Highlander Hydration Source System - 3 Ltr Water Bladder

NATO Stock Number: 8465-99-842-7034
Capacity: 3 ltr
Compatibility: Highlander TT bergen

You are probably thinking that this looks like a DPM’d (Disruptive Pattern Material, or camouflage…) Camelbak, or an expensive looking hydration bladder. Firstly, this is a Source system, which is different to Camelbak. The difference appears to be that you get no taste tainting as you seem to get with Camelbak, and that Source is cheaper. Also, the German and Irish armies have switched to Source systems rather than Camelbak, and it originates from Israel – where they know a thing or two about exercise and hydration issues in the heat.

The advantage of this piece of kit over your cheap £5 bladders is that these are often clear or that blue colour. The sun can warm them up and cold air can cool them down, and eventually they can spoil. With the Highlander though, a cold drink will stay cold for hours and hours even in heavy heat, while if you fill it with warm tea (although don’t put anything boiling in it) it will stay warm even if the outside temperature is freezing. The cheap bladders also have to put in something, while as I’ll mention below, this doesn’t. On top of this, the instructions state that it will clean itself by the movement of water within it. I’ve had mine for over a year and used it very often, and it still remains taste neutral and clean.

The three litre capacity is handy, and the hose is very easy to use. You twist the cap and pull it out to get at the water, which can be done simply with your teeth. One very minor point is that the water in the hose is exposed to the elements, and can heat up and cool down in a way that the main part of the system won’t. There is a sort of dust cap that slides onto the mouthpiece to keep it clean and stop it leaking, and this is very useful indeed. Personally, I can’t be bothered with the twisty part of the mouthpiece, and leave it in the ‘on’ position, so I just have to pull the bit in and out to get at the water.

I have seen one of these at a music festival (presumably containing beer), but as it’s very difficult to completely empty these in the short term at least, you should be careful what you do put in them. Unless you want a faint taste of beer in your water when you’re half way up Ben Nevis, I suppose.

At the top of this review I said that this piece of kit of compatible with the Highlander TT Bergen. It can clip onto the side of the bergen just as a daysack would, and the hose is long enough to reach your mouth from this position. Review of Highlander TT bergen. Alternatively, it comes with straps so that you can wear it like a backpack. There is Velcro on each strap that you can use to secure the hose into place, and the straps can be hidden inside the back of the system’s case to keep them out of the way. There are also two carry handles that make carrying it when full easy.

Mine cost me about £15, but I can’t seem to remember where from. If you want one, google the NSN at the top of the article. There is a newer version out:
http://www.highlander1.com/military/PLCE/TTH2C-DPM-BLADDER-PACK.html
but I suspect its 99% the same as the one pictured here. If you see something similar with a Camelbak sticker on it, expect to pay £40+ for the privilege.

Conclusion
Fantastic. Costs more than the cheapest alternatives, but with the extras it has I think its value for money, while it is better than its more vaunted rivals. It’s an item that you can do without, but nonce you’ve got it you’ll wonder how you managed before. I only got mine after a sixteen hour slog, through ankle high water in the rain, over the Brecon Beacons… where I had to stop every five minutes to get my bottle of water out – annoying the people I was with who didn’t have to stop as they had water bladders.