I'm not much into gadgets, rarely finding a good use for them. When I received the Camelbak Flow Meter I thought why am I trying something that measures the amount of liquid I drink? I thought I already knew how much I drank. Well, gadget or not, the Camelbak Flow Meter is pretty cool.

My second impression after opening the package was this thing is going to be difficult to use. The instruction manual was really big, kinda like opening up a road map. Well, it is written in 4 languages, has graphics and the font is actually large enough to read. It explained very clearly how to use the Camelbak Flow Meter. It will work with any Camelbak reservoir and comes with a battery. So, I was fat and happy. I quickly installed the Flow Meter to my drink tube and I was ready to give it try.

My first time out I planned a 2 hour ride. I filled my bladder with 24 ounces of water. With the help of the easy to read instructions I programmed the information I needed. When I went to put the bladder and drink tube in place, the display unit was too large to fit through the shoulder straps. That was easily fixed by removing the display unit before I put it through the straps and then reattaching it once it was through. I wanted to drink it empty to see if anything happened like fireworks or something.

Once on the bike the Camelbak Flow Meter worked well. Each time I took a drink the display unit showed how many ounces I had consumed and how much I had left in the bladder. The numbers on the display unit were large enough to easily read. When I was getting close to my goal of 24 ounces the display unit let me know by displaying "lo" and it also estimated the amount of time I had before the bladder was empty. I did drink all the water and nothing happened! I may have been disappointed because there weren't any fireworks, but I wasn't disappointed in my favorite new gadget!

I liked the Camelbak Flow Meter because of its ease of use. I thought the size of the display unit was just right and it didn't get in the way on my rides. It is great to know the amount of water you are consuming especially on rides where you have no water stops available. It would also work very well in races reminding you to "pace" your hydration similar to using a heart rate monitor. You can program it for even more specific hydration goals. Now that I have one, it's a nice addition and will get regular use everytime I ride or race. It's a water "gas" gauge to keep me from running out of gas! Now, about those fireworks...

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