When you are out riding your bike, hiking or engaging in any other outdoor activity do you use a hydration backpack to carry your water with you? Have you ever gotten back from an activity and found that your pack was full of water, but you were dehydrated since you did not drink enough?
Or worse, you ran out of water miles from home since you did not know how much was left in your pack and you did not ration your water accordingly? The Flow Meter from CamelBak might be the drinking aid for you.
(Video after the jump)
The Flow Meter is a simple device that is installed between the water reservoir of your CamelBak and the bite valve – the rubber piece that you stick in your month and drink through. You select the location on the tube that is convenient for you, you cut the tube and slide the Flow Meter into place. Once installed, you program in the size of your reservoir and the digital display counts down the amount of water you have consumed until it reaches zero. Along with this main feature, Camelbak has also added a program to allow you to know if you are achieving your ‘target hydration goal per hour’ based on your body weight that you enter into the Flow Meter. Elapsed time and an ‘estimated time to empty’ that is calculated based on the rate of consumption and total volume are a couple of other features.
One thought that entered my mind as I was looking over the Flow Meter was how do you clean this thing, especially if you sometimes put a sports drink into your reservoir? On the Flow Meter website, CamelBak does offer a detailed set of cleaning instructions under the FAQ tab. It does specifically state that the Flow Meter can not be submerged under water.
The CamelBak Flow Meter is certainly not new to the market, but it is a product worth mentioning as we head trough Spring and enter into the sweltering days of summer. The Flow Meter retails for $30 and is available at most major outdoor retailers that carry the CamelBak product line. Drink up, and let it flow!