I have been running trails with hydration bladders for nearly a decade, and the most neglected piece of gear in my pack was always the bladder itself. Last summer, after a long weekend trip where I skipped cleaning for two weeks, the inside of my 3-liter CamelBak turned into a science experiment. That was the […]

I learned the hard way that even the best hydration packs can turn into a science experiment if you skip cleaning. After six months of weekend hikes without properly scrubbing my CamelBak reservoir, I cracked it open and found black biofilm clinging to the drinking tube walls. That was the day I started testing every […]