Water Buffalo Oasis Hydration Bladder – 2L and 3L Water Bladder for Hiking Backpack, Leakproof Design with Insulated Hose and High-Flow Bite Valve

I wanted to test this a bit before reviewing so my wife and I took it on a few hikes and then to Disneyland. I have a backpack that is outfitted for a bladder system but did not come with one. It did great for the hikes. We noticed it was difficult to get water from the mouthpiece at first but it seems the more we used it, the easier it became. On our first day in Disneyland, it sprang a leak. We thought it was where the hose connected to the bladder but something in the backpack pierced the bag. We patched it with some super glue and didn’t have any issues after. The optional cleaning kit is a must. The hanger that comes with the kit is crucial to keeping your bladder lasting. We’ve had others that we thought we had dried completely only to find out on our next use it tasted moldy. Once that taste sets in, it never goes away. To clean, I highly recommend warm (not hot) water and baking soda. Any soap will also leave a taste you can’t get rid of. Wash it after every use or if you know you’ll be using it the following day, keep it filled overnight and simply rinse it out before it’s next use. Make sure it is 100% dry before storing. It usually takes about 48 hours with some adjustments in between. The same goes for the hose. Detach it, rinse and with the mouthpiece in the open position, blow any remaining water out. Use the hose brush by inserting it in the connection end and hang to dry in the open position with the cap off. All in all, this product is great and as long as you take care of it, it’ll work great.

Loved the product itself. Nice to have the insulation sleeve around the hose. The quick disconnect on the hose is great too. But the cleaning kit is missing a key component that is shown in the images. The blue rack piece that goes inside of the bladder after you wash it to help keep it from collapsing on itself isn’t in there. Instead they sent a hook with a clip to hand it. My opinion- not the same capability.

My original bladder some kind or another ended up having a cut behind the bladder so I purchased a new one. Hopefully this one will be equally as good as the original bladder that came with my back pack.

Water tastes like plastic even after washing it out about 6 times, once with baking soda. The bladder should have been made a little stiffer [back side of person] so it stays upright when in a backpack. For me the tube is too long. It should come with clips to hold the tubing and mouth piece in place. Otherwise it will OK once I make changes to it and the water tastes like water.

Love this water bladder. The insulated tube made the water stay cooler that was exposed to the sun during the hike. Easy to use/access which was great. The wide mouth opening made it super easy to fill and clean. The only reason I didn’t give this a 5/5 was because after the hike when taking it out of my bad, there was a considerable amount of moisture which I was unable to tell if it was from condensation or if there was a small leak. But overall extremely happy with this product. Also bonus points for coming with a cleaning kit. The hanger to keep the bag open during the drying process was so cool. Really let’s me relax knowing no mold will grow between trips!

The large opening allows easy cleaning and filling with ice. Would be 5 stars but, the hose has an o-ring seal and you have to be very careful installing it or you can damage theo-ring. No weird smell or taste!

So it was a normal Sunday bike ride my husband went to retrieve out back packs and both bags were soaked he started panicking. Thinking it was his bag but come to realize it was my bag the bladder was fine when I first put it in my bag but when we got to the park is was empty. I was so angry about it cuz it was 95 degrees and humid and I didn’t bring a water bottle with me. Just do a test run of the bladder first before you take it out and about. Got it replaced but I am hoping this one is good

The bladder is as advertised the volume is correct and the valve does work correctly. However, make sure you clean it several times before use or you will taste the sweet sweet nectar of cost cutting and plastic effervescence. Highly recommend the cleaning kit.