Saturday was a beauty in Cape Town, and a sunset hike up Lion’s Head was a great excuse to test the BlueDesert SmarTube for myself.
![Use any bottle - the SmarTube comes with two different sizes of bottle cap adaptors.](https://www.getaway.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CD-smartube-lions-head-IMG_7310-1024x630.jpg)
Use any bottle – the SmarTube comes with two different adaptor sizes.
The kit comes with two bottle-adaptor caps and the smaller option screwed perfectly onto my store-bought bottle of water. Setup was quick and easy – I just inserted the tube through the adaptor cap, screwed it tight, and placed the bottle upright in my bag as instructed. I shook it around upside-down a bit anyway, just to see what would happen, but no water leaked out. Good to know.
The mouth piece is also leak free. My usual bladder pack doesn’t have a separate cut-off valve and water does tend to drip a little, especially when I’m running. The SmarTube mouth piece didn’t drip when open, but it can’t hurt to have an extra value just in case.
![The trail wraps around Lion's Head with beautiful views over the city.](https://www.getaway.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/TC-smartube-lions-head-IMG_7238-1024x643.jpg)
The path wraps around Lion’s Head, with beautiful views over the city.
The straw/tube itself is one metre long – plenty long enough to get to the bottom of the two-litre drinking bottle and up over my shoulder. All-in-all it worked exactly as I would expect it to – as good a drinking system as any normal hydration pack, just a lot easier to stow. A normal hydration bladder is something I need to remember to pack in advance, but this little tube can live at the bottom of my day pack and I know it’ll be a handy companion on plenty of future hikes.
![Sunset views from Lion's Head.](https://www.getaway.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CD-smartube-lions-head-IMG_7299-1024x683.jpg)
Sunset views from Lion’s Head.
Remember. subscribe to Getaway during September and you’ll get one of these SmarTubes for free. If you miss the offer, you can still pick up a SmarTube from their online store.