MSR CLOUDLINER HYDRATION BAG
Field Report
October 10, 2006

Authored by

Andrew Priest
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
aushiker@yahoo.com.au

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Product Details and Specifications
Tester's Details
• Personal Biography
• Testing Playground
• Testing Environment
• Field Report

Andrew, the tester:

I am a 46 year old male, 180 cm (5' 11") in height, I weigh 104 kg (229 lbs). I have been bushwalking in Western Australia for approximately five years. For the past four years I have been regularly walking and leading on and off-track pack carries with the Perth Bushwalkers Club and more recently I have also got into geocaching. I consider myself as moving towards being a lightweight tent-carrying bushwalker with my pack base weight in the 8 to 12 kg (18 to 26 lb) range.  I have completed my End to End of the Bibbulmun Track (2003), the Cape to Cape Track (Nov 2001), the Coastal Plains Walk Track (numerous times), the Larapinta Trail (July 2005) and Fitzgerald River National Park (April 2006).

I currently use a Platypus Hoser hydration kit which has a similar, if not the same bite valve design as the MSR CloudLiner Hydration Bag being tested here.

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Andrew's testing playground:

The bushwalking environment of the south-west of Western Australia allows for bushwalks and backpacking from coastal plains to forest. Elevation ranges from 0 to 585 metres (0 to 1,920 feet). Within this region, I walk in varying conditions from forestry roads, to sandy tracks to single-purpose walking trails, to rock hopping, to beach walking to completely off-track walking through open and dense country.

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The testing environment:

During the summer period, daytime temperatures average 30° C (86° F), whereas from March through to December the daytime average temperatures range from 15° C to 26° C (59° F to 79° F). During the autumn, winter, and spring periods the normal weather pattern is fairly wet with frequent heavy rainstorms evident. It does not normally snow in Western Australia.

According to The Times Atlas of the World (Concise Edition - Revised 1997) our weather is described as being "Mediterranean - rainy climates with mild winters, coolest month above 0° C (32° F), but below 18° C (64° F); warmest month above 10° C (50° F)." The atlas depicts the coastal area north of Los Angeles as having the same climate.
 

Product Details:

The MSR CloudLiner Hydration Bag is manufactured by Mountain Safety Research (MSR). Year of manufacturer is assumed to be 2006. MSR describe the CloudLiner as a lightweight version of their Hydromedary Hydration Bag. The CloudLiner as tested is a 2 litre bladder with a wide filling mouth (50 mm / 2") at the top. Attached at the bottom of the bag is drinking tube with a bite/shut off valve and a lapel clip.

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Specifications:

• Manufacturer's specified weight - 2 Litre: 162 g (5.7 oz)
• My weight - 2 Litre: 164 g (5.8 oz)

Field Report:

My use of the MSR CloudLiner hydration bag has been less than I hoped during the field testing phase as my normal July weekend backpack was replaced with a week long geocaching and car camping trip and hence a piece of kit such as the CloudLiner was not used.  That said, I did get out with the CloudLiner on two overnight backpacks. A short walk into 37 Mile Break in the Avon Valley National Park in June and a second overnighter at the end of June on the Ghost House Ruins Trail. Both backpacks saw the use of the CloudLiner as my water carrying when walking and to a lesser extent around the camp. On the 37 Mile Break walk the CloudLiner was my only water carry but given my experience on that walk, I took a 1/2 litre (17 fl oz) water bottle for around camp use on the second walk.

"In summary the CloudLiner has worked well as hydration bladder, even if a bit of a fiddle, but does not work for me around camp."

The above statement pretty much sums up my experience to date with the CloudLiner. I am not overly impressed with the design and have used better designed hydration set-ups.  My concerns with the design lay in three aspects:

1. To use the CloudLiner in my Granite Gear  Stratus Latitude's hydration bladder sleeve I have to actually remove the valve and clip from the CloudLiner every time I wish to remove it or put it in my pack;

2. I am not overly wrapped in the valve. It has a tendency to leak. I have had a similar experience with the same valve design on my Platypus kit. I find that if I do not "clear" the valve after turning it off, I find a gentle dripping of water, generally down the front of my shirt. Not overly nice.

3. As the only outlets on the bag are either the large hole or the bite valve, I have found it quite frustrating around the camp when used as my camp water source. It just does not have the convenience that comes with designs with a cool-drink bottle sized outlet. Try pouring a cup of water from a big hole in a full bladder. Not fun at all.

On the positive side I have had no issues with durability; no punctures and the bite valve provides a good flow of water.

The above not withstanding and the normal issues with drying bladders (at least the CloudLiner has a large mouth so it is easier to clean) the CloudLiner is functioning okay, has survived okay in my pack and is a handy 2 litre (2 US Quarts) size.

I look forward to continuing my use of it during the test period.

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