Steve Cole, CEO and Founder of Kole'Gear, was nice enough to give me the run down on his approach to pressurized hydration and his new line of packs.
To achieve superior and constant pressurization, Kole'Gear uses a natural food grade rubber latex balloon bladder system instead of relying on air pumped into a normal bladder such as the Polarpak MOFLOW. A bottle and pump comes included in order to pump liquid into the bladder, so it does require some pre-activity preparation but nothing more complicated than filling a normal hydration pack. The 1.75 liter capacity filled balloon offers continuous water pressure unlike other packs that will lose their pressure as the water volume decreases. Simply bite the antimicrobial valve and receive a constant stream of water-the theory is you won't ever have to suck for water when you should be breathing instead. I could have used one of these on Kilimanjaro!
A Kole'Gear waistpack and backpack version of the pressurized hydration system will be available first (due out soon!). The future applications are where it gets even more innovative. Steve said his company plans to come out with the Saddlebullet- a cycling attachment that straps to the bottom of a bike seat. The saddlebag and balloon bladder are connected to a tube that runs along the frame of the bike and hooks on to the rider's handlebars for easy access.
The Kauai, Hawaii based Company also plans an insulated hose version for extreme cold or hot climates and a quick fill faucet attachment to eliminate the need for the filling pump.
Chris Combs, Manager of Marketing and Design, explains how the Kole'Gear system works below:
Steve Cole- CEO of Kole'Gear. Don't miss them on the last day of Outdoor Retailer- Booth #38120!