Hydraulics™ LT 2.5L Reservoir

The good stuff:
It is lightweight and, on the whole, well constructed.
I like the baffles that keep it from ballooning out so it stays flatter.
I like that the top can be completely opened.
The flow rate for the bite valve is good, once you get used to using it.
The BAD stuff:
The bit valve takes some getting used to, it's at a funny angle which doesn't make sense, the twist lock is impossible to do with one hand and hard to do even with two.
But, the biggest problem, which should not have made it through to production is the quick connect attachment for the hose. The concept is good as it saves you having to rethread the hose each time you fill up, but the quick release button is so sensitive you hardly have to breath on it and it depresses separating the hose. With all your kit stuffed in your sack and bouncing around when walking, or worse when cycling, this is not just likely, but inevitable. Fortunately, it has a valve on the reservoir side so it won't dump the entire reservoir on your kit but there isn't a valve on the hose so the contents of the hose is free to dribble out over your belongings unbeknown to you - until you go for a drink which doesn't come, and then have to go through the faff of opening your pack to reconnect it.
Osprey have clearly thought about this issue, but haven't done satisfactory testing; they have designed in a plastic guard next to the giant button but this is frankly useless which would have been obvious to anyone the second they looked at it, if they actually cared. This NEEDS a redesign in order to be a viable product, in it's current form it makes the whole system useless and a waste of £30. It's a shame that one feature that is meant to be better, let's the product down so comprehensively, because it's definitely worth more than 1 star otherwise.
Pulling a bottle from the side pocket remains a better option than this.

I purchased a Hydraulics LT 2.5L Reservoir in April to replace the original 3L Osprey reservoir that came with my 2 year old Osprey Viper 13 Hydration Pack.

While I loved the original reservoir, the new reservoir has been a disaster.

Shortly after purchase, the bite valve developed a crack, causing it to leak constantly. I replaced this with an old style bite valve that I managed to source from my local outdoor store, which is far superior in design and quality.

Subsequently, the pack was rendered completely useless after developing a heavy leak in the corner of the Slide-seal top opening, causing it to drench my bag and my back on a recent bike ride.

What's more, the QuickConnect hose has been nothing but trouble, disconnecting spontaneously whist in the bag, causing me to almost lose the top end of the hose on several occasions.

The whole construction of the reservoir also feels very unsturdy compared to the original due to a lack of a spine.

Whilst I've been a fan of Osprey for a long time, I've been left throughly disappointed by the redesign of the Osprey hydration reservoir range and it seems to me that the main objective of the redesign was cost-saving, not improvement. I hope that the issues gets addressed promptly.

I've used a Platypus "Hoser" system in the past so treated myself to the Osprey equivalent when I bought the new Exos 58 rucsack for the 250 km Stevenson Way in France. At first I didn't like it much. It was often awkward to fill and I was very unhappy when, after about 3 days, the flimsy plastic hook that it hangs from in the rucsack snapped off. Fortunately it was easily replaced with a short loop of cord which proved to be a much better method than the original. After that it was fine, much better than stopping to get a bottle out of a rucsack pocket - and it keeps your water cooler being inside your rucsack.

great value for money. Very easy to clean. Does not drip or leak after using. Fits nicely either in backpack or outside in pouch's.
would highly recommend.

I bought this new reservoir after my Source bladder began to leak. Compared to the Source, I like Hydrapak's Blaster bite valve which has a higher flow-rate and the better placement of the Quick Connect valve. The Slide-Seal top works well too. Despite the fact that Hydrapak manufacture a great dust cover specifically for the Blaster valves that they sell, Osprey marketing have decided to pennypinch and not include it. Even worse, as at the end of April 2016, Osprey do not even sell the Blaster bite valve cover as a separate item - you have to buy a complete replacement Blaster valve & cover from another company. Whilst the magnet should hold the valve out of the mud, they are not infallible and offer no protection to contamination from wind borne dust..