Just last summer Apidura’s Innovation Lab packed a boxy trapezoidal 1.5L Hydration Bladder into your bikepacking bags, but now they’re ready for more long rides in hot & dry conditions this summer with a new 2x as big 3L bladder, too. You’ll need an even bigger frame pack to squeeze in that much water, but Apidura says it’ll fit in each of the 3 sizes of all of their full-frame packs, meaning you should be able to get it into most adventure-ready gravel or mountain bikes…
Apidura 3L Hydration Bladder for bikepacking bags
The premise is exactly the same as the 1.5L Apidura Bladder: Water is literally crucial for survival when riding deep into unknown territory. Water is heavy, so getting that weight as far down on your bike as possible will help preserve your bike’s handling. And while water bottles are simple and easy to use, two round 750ml bottles in standard cages can take up most of the space inside many bikes’ front triangles, making it harder to carry more gear.
Now to carry 3L of water (which might only get you 3-6 hours of riding in hot weather), you’d need at least 4 regular bottles in cages. That would occupy most of the mounts on most bikes, or you could tuck it all into one frame bag and have more space & more mounts for other gear too.
It’s the same idea that led to the stand-alone 4L CrankTank too!
What’s new?
You could totally just take the bladder out of your mountain biking CamelBak (or carry the water in your new Hydration Vest), but Apidura’s bikepacking bag-specific Hydration Bladders are made with a boxy shape that will fit more securely into frame bags, and carry more water for the space they occupy. The new 3L Bladder is roughly 20cm tall x 29cm long x 6.5cm wide.
Unsurprisingly, it is shaped almost exactly like Apirdura’s latest MTB-oriented Backcountry Full Frame Packs which are designed to fit into sloping geometry bikes. That shape also will likely fit into many full-frame packs from other bag makers as well.
Tech details
The bigger 4L Hydration Bladder is still designed to be refilled on the bike, with a wide zip-loc-style roll-top closure held shit with velcro tabs. Again there are fill markings to see how much water you have remaining at a glance. The same welded PVC-free bladder construction now adds a horizontal internal baffle to keep the larger bladder in shape. The bladder uses a proprietary quick-release connector to attach the hose and a locking bite valve, and includes a stability strap at the rear to hook it inside your pack more securely.
Again, Apidura has simple compatibility diagrams on their site to see how it fits inside their bags, plus downloadable PDF templates so you can check fit inside other manufacturers’ packs, too. All you need is a routing port to guide the hose out of the pack to drink while riding.
Apidura Hydration Bladders – Pricing & availability
The new 3L Apidura Frame Pack Hydration Bladder sells for £46/ $63 / 53€ at a claimed weight of 150g, plus the 3kg you’ll add filling it up with water. The smaller original 1.5L Bladder still sells for £37 / $51 / 42€.
Both are available now from Apidura or their global retailers.
