User submitted reviews
Review by Kevin Daly
I have been using the Hammer Gel flasks also sold by BTD.com (~3dollars/flask) for the past ~3 years with no issue but they are relatively smaller and so i thought this would be a cool upgrade when I lost one Hammer Gel flask and broke the other shortly thereafter; what a mistake. As a cyclist, first problem I encountered was that the flimsy silicon blatter resists going into and out of your jersey pocket, not ideal when trying to attend to the trail and feed on the go. Well I have a toptube bag so problem solved.... that is, until I tried to use it with actual gel. the bite valve is far too restrictive to be useful. What should take a second to dose a mouthful of gel takes 10-15 seconds to dispense, again, not ideal when you are going 20 mph and trying to stay on a gravel road, or really anywhere. So naturally, i thought, i'll just give'r a squeeze and push the gel out; that was a huge mistake as the bite valve popped off and a geyser of gel dispensed all over my bike, jersey, skin and shoes. I just became a dinner buffet for every insect that likes sugar. Turns out you don't even need to squeeze the flask, the valve will just slip off as it did last night as i was pulling it out of the bag, again releasing its contents and in the dark of the night ride, the valve disappeared into oblivion. I had to ride another 20 miles in the dark with a half empty flask that was oozing onto my bike and not in my mouth, as I made my way home. imagine, 250 ml thats a ton of insect food! Do yourself a favor, enjoy this humorous story but take the advice: Dont make this upgrade! :)