How to Shorten Your Reservoir Hose

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hiker considering the length of his hose, hmm

Hose too long? Here’s the fix.

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This 2-minute project isn’t rocket science. It’s just a simple hack that will help you feel great on the trail.

I’m embarrassed to say how long it took me to realize I could simply cut a piece of plastic to fit properly! But judging by how much Excessive Dangle Floppage* I see on the trail, I’m not the only one.

You can do this project in a minute or two and enjoy every future hike that little bit more.

Here’s how to get it done…

How to Shorten Your Hydration Hose

I use an Osprey hydration reservoir but the process will be the same for any similarly-structured hose system.

First, simply pull out the entire bite valve. This might require a little twisting and turning, but the whole valve should come out as one unit. Like this…

hydration bladder bite valve in human hand
Reservoir bite valve

Next get some snips or a sharp knife…

hiker holding orange snips
Snip snip

You can either put on your backpack and mark the place on the hydration hose you’re going to cut (as shown in the Osprey video below) — or, like me, you can simply cut off small sections until you get to the right fit for you…

hand holding small pieces of hydration reservoir hose
Hose snippets

Reattach the bite valve by pushing hard and twisting gently.

Twist until the bite valve faces in a sensible direction: upward, outward, or toward your mouth; not downwards or toward your chest.

Admire your handy work…

hiker considering his shortened hose
Handy work complete

That’s it! You did it! Well done.

happy hiker with perfect hose
One Happy Hiker

On the trail, you won’t suck less. You won’t suck more. You’ll just suck better.

Here’s a short video direct from Osprey to walk you through it all…

* Excessive Dangle Floppage is real. This video says so.

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