Hydration Packs?

[DOLAPO3000]

Hi doing a very quick research study , and wanted to find out peoples thoughts and opnions on dehyrdation at music festivals and concerts etc I am in my third year at uni studying product design, and my main focus area is safety and accidents at music festivals, i wanted to find out as many thoughts on my design proposal .

I decided that i would design a Hydration pack for festival goers , which would be sleek , light and durable for festival goers something cool and innovative that people would actualy wear as opposed to the big bulky hydration packs you usually get with cyclist and hikers etc , which would also potentially monitor body temperature to prompt you when your body needs fluid in order to hydrate you.

Thoughts and opnions would be much appreciated

Thanks in advance

[russycarps]

We've survived for god knows how many years at glastonbury without this horrific sounding product, what makes you think we need it now?

A bottle of water in a bag topped up from the taps does most normal people just fine.

As for monitoring my body temperature and prompting me when my body needs fluids I already have such a thing, it's called "feeling thirsty".

Out of all the student whoppers that post their zany ideas on here for their appalling university projects, this I find the most offensive.

Stop trying to solve problems that dont exist would be my advice.

[eFestivals]

damn, I just knew that I should have posted "cue rant from russy" a moment ago.

Russy, as your rants have no effect and you're becoming so predictable, perhaps it's time to give it a rest?

[russycarps]

actually I have just given him some good advice there, this is a bad idea.

[Kareneh]

This is a worry- I agree with Russy! ( Although in a far less ranty way) You are right- it is a bad, and costly sounding, idea!

Edited December 10, 2012 by Kareneh

[DOLAPO3000]

what are your thoughts on rehydration then russycarps?

[DOLAPO3000]

you mentioned having a bottle of water in a bag , its the same as a hydration pack, besides the initial mention of monitoring body temperature etc

[russycarps]

water is so readily available at glastonbury - you are never that far from a free drinking water tap, let alone someone selling bottled water - that I just cant fathom why anyone would need a hydration pack.

I understand only too well why mountaineers and hikers may require such a contraption but a festival goer? No.

If your body monitoring relates to drug taking, then how will this prompt happen? will you get an electric shock or something? I cant imagine people checking alittle digital reader when they are off their head.

does this technology even exist anyway on the mass market? is it cheap?

It's a bad idea.

Festivals are big big business. EVERYTHING from a commercial perspective has been thought of and already invented and had every penny squeezed out of it by marketing departments who are a lot more savvy than you, me and everyone else.

I despair when I see people doing dissertations on festivals. I just dont think it's a good topic, and shows a certain lack of maturity. I am not trying to be offensive.

[Essex_George]

I use a hydration pack pack at Glastonbury, I fill mine with red wine though.

[G1T]

I took a camelback to Burning Man, and even in the middle of the desert, I still only used it once. A water bottle on a caribener was all I needed, just like at any UK festival. So yeah, afraid there's another vote here for the possibility that you might be trying to fill a gap in the market that doesn't exist.

That said, if your course awards marks for going through the design process properly rather than awarding marks for commercial success, then there's no reason to abandon this idea. I do wish people wouldn't use the word 'innovative' so unthinkingly though. Very few things actually are innovative, and generally you only find out that they are after you've made them.

[LondonTom]

It could like track your body temp, and hydration and link straight to your smartphone , then you could post the stats to facebook/twitter as you go around the festival site! With a recommended act based on your level of hydration to! I am sure that would convince Russy of it's merits!

[russycarps]

It could like track your body temp, and hydration and link straight to your smartphone , then you could post the stats to facebook/twitter as you go around the festival site! With a recommended act based on your level of hydration to! I am sure that would convince Russy of it's merits!

[Morse Code]

I've often stood in the middle of a festival crowd desperate for a piss and having that moral dilemma of do I make my way out of the crowd and head for the nearest urinal, do I withstand the pain caused by jumping up and down (some may call it dancing) with a full bladder and hold on until the end of the set, do I lift a trouser leg and hope nobody notices or do I piss in a paper cup and hurl it towards the stage..........so perhaps this idea in reverse is a goer?

Anyway, well done on finding a subject matter that earned the ire of Russycarps so much he didn't feel the need to comment on your spelling and grammar. It's a personal favourite of his!

On a serious note, good luck with whatever subject you decide to base your study on and don't be put off by one false start. And don't expect everyone to be as brutally dismissive as this lot either.

[guypjfreak]

I use a hydration pack pack at Glastonbury, I fill mine with red wine though.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I'm with the nay sayers on this one. The Camelback already is sleek, light and durable. It already fits the bill of wearable. The product is already there and there's no need to re-invent the wheel. OK, it'll not prompt you when your body needs water - that's already sorted through the feeling of thirst.

On top of all that there's plenty of outlets that will sell you a drink the minute you feel like one. All in all a bad idea.