Paul, Jeff and a happy customer
“GO WITH THE FLOW” WATER HAULERS AND ACCESSORIES DELIVER
OUTDOOR RETAILER TRADESHOW –Salt Lake City, August 10th
Words/ Image by Judith Ecochard with product images from the Polarpak website
Paul Fleming, the enthusiastic Sales Manager of the Boise, Idaho based Sport Innovation Group (a company that owns Polarpak Hydration Systems) and his co-worker Jeff Skillern-had enough energy to light up the entire Salt Palace Convention Center when we had a chit-chat…and we got there at quitting time. Clearly they were well hydrated!!!!
WHAT IS IT:
Anyone that hikes or bikes distance or in hot weather, probably has a portable water reservoir system that’s essentially a plastic bladder thingy with attached hoses and caps- that one fills with water and then sucks on/bites down on a valve to get the liquid flowing.
We have used one for a few years now – that gets loaded up with ice cubes and water to keep the fluids cold. Sometimes, we have to really strain to get the water flowing …and there’s always a weird plastic taste.
Polarpak® founded in 2002-eliminates our complaints with the aforementioned gizmo on several fronts. As Fleming clued us in, the idea for the company was ‘eureka-ed’ when he and his co-worker-back in the day- taped frozen food gel packs inside the water reservoir they were using-to keep the water cold. They realized… there’s got to be a better way.
One product that grabbed our eyeballs is the Polarpak Hydration System that features a built in, non-toxic freezer gel. After tossing in the freezer (that also kills the bacteria), the Polarpak keeps liquids, cooler, longer and without dilution. Plus it can also serve as an emergency ice pack on the trail. (70 oz-$29.95 and 100oz-$ 30.95)
We demo-ed the MoFlow™ Reservoir Hydration System (70 oz $31.95) and the handy shower attachment (sold separately) on a bunch of hikes in Moab.
Easy to use, we filled up the reservoir with water, disconnected the bite valve with a twist…and then attached the unique air pump and pumped (duh) for about 30 seconds. With the bite valve re-attached we were able to evenly “go with the flow” with a mere squeeze (the steady stream is a good thing if sharing the fluids with others). No lung busting, hard intakes needed.
And the reservoir system, made with 100% antimicrobial film and hardware by Microban®… fits most hydration packs on the market including our antique camelpak.
At the end of the hike, we easily attached the shower accessory ($14.95) to the MOFLOW reservoir hose system –and had a (very) quick, refreshing rinse-off with the water not consumed.
Pretty cool in more ways than one.
INFO: POLARPAK and available for purchase worldwide and in the USA at Sport Chalet, REI and online