Summary:

Camelback is best known for it’s wide array of backpacks integrated with water reservoirs. All of the backpacks ship with the newly designed Omega reservoir. The Omega reservoir is durable, stylish, and best of all you can trust that it wont bust open and release your valuable water. Today I’ll take a look at the Camelback HydroLink Filter Adapter for those times when you need more water. Whether you’re the ultralight hiker, and don’t want to fill your camelback full. Or you are the distance traveler and would like to refill along the way. The HydroLink Adapter is worth checking out.

Specs:

• Weight:
• Total Weight (HydroLock Adapter with Drink Nozzle & Filter Adapter): 0.6 ounces
• HydroLock Adapter Weight: 0.3 ounces
• Filter Adapter Weight with Extension Hose: 0.2 ounces
• Nozzle Adapter Weight With Nozzle: 0.2 ounces
• Stock Nozzle: < .1 ounce
• Stock Nozzle with Angle Adapter: .2 ounces
• Includes O-ring seals: Yes
• Includes Shut-Off Valve: Yes

The box (…and what’s inside):

Front:

Inside the box:

- (1) Hydrolink Hydrolock
- (1) Hydrolink Filter Adapter
- (1) Hydrolink Bite Valve Adapter

This it what you get for seven dollars. If you compare it to a small child’s action figure you are getting about the same amount of plastic. Plus there are a couple nifty mechanisms on the device that makes it “easy” to use.

Instructions:

Aesthetics

Overall the Hydrolink system is very pleasant to the eyes. The blue/yellow theme of camelback is followed through outstandingly with this product.

-Hydrolock:

-Bite Valve Adapter:

-Filter Adapter:

The Hydrolock features a simple flick on/off feature much like the angle adapter (AKA Ergo Hydrolock) that comes stock with many of the camelback products.

The Hydrolock & two accompanying adapters fit together with an ingeniously simple and practical design. The hydrolock has one end to mate with your camelback drink tube, whereas the other end allows you to quick connect/disconnect the provided adapters. This is achieved by the small notch in the two adapters along with O-Rings. The O-Rings form the seal while the notch in the adapter is held in place with the grip ring on the Hydrolock:

It’s super simple, and overall it’s a clean design. The drawback being how much plastic they have to use to allow for a quick change operation. They had to make the Hydrolock apparatus extra long to accommodate the two adapters. This leads to a heavier object. (0.6 ounces total weight)

Performance:

The Camelback Hydrolink Filter Adapter performed excellently. There were no leaks, and everything worked exactly as described. The setup couldn’t be simpler either. All that is required it to remove your bite valve, and install the Hydrolock. As per the filter, you have a few options depending on your filter manufacturer. I own an MSR HyperFlow-Microfilter. For the install all I did was chop off a four inch piece of tubing from the pre-filter attachment.

This left me with a perfect filter adapter. All that I’m required to do is whip out my filter, drop the pre filter in the water, and plug it into the Hydrolock.

The biggest disappointment with the Hydrolink system is the weight and bulk. The features that the Hydrolink system posses is awesome, but the weight is too cumbersome to recommend the Hydrolink system to anyone that is in the ultralight subsection of hiking. Also due to the design more plastic is needed to accommodate the adapters, thus building up more bulk.

Since I like to cut back weight however possible (I’m kinda a comfy hybrid ultralighter) I opted to make my own Hydrolink system on the cheap. I traveled to my local hardware store, and after much searching I found the perfect solution:

I found a Nylon 1/4′th – 1/4′th inch adapter (aka, male to male adapter) I pulled the piece of tubing from the filter adapter that I had fabricated earlier, and installed it to the end of the Ergo Hydrolock. The other end mated perfectly with the 1/4th inch adapter, and I was set.

Conclusion:

Even thought this wasn’t the greatest solution for me, this is a wonderful accessory to the right person. The Hydrolink system provides a level of simplicity to filtering your own water that is just splendid… It also allows you to keep your toxic water more separate from your clean water. For example: You go to filter a liter of water into your camelback. You start by dropping & repositioning your pre-filter in the water (get your hands contaminated with bad water). Then you open the camelback (touching everything with bad water). Then you start to pump away, while you hopefully don’t slip into your water source With the Hydrolink system simplifying everything, you are less likely to muck up the process.

• Pros:

- Simple, Straightforward Operation
- Wonderful Design (++ for following standard camelback color scheme)
- Easy Install
- On/Off switch

• Cons:

- Extra Weight
- Bulky
- Pricey

Depending on if your an ultralighter, or the uber comfortable will weigh on your decision for the Hydrolink system. Since I like to cut back un-necessary weight when ever I can: I can’t see the overall functionality outweighing the weight and bulk of this device.

This combined with all the Pros of the Camelback Hydrolink Filter Adapter get it an:

2/5 Stars