Lightweight hydration methods?

Posted by: Anonymous

Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 03:47 PM

I’m in the process of buying either a couple water bottles or a single hydration bladder. I’m trying to go lightweight with the whole water thing. Does anyone have any suggestions? I guess something BPA free would be good…
Posted by: Shrike

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 04:09 PM

You could use and empty pop bottle.
Posted by: Pika

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 04:36 PM

+1 on the pop bottles. They weigh around 1.5 oz in either 1, or 2 liter capacity, they are tough as a boot and are cheap. I've used them with complete satisfaction for years. I don't like bladders; I have seen them leak a lot where the tube connects.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 05:46 PM

haha, i feel a little stupid for that question, but i didn't even think of a pop bottle! It's great!
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 05:56 PM

I prefer Platypus bottles because they can be rolled up and therefore take up no space when empty. Of course they're more expensive. On the other hand, it's lots easier to slide a soda bottle into an empty mesh pack pocket. I might end up using one myself if I can find someone to drink the soda!

I read somewhere (don't have the reference now; found it during the BPA fuss last year) that the plastic used in soda bottles is meant for one-time use. It doesn't contain BPA, but it may start pitting (providing hiding places for bacteria) after several uses. Of course if you drink soda you can replace the bottles frequently.
Posted by: mmendell

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 06:57 PM

I use a combination. I'll have one 2L platy for camp, a .5 for personal wash-up, and one or two 20oz pop bottles for the trail. Like OM, the 2L platy stays rolled up until I've made camp.

Posted by: idahosteve

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 07:27 PM

Ditto on a gatorade bottle for the pack, and a 2L Platy for camp use... Also, the 2L works for a stash in order to get away for a stealth campsite at the end of the day. You aren't enslaved to a water source after dinner, and can go set up in some secluded spot and still have a water source for breakfast the next morning.
Posted by: aimless

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 08:44 PM

It is a good idea to replace soda bottles with some frequency, even though they can take a lot of abuse before they bust. Since they cost roughly nothing to replace, this is not a big problem.

The following "factoid" came to me as a bit of unverified lore, but it makes perfect sense, so I believe it. Bottlers have no love for wasting money. Therefore they make their bottles only strong enough to do the job, no more.

The weakest part of these PET bottles is the cap and its seal. However, because carbonated beverages are under greater pressure, the cap and its seal are stronger on soda bottles than on, for example, disposable water bottles, and will leak less readily.

There. Believe it or don't. I can't back it up.
Posted by: Franco

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 08:49 PM

Depending on the trip, either two 600ml pop bottles or two 1.25-1.5L in the pockets and a 3L Nalgene Cantene (soft with a small top) in the pack. Have used a couple of 600ml Gatorade for years. Every so often I wash them with water and a few drops of unscented bleach.
Franco
BTW, winter campers will often have at least one hard Nalgene . Boil some water at night, use as hot water bottle in your bag (inside a sock) and you have water to start you off in the morning.
Posted by: Boomer

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 10:06 PM

perfect set up platypus for desert sections and sources far from water. and everything is gatorade bottles because they have a nice wide mouth thats really nice, similar to a nalgene
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 10:06 PM

I haven't tried Gatorade bottles because I don't drink Gatorade. Besides the awful (to me) taste, liquid Gatorade contains a lot of high-fructose corn syrup, which is bad for you. So do soft drinks.

I guess I'll stick with Platypus. Something in me rebels against acquiring bottles by buying a bottle of a soft drink and dumping the drink down the drain!
Posted by: Boomer

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 10:09 PM

ps i like your style shrike
Posted by: phat

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 10:27 PM


Don't feel stupid. Stupid is as stupid does. You asked the question. You got the answer most of us swear by, and now you can make an intelligent choice. Had you gone into a gear store said "gear me" and walked out with a $50 hydration system *before* asking the question.. well, then you can feel stupid smile
Posted by: mmendell

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/01/10 10:30 PM

I use bottled-water bottles rather than gatorade. They are lighter, and fit my grav-filter as beautifully as the platy does.
Posted by: skinewmexico

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/02/10 01:10 AM

Originally Posted By OregonMouse
I guess I'll stick with Platypus. Something in me rebels against acquiring bottles by buying a bottle of a soft drink and dumping the drink down the drain!


Water comes in bottles too.
Posted by: finallyME

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/02/10 10:23 AM

I have recently discovered peanut butter jars. They have a wider mouth than a gatoraide, and are a little bigger. I should probably weigh one, but I bet it is similar to a gatoraide bottle. I should also do a drop test against the gatoraide bottle.

But, generally I use gatoraide or poweraide bottles. I buy the 32 oz ones because that is close to a liter, and I can put one chlorine dioxide tab in it. I constantly tell my boyscouts to bring them if they want to. Since they almost always forget to bring something to carry water, I always buy a bunch of 32 oz drinks and pass them out to whomever forgot.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/02/10 03:28 PM

Ha, you're right. Thanks! How much water do you usually carry while hiking? I think about a half quart is enough.
Posted by: phat

Re: Lightweight hydration methods? - 02/02/10 03:33 PM

Originally Posted By hikenc9
Ha, you're right. Thanks! How much water do you usually carry while hiking? I think about a half quart is enough.


Anywhere from none to 5 litres wink

It depends where and what I'm doing. If I'm hiking normally, and I expect to have water to get every so often (such as in my typical haunts in the canadian rockies) I will carry about a litre of water, and stop and refill periodically. Usually this looks like I will drink during my hike, stop, chug down the remaining half litre into me, fill the bag with a litre and treat it, and keep going. If I expect to be somewhere where there is no water I will carry a little more, say 2 litres on a climb and traverse of a long dry ridge. If I know I'm going to stop and camp somewhere with no water, I pull out my extra platypus bag, tank them both up, and pack 5 litres in to camp. If it's hotter than hades I'll pack more, etc.

So the answer is "it depends" - but most of the time a litre. sometimes 2.


Posted by: 300winmag

Re: Lightweight hydration Wide mouth bottles B/C. - 02/02/10 11:25 PM

I'd recommend some kind of wide mouth bottle so you can use a SteriPen for fast water purification.
Ya gotta be able to stir a SteriPen to be sure all the little beasties are exposed to the UV rays and neutered.

Eric
Posted by: mtk

Re: Lightweight hydration Wide mouth bottles B/C. - 02/03/10 08:15 AM

I was a fan of using poland spring bottles until this past weekend. After being on the trail for about a mile i felt my back getting wet. The cap of the water bottle striped out and was leaking a little bit. It had fallen over in my pack and started to leak. It was only a short 4 mile hike and had plenty of water so it was not a problem. only lost a little bit of water so it was just annoying more then anything. With that said I will be moving to a bladder system in my pack and a aluminum bottle.
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: Lightweight hydration Wide mouth bottles B/C. - 02/03/10 03:58 PM

The plain bottled water bottles are more flimsy than soda bottles. The latter are made to hold stuff under considerable pressure (try shaking one full of soda and then take the cap off--do this outdoors, though!). I still wouldn't use either more than a few times without replacing.