What's one of the hardest things about using a hydration pack? Keeping its bladder clean, dry and mold-free between uses! That's where the DRYE device comes in, as it's a battery-powered fan designed specifically to dry hydration pack bladders.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the DRYE (Don’t Ruin Your Equipment) fan was created by California adventurer and entrepreneur Peter Williams. It's similar in concept to the defunct Zero Goo fan, although that gadget had to be plugged into a wall outlet … plus it's no longer in production.
The DRYE is actually the main component of a kit that includes the portable fan itself, an adapter ring that allows the fan to be bayonet-mounted to the opening of a third-party bladder, and a hook that allows everything to be hung up while the fan does its job.
There's also a flexible stainless steel wire with a piece of microfiber cloth at the end, for drying out the hydration pack's drinking hose.
The fan's lithium battery is claimed to fully charge in two to three hours, and should be good for 12 hours of runtime on the Low output setting, eight hours on Medium, and four hours on High. When set to High, the device dries bladders at a rate of about one hour per liter of capacity. And importantly, the fan does have a timer, so it doesn't stay needlessly running long after the bladder is dry.
It should be noted that the DRYE kit which is on Kickstarter comes with an adapter ring that is only compatible with CamelBak Crux bladders. That said, rings for CamelBak Mil Spec Antidote and Gregory 3D bladders are coming shortly, followed by rings for popular brands such as Osprey, Salomon, Hydrapak and Platypus.
Assuming everything goes according to plan, a pledge of US$30 will get you a kit of your own – the planned retail price is $39.99. If you're interested but don't own a currently supported hydration pack, contact the DRYE company for upcoming availability of other rings.
Source: Kickstarter
