Reviews > Hydration Systems > Bladders > MSR CloudLiner > Thomas Vickers > Field Report

Mountain Safety Research (MSR) 2 Liter CloudLiner Hydration Bag Field Test Report

August 8, 2006

Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.

Using the CloudLiner:
During this first phase of testing, I have been dayhiking at least 3 times a week. This means that I have used the CloudLiner on at least 24 days during the Field Test portion of this test.  I have used it with clean tap water, filtered pond/lake water, and with water mixed with powdered sports drink.  There has been a lot of fluid flowing through this hydration bladder and its bite valve during the last two months.   There has been no visible wear and tear on the system that I can find at this point.  The bite valve works well, the cap is secure and leak free, and there are no punctures or other damage to the bladder itself.  Best of all, the bladder has not stained in any way nor has it picked up any odors.  The only cleaning I have done is to rinse the bladder out after I use it. The MSR CloudLiner Hydration Bladder passes my first round of use with flying colors on the ruggedness meter.

Filling up:
The first thing I did when it came time to use the MSR CloudLiner Bladder was to fill it at my home faucet.  I opened the cap, turned on the faucet, and let things go.   If only it had been that easy. The bladder was rather floppy and the more full it got, the harder it was to handle.  Holding onto the rotatable red handle made things a bit better, but it was still difficult for me to keep from splashing water out of the bladder through the open cap. It was a combination of weak fingers (bad grip), small handle, large opening, and floppy bladder.  This wasn't too much of a surprise since most of my hydration bladders work this way, but I had hoped for something better.   On the trail it isn't much easier.  I have to prop the open (cap) end of the bladder up (hopefully on a rock or log) and then insert the fill hose from my filter, and pump away.  As the bladder fills up, the harder it becomes to keep it in a position that allows me to fill it without spilling.  This was frustrating to me, but again, not totally unexpected.  Again, I don't consider this a huge flaw, just one that is inherent to the design of drinking bladders.

One thing that I would like to see offered by MSR is  an optional cap with a filling/pouring spout attached. A cap with a smaller diameter opening (one which could be opened without removing the whole cap) would make inserting the fill tube from my water filter easier to manage and limit the amount of water that could escape while using a water filter. It would also make it much easier to pour water into a pot when using the CloudLiner bladder in camp for cooking. 

Where to stash this thing:
Usually I stash my drinking bladder on the top of my pack, under the top lid. It is the last thing that goes in the and the first thing that comes out.  This is the way that I had planned to use the CloudLiner bladder, but since the pack I have been using (GoLite Continuum) has an internal sleeve for a hydration system, I decided to try it there first.   Amazingly enough, I enjoyed carrying the CloudLiner this way.  The bladder fit into the sleeve and the drinking tube was more than long enough to reach out of the drinking port on the pack, under my arm, and up to mouth level. The one drawback I found to this carrying set up is that the bladder is extremely difficult to access if there is anything in the pack. This is really a pack issue rather than a bladder issue, but at least I know now that it fits nicely into the hydration sleeve of my pack and works well in that location.  Next time I will go back to putting it on top of my load in the pack, rather than in the hydration sleeve.

Drinking from the valve:

It took me some time, but as usual, I was eventually able to figure out just how to bite this valve. That may sound silly, but it takes just the right bite on the end of the valve to get the water to flow.  The valve on the CloudLiner felt like it was about to shoot out of my mouth when I got it into the correct drinking position, but once I got the right amount of teeth and lips on it, the valve stayed put and almost drowned. me.   I have never had a valve deliver such a huge gush of water (I use MSR bite valves, but this is a new variety) to my mouth.  I didn't have to suck too hard and attempt to suck the hydration bag through the drinking tube to get water.   The CloudLiner valve and drinking tube delivered more than enough fluid and sometimes too much.  It took a while, but before too long I was emptying the CloudLiner of fluid much faster than I had expected.  A typical three mile (5 kilometer) hike was all it took to completely empty the CloudLiner.  Less than an hour's worth of drinking was a concern for me, but since I was never too far from a water source, it didn't weigh too heavily on my mind.  If I was on a trail where there was less available water, I would have to take serious steps to avoid depleting the bladder too quickly.   

I have yet to really use the cut off valve portion of the bite valve.  I haven't seen leakage from the bite valve that would cause me to use the cut off valve.  This includes rides in the back of the car to trailheads and rides in the pack from the trailhead.  So far, the bite valve doesn't leak when left "open" so I haven't worried about turning it off or closing it.

Final thoughts:
I have put the MSR CloudLiner Hydration Bladder through its paces during this portion of the test.  It has proven itself durable and easy to use. The bite valve works well (almost too well), the tube clip holds the drinking tube in place, and the bladder itself doesn't leak despite being used rather extensively.  It works just the way MSR said it would and I have not been disappointed so far.

Likes:
1. Fits in hydration sleeve
2. Bite valve delivers PLENTY of fluid
3. Fill cap/opening is wide enough to easily add powdered drink mixes to the bladder

Dislikes:
1. Bag is "floppy" and hard to fill with filter
2. Cap needs more dispensing options

Reviews > Hydration Systems > Bladders > MSR CloudLiner > Thomas Vickers > Field Report