This exciting collaboration with Maurten started with a challenge that endurance runners know well: fueling while running often requires compromise. Endurance athletes frequently juggle carrying drink mix and gels, opting for multiple systems (bottles, belts, vests) or sacrificing grip, weight distribution, or focus during training and racing.
HydraPak® and Maurten came together to solve that challenge by designing a minimal handheld solution that supports both hydration and fueling in a single system. The result is the HydraPak SkyFlask™ — made for hydrogel.
From the start, the goal was not simply to place a gel pocket on an existing flask. The teams approached the project as a true product development process, exploring multiple design directions to understand how nutrition could be integrated without interfering with grip, comfort, or hydration access.
Early prototypes evaluated different pocket placements, retention systems, and modular concepts to determine how gels could be inserted easily, remain secure during movement, and avoid being crushed during use.
Those insights ultimately shaped a design that supports real athlete fueling workflows. The flask size was carefully considered to align with common race fueling strategies, including scenarios where runners carry drink mix alongside gels during long-distance events.
