Patent ID: 7201299

Claim:
A waist-mounted hydration system, comprising: a hydration assembly, comprising: a fluid reservoir adapted to receive a volume of potable drink fluid and having an exit port; an elongate drink tube in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir and adapted to receive drink fluid therefrom; a mouthpiece in fluid communication with the drink tube and adapted to dispense drink fluid therefrom; a pack, comprising: a pack body having a width and defining a compartment containing the reservoir, wherein the pack body includes an interior surface adapted to face a user's body and an exterior surface generally opposed to the interior surface, wherein the area between the interior surface and exterior surface defines a thickness of the pack body, and wherein the exterior surface includes a central region bounded laterally by perimeter regions, wherein the central region is less than and located within the width of the pack body; and a reservoir compression assembly, comprising: a pair of generally opposed flaps extending from the central region of the pack body and extending across at least a portion of the perimeter region of the exterior surface of the pack body; wherein the flaps overlap with, but are not directly secured to, the perimeter regions of the exterior surface of the pack body; and an adjustable waist-strap assembly coupled to the pair of generally opposed flaps and adapted to selectively define a closed perimeter with the pack around a user's waist, wherein the waist-strap assembly includes a body-facing surface adapted to form a portion of the closed perimeter, wherein the waist-strap assembly includes a free end region that does not form a portion of the closed perimeter, and further wherein responsive to a force applied to the free end region and adapted to draw the free end region away from the pack body, the compression assembly is adapted to initially apply compression to the reservoir and thereafter decrease the length of the body-facing surface of the waist-strap assembly.