MSR CLOUDLINER HYDRATION BAG
Long-term 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
• Long-term Report

Andrew, the tester:

I am a 46 year old male, 180 cm (5' 11") in height, I weigh 111 kg (245 lb). 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)

Long-term Report:

This report should be read in-conjunction with my Initial Report and my Field Report.

During the long-term testing phase of this test program I have used the MSR CloudLiner hydration bag on an aborted weekend backpack in the Wandoo National Park (turned the walk into an off-track day-walk) and on a day walk in the Perth hills in September 2006. I concluded in my Field Report that the CloudLiner:

"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 with the CloudLiner. I am not overly impressed with the design and have used better designed hydration set-ups and will resort back to my current set-up. That is I do not plan to continue using the CloudLiner as part of my standard kit.

 My concerns with the design were outlined in my Field Report.  They are repeated/added to below:

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. It should be noted that this was not a problem in my day pack as my day pack does not have a hydration bladder sleeve. That said, as my primary use is backpacking it is a frustrating feature.

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. This continues to be a problem with the CloudLiner throughout the test.

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. Again this is an issue which continued to bug me throughout this test. I found that I was carrying a small 600 ml (20 fl oz) cool drink bottle to give me flexibility and easy access to water for making a cup of tea at lunch time and around camp.

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, however its lack of a pouring point makes it use around camp too frustrating for me to continue to use it on a regular basis.

My thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Mountain Safety Research (MSR) for being able to participate in this test.

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