In the hierarchy of the humble water bottle, there’s the event freebies, a Fidlock and then this, the Hydrapak Breakaway+ bottle that features in-built filtration.
Aimed at protecting you from the nastiness contained in untreated water in the wilds, including e.coli and parasitic cysts, the Hydrapak Breakaway+ is far from your ordinary water bottle.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- 600 ml
- 114 g
- 239 mm x 70 mm
- TPU, POM, ABS, Hollow Fiber, Silicone, PP
- Filters 1,500 litres at >1l/min
- Muckguard cap
- £46.50 RRP
- Hydrapak.com
Whilst knocking on the door of fifty quid is an awful lot for a water bottle, the aim behind the Hydrapak Breakaway+ is to filter out all the nasty gubbins in the water you might have to resort to drinking and stop you having to deal with a gallon of fizzy gravy in the middle of nowhere.
The bottle and filter are made of various materials, including TPU, POM, ABS, Hollow Fiber, Silicone and PP. Weight for the 600ml is 114g. The Breakaway+ filter is the crucial element here. The hollow fibre filter is designed to filter out bacteria, cysts, microplastics and sediment for a total of 1500 litres at 1 litre per minute. Once you’ve maxxed out the filter, they are easily replaceable too. The 600ml seen here is also complimented by its bigger brother at 800ml. Both are designed to fit in bottle cages.
Filling the bottle is only hampered slightly by the filter itself not quite clearing the rim of the bottle, but you can ease it out or just half remove the cap to fill it up. The nozzle itself coming with a nice cap that helps keep crap and dirt off the mouthpiece, further improving the bottle’s ability to stop you ingesting something unpleasant.
The main thing to consider here is how quickly you might need your filtered water. A litre per minute is not fast, especially when compared to non-filtered bottles with larger nozzles. The price you pay for peace of mind is a much slower flow rate, you will also feel the resistance of the water being pulled through the filter as you drink. An advantage of the slower flow rate is that you can avoid semi-drowning yourself as you try to take on liquid having just topped out on a filthy climb, and your eagerness for water fills your lungs with the wet stuff. We’ve all been there.
Having been out in the mountains for a year with this bottle, scooping water from all manner of streams, burns and other sources, I have yet to soil myself or fall ill once the bike ride has finished. Whether that’s a testament to Scottish water quality or the bottle remains to be seen, but either way, it’s nice to have kept my trunks clean.
What do we think?
Despite a year in all conditions, the printing on the bottle has begun to fade but the bottle remains in tact, the nozzle cover is still operating nicely and the filter continues to filter. My innards have also remained content for the duration as well.
We love:
- Solid kit
- Does what it says on the tin
Could do better:
- Almost fifty quid for a bottle is a lot
