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Owner Review: Platypus Big
Zip 3 Reservoir
02/22/05
Biographical Information:
Name: Matthew Wells
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (1.91 m)
Weight: 200 lbs (91 kg)
E-mail: mgwells (at) uga (dot) edu
Location: Athens, GA, USA
Backpacking Background: Car
camped as
a kid and did a little canoe/kayak camping as I got older, but never
any
backpacking. Recently I took 2 trips
that re-whetted my appetite for backpacking and now I am trying to take
as many
trips as possible though my heavy pack weight is often inhibitive. As a
result,
I am trimming the excesses from my pack and cutting down the weight on
the
essentials. I am up to about 8
backpacking trips total, always looking for more.
Product Information:
Manufactured By: Platypus by
Cascade
Designs
Manufactured Date: Purchased in
2003
Manufacturer URL: http://www.platypushydration.com
Listed Weight: 4.5 oz (128 g)
Delivered Weight: 4.6 oz (130 g)
Volume: 100 fl oz (3 L)
Size: 7.5" by 17" (19 cm by
43 cm)
Review:
Note: I bought the Platypus Big
Zip
as part of a hydration system. As a
result, this will review both the Platypus Big Zip and their hydration
system.
I originally purchased the
Platypus
Big Zip because I drink a lot. I am
thirsty all the time, whether I am hiking or not, but especially when I
am hiking
(I used this walking around to classes and would drink about 200 fl oz
(6 L) of
water on any given day). I purchased the Platypus brand over others
because it
has a lifetime warranty (which I have used before on other Platypus
brand water
containers). I chose the Platypus Big Zip because of the ease of
filling it
with ice or powdered Gatorade. So far I have taken it on ski trips in
the Rockies, hikes in the Appalachians, and kayaking all around the Southeast
(including
some sea kayaking).
Description:
This is a fairly standard
hydration
system with a 3 liter (100 fl oz) Platypus Big Zip reservoir. It has a standard hydration hose and bite
valve. It is made of some sort of plastic laminate (the same as all
other
Platypus products), but this has an extremely heavy duty zipper on the
top of the
reservoir. It is also lined with a food-grade polyethylene so that it
will not
flavor water with the taste of plastic. On the hose there is a small
black clip
that is intended to allow me to connect it to my pack or jacket to make
the
hose easily accessible while hiking. In addition to the hydration hose,
I also
got a standard cap so that it can be used just like any other Platypus
reservoir.
Use:
I have used the Platypus Big Zip
in
combination with multiple packs, all with pretty good success. I used
it with a
hydration pack made by Source on a few bike rides around town. This particular pack has a dedicated
hydration sleeve designed to hold 100 fl oz, 3L. I
have also used it with my backpack around
campus (I just drop it in there since it does not have a designated
hydration sleeve).
In addition, I have used it in a couple
of different packs when hiking (mainly the GoLite Jam, which has a
designated
100 fl oz [3 L] sleeve). It has worked well with all of these setups
and has
never leaked. I also took it on a skiing trip in Utah with the same hydration pack mentioned
earlier. It
worked well there, but the hydration tubing froze solid at one point
(it was
well below freezing, about 18 F, -8 C). After that, I remembered to
drain water
from the tube by blowing air back into the bladder and never had
another
problem.
The bite valve works well, I bite
and
it provides water. The only problem is that it does not always stay on
that
well, and I have bitten it off by accident more than once. Maybe a
screw-on
valve of some type would work better. I would also like a little more
volume to
be provided when I bite down (see note at the top about drinking a
lot). The
little black clip that is supposed to hold the tube so I can drink from
it is
useless. I do not know what can be done to improve it, but there has to
be
something because it serves no purpose other than making it harder to
thread
through the elastic tube-holders on my pack's straps.
Durability:
The Platypus Big Zip has held up
wonderfully. I have dropped it into the water by accident and it took a
nice
little trip down the Five Falls of the Chattooga River (class IV-V,
very
dangerous), I have frozen it a few times (both on purpose and
accident), boiled
it a couple of times, and sat/stepped on it more times than I can
remember. It is still going strong.
Needless to say it
gets thumbs-up on durability from me. One concern I had was the zipper:
it
allows me to put ice or powdered Gatorade in easily, but is a zipper,
and
anyone who uses Zip-Loc bags knows how finicky they can be. Once I
started using
it, though, it was very easy to close the zipper and it stayed shut
very well.
I had a couple of accidental spills to start with, but that was user
error. As
long as I make sure the zipper is shut, it has not come open yet. Also, I believe the zipper will make it much
easier to reach in and scrub if necessary, should scum build up inside,
but so
far I have not utilized it in this fashion. I clean it on a regular
basis with
a little bit of bleach).
Summary:
Good:
Durable
Freezable/Boilable
Zipper does not leak
Able to add powdered drinks easily
Easy Cleaning
Bad:
Bite Valve is sometimes bitten off
Black clip is useless
Read more reviews of Platypus Hydration gear
Read more gear reviews by Matthew Wells
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