Hydration Pack Insulated Drink Tube Covers

Bought this too keep cold water cold. A hot sip of water on a hot hike is a bit disappointing, and I always end up spitting the first drink out.I paired this with an insulated camelback which I fill with ice water. I hiked 12 miles on a warm day and was pleased with how much cooler that first sip was compared to a few days ago before I had the tube insulated.I'm a bit surprised about the reviews saying it's hard to put on. It's not supposed to slide over the mouth piece. I disconnected my tube from the bladder and slid it over the smaller end. It does bunch up to the point it won't slide, which is when you slide the bunched up part further down the tube. Then bunch a little more up on the end, then slide, repeat until it's all the way on. Took maybe 30-45 seconds to put it on.

It seems much too narrow a diameter for either for a Camelback or a Platypus, I cannot manage to cover more than 6" of tube before it will not progress further. I purchased two covers (white and black) and they are both the same in this regard. I've worked with the white one so much the stitching has already become looseI'll keep trying, maybe with a touch of oil or something, and epoxy the seam, but otherwise pretty disappointing.EDIT: Okay, I found out that if I threaded the end of the hose that goes into the Camlebak, rather than the one that goes into the nozzle, through the cover, I was able to slide it on with only some difficulty. I couldn't do this with my Platypus, though, as it has a right-angle connector, not a straight one, and thus won't fit through the cover. Oh well, three stars.

5 Stars So Far...I am giving this five stars so far. Good quality thick neoprene. What looks to be solid construction. The stitching on the tops and bottoms look solid, and there is a nice long strip of Velcro on the back. The holes that are cut on the front may appear to be small, but once you get the neoprene seated around the opening of your reservoir, it fits very nice and snugly. I am using a Camelbak Crux 2 liter reservoir. The fit inside is not 100% spot on but it’s darn close. Unless this sleeve is made for a specific reservoir, I would question if anything would fit 100% perfect, so I am not taking anything off of my score for this.I also have the insulated sleeve for the tube, and it fits perfectly. So this runs five stars as well. It does add with to the diameter of your tube, but that’s just part of the deal having it. If you have attachable anchor points on your backpack, they may be too small for the tube and insulator sleeve.I will be inserting my reservoir with insulator into a 5.11 Rush 12 backpack. I know it will fit fine. The real test will be how well it insulates the water inside the reservoir. I will be going to the Indy 500 next weekend, and I plan to use this on race day. That will be the true test of how well it keeps ice water cold.Overall, I am very pleased so far.

I have needed an insulator for the tubing on my CamelBack for years, & finally decided to purchase one...not sure why I had waited so long. I figured this would just slide on quickly - NOT! It was so darn hard to slide on that I had almost given up! Fortunately, my husband struggled through & got it placed. The sleeve does work very well to prevent the water from freezing in my tubing. But because the sleeve is so slick, It also was a tight fit getting the tubing back into the loops of my pack, but I made it work. This sleeve is also very long, so I had to cut quite a bit off. I'm glad my husband got it work; it does the job it's intended for, with lots of awesome colors to choose from.

I has some concerns about slipping this insulation over the intake tube for the bladder but found that it wasn't a problem after all. I just slipped the intake end with the connector as far as I could into the sleeve initially. Then when it started to get snug, I moved to the intake end inside the insulation and pushed it little by little until it finally came out the opposite end of the insulation. No problem! It should help keep the water in the intake tube from getting hot while riding my bike in the sun on a warm day. It's just what the doctor ordered.

I have a camelback, a bit older model in case that makes a difference, but this went on the tube with no issues, quite easily actually. It was longer than my tube, but I didn't want to cut it so the stitching doesn't come loose - and it could bundle up at the end to fit - that is how loose it is.I guess I am too used to prime because I didn't realize there was an almost $5 for shipping, otherwise I would have looked for a different one. Not a fault of the product, just a surprise i caught too late.

I use these with Platypus Big Zip bladders. The cover doesn't cover the whole tube, but does extend well inside the pack. The covers are thinner than the one I got from Platypus long ago, but that makes the tube easier to thread out of my pack.I use these in somewhat cold weather (they've worked fine down to 15 degrees F). To keep the bite valve from freezing I stick the bite valve inside my jacket. Yes, if you are in much colder temps, a bottle inside your pack is going to work better than a bladder & hose. But these covers will extend the range of temps you can use a bladder with. Looking forward to seeing the benefit of cooler water this coming summer.