Sunday, April 07, 2013

Review of Hydrapak Reservoir

I recently had a misfortune of buying a Hydrapak hydration pack.

The story started when I wanted to start on cycling, and since water bottles are clumsy and unwieldy, I decided to go for hydration packs.

After some researches, I heard good words about Hydrapak. However this brand is curiously not popular at all in Singapore, in fact, among all the shops I had visited. Only one shop carried some very old models of it. Since Hydrapak brags "offers a lifetime guaranty against leakage, due to product defects, on our hydration systems, including reservoir, drink tube and bite valve.", but actually it is bluffing and doesn't stand behind what it claims.

The reservoir started to leak upon my first putting in of water, well before I even left my house.


I contacted Hydrapak via Facebook, and they asked me to fill up a form on their website. I did exactly that, then, nothing.

I sent a couple more messages to them, and from then on, they just play dead and ignored my requests.

The issues on hand are 1) Hydrapak product falls short of what it claims it is 2) Hydrapak doesn't stand behind its own warranty and commitment. Instead, it just trying to hide without resolving issues.

If Hydrapak cannot produce a product that lasts, then don't offer 'lifetime warranty'. Shame on such irresponsible and ball-less company. Not cool.

What do I try to do here? you may ask.

Actually I already threw the worthless Hydrapak away, and got myself a D&G water bladder.

The look seems familiar? Indeed it is!! I would believe it is the Source WXP. I took it out for a spin and there is absolutely no issue, plus its price is only 1/3 of Hydrapak! From now on I will warn all my friends who ever consider buying Hydrapak, or any brands that partner with it.




Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sorry State of Le Royal Meridien Shanghai

Due to business trip, I am sent back to Shanghai again. Since I had a pleasant stay with Le Meridien, I booked it again.

However, things aren't right:

First of all, upon arrival, I was told all the king-size beds were fully booked, and I have to settle with twin-beds. Fine, this is partly my fault because I didn't really check the details when I booked. I should have asked my travel agent about the room details.

One of the reasons I chose Le Meridien is because of the shampoo set, which is made by Cinq Mondes. I don't have much dandruff problem with this shampoo, and there isn't many shampoo in the market that works for me.

However this time, they replaced it with some unknown brand stuff, and this is where I find it unacceptable.

The Cinq Mondes set. This pic is from Le Meridien KL
(http://discoverlemeridien.com/2012/06/experiencing-cinq-mondes/)

Now what the customers get? Here are the close up pictures:



Note the pictures. First of all, this set is manufactured in China and it is obvious they are some cheap shit bought in bulk and fill the bottles. WTF is this? Am I staying in a cheapo hotel? Hello, it is RMB1400 per night!! Not cheap in most part of the world, barring the most expensive Hong Kong or Tokyo. The cheapskate'ness baffles me.

For some reason the pictures are upside-down, although the previews are correct at my end. Anyway, you can download and take a closer look if you like.

I did approach the staff but they insisted these are 'branded' stuff. Well, I am not gonna pay RMB1400 per night for this kind of rubbish. Checking out tonight and never going back.