Quote Originally Posted by LittleRock View Post
I completely disagree with this statement. The bladder I carry weighs 2 oz, it holds 3L of water. It allows me to drink water regularly without stopping. It changes shape so it always fits in well with the other contents of my pack. And I've found that with practice I can mentally keep track of how much I've consumed to within a few oz.

With water bottles, I didn't have anywhere to put them on the outside of my pack where I could reach them, so I'd have to stop and take off my pack every time I wanted a drink. And I'd try not to do that often, so I'd be very thirsty and gulp down 1/2 L of water every time I stopped. That's not a good strategy for avoiding dehydration.

Nowadays, I only carry ONE 1L bottle, which I mostly use for scooping from water sources.
I have a small drinking bottle (0.4lt) attatched to the shoulder strap, and all the other bottles rest inside the pack, maybe if I had to carry 6 or more bottles (1.5lt each) I would strap two of them by the side straps to the outside of the pack.
That makes for a heavy pack and I have to take a short rest every hour or so anyway, where I take off the pack and can refill the small drinking bottle, if needed.
But usually I let myself drop into (slight) dehydration during hiking, I'm not a fan of sipping every few minutes.
Usually I measure my hydration state by the number of bathroom breaks, and the amount and color of pee. There is not much sense in drinking more than absolutely essential, just to drain it out an hour later.
I would camel up at the next supply point.