The Swig Rig was designed specifically to be simple and reliable. We wanted to eliminate as many potential areas for failure that we could while still providing the ability to customize the system for your own situation. We play well with others and we want our gear to do the same.
The polypropylene cap is made of 2 pieces. This makes it so much easier to open or seal the bottle without dealing with the hose getting twisted. We learned that lesson pretty quick after the first prototype.
The outer ring of the cap has a strong, low profile handle for carrying or clipping to a pack. It also has a raised rim that gives the cap some strength while also protecting the barb on the center of the cap. It also helps keep debris away from interfering with the silicone valve on the center.
The center of the cap is all about sealing. It seals to the bottle, hose, straw and valve. We seal to the hose with our unique barb that you won't find anywhere else. It has two steps in it for two difference sizes of hoses. We didn't want to limit the cap to just one specific hose that we sell. Remember, we play well with others! The straw is attached with a friction fit below the cap. No threads to fail or o-rings to lose. Just push it in.
The straw itself is made from NSF 51/61 LDPE. It's precut to fit the Nalgene 48oz. Silo, but is easily trimmed with scissors or a knife to fit any bottle the cap fits on. We list a number of these bottles on the Swig Rig page, but it's not a complete list.
In our kit, we provide a spare silicone valve just in case one of those little guys goes missing. If you do lose one in the field and don't have a spare with you, don't worry. The Swig Rig will function just fine without it - it just won't be leak proof. For a little more protection, a temporary solution is to put a piece of tape over the hole and poke a little hole in it with the tip of a knife or broadhead.
Another big benefit to a Hardside Hydration solution is the ability to easily clean your equipment. This is a huge benefit, especially if you like mixed drinks - I'm not talking about a Moscow Mule.... or am I? While that's probably not a great drink to have hiking up a mountain, mixed drinks with MTN OPS or Honey Stinger powders are! In the past, most of us didn't want to put the mixed drinks in our bladders because of what a huge pain it is to clean. With the Swig Rig, you can easily clean your bottle, the cap fully disassembles for cleaning, and the bite valve easily comes apart and can be flushed out.
While the Hardside Hydration Swig Rig probably wouldn't survive a blast from a pound of Tannerite, it is pretty "bomb proof" for the backcountry. Combined with a quality bottle, it's a never-fail solution for hydration.
