I bought the 150 ml flask to replace the hassles energy gels. Gels are expensive, hard to rip open while running, get everything sticky, and if you're running longer than a couple hours, you have to stash sticky empties. So I've converted to maple syrup, and using the hydrapak soft flask.
PROS:
-Holds 5 oz. That's a lot of energy gel/maple syrup!
-Fairly wide mouth, easy to fill, but as it's a soft flask, without a flat bottom, some delicate handling required or will accidentally squeeze contents out before it is capped.
-Syrup flows easily through mouthpiece.
-It's a soft flask so as I consume the syrup, the flask reduces in size.
-Easy to squeeze; colder weather or not, I have no issues getting my energy.
-My hands and running vest remain not-sticky
CONS:
-The only real con for me is the mouthpiece.
-It's made of a hard plastic that you twist to open and drink through. It's tight. So sometimes when I go to open it, I accidentally unscrew it.
-It doesn't auto-seal after a mouthful, so the flask fills with air before I twist the cap closed. So every time I want to drink, I have to squeeze out a bunch of air. It's a distraction. I may swap out the cap for a bite valve see if it works better.
All in all I'm very happy with the flask. My only concern is gauging the amount of gel/syrup needed. I don't want to have too much left over after a run. But that's not the fault of the flask. Not sure if it can be stored in the fridge between runs. Better to use the leftover in a recovery drink.
08/10/22 update. So all in all I'm used to the tightness of the twist cap, and am really enjoying this gel flask. I had thought to swap out the cap for a bite valve one, but as it turns out, my bite valve caps on my other bottles have started to leak when I squeeze the bottles. So now I'm actually thinking of doing it the other way around, and put one of these twist caps on my larger volume bottle, for my drink. I do like this bottle, because the end is tapered, it's easier to quickly stuff back inside my vest or shorts pocket after a drink. Finding the perfect bottle is tough. This comes close for me.
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