an elk hunt. Bladder/pack does not hang well in the Monster bladder holder and bunches up in the holder making it difficult to get all water out of it. Thought I was out of water well before it was empty. Not a good design; seems to be an afterthought or just something to add to a features list for the sake of having it listed. Ended up carrying a water bottle instead and leaving this in camp. Would return but purchased it too far in advance of the hunt expecting it to work and have gone beyond the eligible return date. Definitely not worth the money that was paid for it and will likely never use it again. Very disappointed.

I am using this in a Haley Strategic Flat Pack. I think the quality of the bladder is great, it hasn't leaked on me yet and I did beat on it pretty good. Only aspect of it I don't like is the flow of the hose (tube). I would have preferred a larger diameter water hose to make it easier gulp the water down.

At the beginning, I was a bit skeptical about this purchase because I thought $30 is a lot for just a bladder and a hose. I'm relieved now, however, that this is a top quality product, easy to use, easy to clean and seems like it should last a long time. Also the fact that it comes with a great lifetime warranty, as does all Badlands gear, makes it a 5 start rating in the value department. One thing I was particularly skeptical about at first was that the pack I bought this for, the Superday, requires the 2 liter size. When the bladder comes out of the package it doesn't look very big. However, I discovered that 2 liters is plenty to keep me well hydrated during the day-long hunts this thing accompanies me on. Well done badlands!

Worked perfect.Expensive though.

Very good

Awesome!!!