Camelback
"Charles...I can not seem to effectively drink from these things. When I need a drink, no matter how hard I draw, I get nothing more than a sparse trickle. And then I am out of breath from sucking so hard! What's the secret?"
Here are some solutions that work for me in no particular order.
Flow
increase the size of the air equalizer hole in the cap. Do this gradually until the required flow is reached.
Chew Valve end
Bite down gently to just open it. After mine split from longtime use, I took it off. I know grip the valve with my teeth to open and close it.
If the valve breaks, gently blow down the tube after drinking and keep the end higher than the top of the camelback bladder.
When I stopped for a rest on one ride, I accidently let the chew valve fall down into the chain. The taste of chain oil did not make me ride any faster.
Tube Clips
I used to break mine as I would forget to unclip before getting off my bike (recumbent).
The tube now goes through the headrest bracket or between me and the headrest, over my shoulder and into the top of my jersey. Even if I wear a T-shirt, I can still tuck the end of the tube under the collar and pull it out whenever thirsty.
Make your own.
Paul from Australia shared his method for making a PET bottle into a 'camelback' with me. Here is a brief rundown of it.
All PET bottles have the same size cap. Take any size drink bottle and put two holes in the cap. One tiny one for air and ream out a larger one for the tube. Make sure the tube is a tight fit. They can be off centre. Cut the end of the tube at an angle. Push the tube through the tube hole in the cap so that when it is on the bottle it is at the bottom. Some PETs do fit in bottle cages. Put a clean old woollen sock around them to keep them cool.
I made two caps and they are still working after more than three years use.
On long (more than 100km), my favourite size bottle is a 1.5 litre that sits in one side of my seat back. For short rides (less than 100km), I use standard bottles in cages.
PS For Hygiene, regularly clean the tube, bottles or camelback. I use Polident, denture cleaner for the tubes and bags.
Cheers