Hoser 3 Liter

I like these simple durable hydration systems. The 3 Liter has plenty of room for my needs. Even in the summer up in the mountains I usually have a little water left after a hot 6+ hour hike.

The bladders have proven more durable than units I have used in the past and have not, as of yet, suffered a leak.

I like the bite valve better than past systems I have used because it is easy to bite and flows a good amount of water.

I have used this system in very cold weather. It freezes solid and becomes usless unless... you blow all the water back into the bladder. If you have started with very warm (hot) water in an insulator then when you suck it back up it melts any left over water and you are good to go.

An all time classic. Durable and lightweight.
For winter use I slid a piece of air-conditioner insulation hose that fit perfectly and a Advantix film canister fot protecting the bite-valve.
Lukily both of the packs I use have pockets and slots to accomodate it

An excellent product all around. Very flexible, extremely durable, and easy to clean. The fact that the reservoir is made of such a tough, let relatively light, material makes it an easy choice (for me) to use for cold to hot climbing trips. For very cold weather, this would of course not be ideal--due to freezing tubes--unless extra precautions were taken.



The 3-liter size is perfect; it will fit well in even a smaller technical day pack.

Once sealed properly, there is virtually zero water drip.



Since first trying this, I have never seriously considered using another hydration bladder, or even using normal bottles instead (e.g. Nalgene)

Easy to fill up and clean, but the water flow is very low in comparison to my Camelback UnBottle. All in all it did all that I needed it to do.

Actually it was my camelback resevoir that got a hole in it. My 100 oz. platypus, however, has held up quite nicely for 3 years or so. I actually took the hose from my old camelback and reattatched it to the platypus because I preferred the locking valve it had. It's great being able to dring on the go. I had a friend who had one of these chewed up by a bear though.

Wow! How did I survive before this. It came with my Lowe Alpine pack. I have since used the bladder with my day packs too. I have been able to travel faster since I got it. I drink alot and I have to stop less to fill a bottle and can drink while I walk. Another plus is that I do not have to remove the bladder to fill it. I simply take the bite valve off and attach the hose to the output side of my Pur Hiker pump / filter. The plastic seems to me to be tough as it has been thrown in my day pack that doesn't have a dedicated bladder sleeve. There have been no holes poked in it. The down side is the freezing in the hose on cold climbs when I forget to blow the water back into the bladder.

I like the mouth piece. The size is right. I prefer the wide mouth of the Nalgene more but this one is more streamlined. The hose keeper attatchment clip thingy sucks (not much bite). The insulator tube option did not work worth a damn in freezing temps.

I like this product some what, I hate the mouth piece, especially for that it can pop off easisly. The clip has basically no grip, it riped off after some use. Do not us this product in winter, the whole freaking tube froze.

These bladders are vertually bomb proof. I've actally filled it up with water an stood on it to test the claims made by Platypus, and it works. The only down side is you cant seem to get away from that plastic taste.

Water tastes a little like plastic. Other than that it is a handy hydration system as many packs are ready to accept a bladder.



To make a cheap guard for the mouth piece:

I like to take a film canister and drill a hole in the bottom of it the same diameter as the tube. Slide the tube through and reattach the mouth piece. Keeps dirt and stuff off the mouth piece when bushwacking.

I like this system a lot. The 3liter platypus bladder came free with my Go Lite Speed Adventure Racing Pack. Until than I have been using cheap Outdoor Products 2liter bladder and in hot weather the water was definitely taking the flavor of the plastic. This is not happening with the platypus line and so I started buying more and more of their products (1 & 2 liter collapsible bottles, different closing tops act.). The tube can be exchanged between the bladders and bottles. It also fits right in to the Katadyn water filter so there is one tube less to carry.
It is very durable, I use it every time we go hiking and that is very often. There are no signs of wear and tear. They also sell some patches so they can be very easily repaired when unexpectedly ripped or instead of buying whole new system before a long track just because it looks little warn and it may leak in the middle of nowhere just grab some of the patches. I don’t have any experience with them though. Maybe duct tape would work as well in an emergency since the material seems to be very smooth.
The mouth piece is good size and doesn’t leak like the Outdoor products. And also is not showing any signs of use.
It cleans very well and because the two openings (on the bladders not the bottles) it dries very quickly too.

I love these! I use them 3-season and have never had a leak. I also like the insulating carriers that Platypus makes. I've heard of problems with mold with people that put drinks other than water into their Platypuses (is that the plural of Platypus?? Or is it Platypi??)

I have had three of the long Hoser 2 versions of this and have found then very durable and an excellent hydration system. Each time they needed replacing because the middle crease in the bottom had split sufficiently to leak. The latest 2008 version does not have this seam. As suggested elsewhere, in cooler climates you need to blow the liquid back or it will freeze. With the earlier versions it was easy to loose the mouth pieces, but I have not had this problem with the newer ones. Also with the earlier ones if you did not dry them out and went moldy, it was very hard to clean them out properly, again this appears to be remedied in the latest versions, with ones that have a zip. I also once scarified one when the header tank on my kitcar needed a temporary replacement, worked rather well! There are stronger and more versatile options by competitors, however for shear weight, durability and suppleness these are hard to beat.

I've had one of these for a few years. It's generally a great hydration bag as it can fit into any of my backpacks. The one problem I've had with it though is that the tube comes unscrewed from the bag more easily than it should and I've been soaked by it a few times.