Some readers from Down Under shared this advertisement from a 1982 issue of “Playboy” magazine (apparently, the mail is very slow). It depicts what they think may be the first example of a commercial hydration pack. I know I didn’t receive my first militarized Camelbak until 1991 when Jeff Wemmer was still there.
It really looks like more of a spray for cooling than a true hydration pack. What do you think?
Tags: Camelbak
Ok, I get all the Vietnam era SEAL “memoirs” mixed up, but one of those guys wrote about hooking a length of IV tube to a Bota Bag so he could drink wine on the down low, right?
In the early 90s I remember a lot of home brew hydration systems consisting of IV tube and 2Qt Canteens with NBC caps with the guts removed.
you can stick a Camelbak tube through an NBC cap into a 2 quart too. Good for older chest rigs with SAW pouch sides. The function kinda lets air in though and a 50oz Source has made the whole excersise pointless.
I actually have two of the Aussie hydration systems that I was tasked with testing by the JFKSWC. They were actually very well made but suffered from a poor valve design. Cambak’s “nipple” design on the bite valve it what made it the better system.
What year was that?
1988 or 89 if memory serves
Like many other things, Heinlein first described something very, very similar to today’s hydration pack in one of his books – Tunnel in the Sky, published in 1955.
And of course we have the still suits from “Dune”.
Even though it has a nozzle, I suspect it was in fact intended for hydrating. My suspicions are because the guy is on ice skates and it’s hard for me to imagine someone spritzing their face with water while in a cold climate. The intent was probably to spray it into your mouth.