There are side water bottle pockets. They just don't have anything in them, so they look kind of flat. They're plenty big for water bottles, though. You can see the casing for the elastic in the side view. I made them of the same blue material. Lighter than mesh...we'll see how they hold up. I did make openings in the corners for water to drain out. I suppose the diagonal compression straps above them could be used to hold something long like a fishing rod or tent poles.