The Blog of Daniel

Just my place to write without any delusions of self-importance.

How to water your gimp girl.

As I noted in a previous entry about my trip to see Amber, here is one of technical solutions I came up with to solve a seemingly simple problem.

The problem was with hydration.  If you have ever read her blog, Amber has had more than her share of UTI's and she suffers chronic dehydration.  After hearing the doctors bitch at her about it without taking into account she can't get water without help, the solution was to get her a water bag.  She had a Camelbak before but it was punctured and it didn't keep the water cool anyway.  Whoever gave it to her also used a regular backpack as a carrier which is not comfortable to wear while sitting in a wheelchair.

Since my mother has an awesome sewing machine, I asked her to make Amber a custom carrier for a 2 liter Camelbak Water Reservoir that could then be hung on the back of her wheelchair. 

Custom CamelbakThe bag is made with 2 layers of thick canvas with a zippered back.  Each layer was sprayed with 2 coats of Scotch Guard to help make it water resistant.  The 1" webbing is sewn completely down the back for strength and there is a web loop to accommodate the hook on the Camelbak bag itself.  A very large buttonhole was made to accommodate the drinking tube.  The reservoir opening is lined with leather for strength.  For insulation, I covered the Camelbak bag itself with a custom cut 3/16" thick polypropylene foam liner.  Though it is not shown in the photo, I also added an extra 40" of tubing and an extra bite valve.

All that needs to be done is fill it to the top with ice and then top off with water every morning.

The total cost was about $100.00 for all materials and there was a lot of canvas and leather left over.  I'm sure It could be done for about 1/3 less now that we know what we're doing.

If you're not worried about keeping water cold all day, I suggest a Camelbak UnBottle.

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