Reservoir or Bottles?

[Hosaphone]

I personally avoid hydration systems because they allow me to skip breaks. I'm able to hiker further with short hourly breaks.

...

Hydration systems allow hydrating while walking.

I was 100% a bladder person all the way until I got a ULA pack with easy-to-reach side pockets. I think if you go the bottles route, it's very important to be able to reach them while walking. I would never drink enough if I had to stop and take off the pack to get a drink...

[leaftye]

I was 100% a bladder person all the way until I got a ULA pack with easy-to-reach side pockets. I think if you go the bottles route, it's very important to be able to reach them while walking. I would never drink enough if I had to stop and take off the pack to get a drink...

I can't reach into the side pockets of any of my packs. I carry one bottle on my shoulder strap instead. When it's empty, I stop to refill it, and that's my break.

[Praha4]

I do the same as leaftye.

Keep a 20 oz. Gatorade bottle in a MLD shoulder-strap bottle pouch, and use it to drink from ... usually I use the Nuun or GU electrolyte tabs with water in that smaller bottle.

in one backpack side pocket I keep a 1L Powerade bottle with water. I also carry a 2L Platypus or Evernew bladder to fetch water for camp, or to carry extra along long dry trail stretches. This system works good with Aqua Mira too.

[daddytwosticks]

I'm a simple man and like simple things. For water, I carry an assortment of sports bottles in my side pack pockets or corded to my shoulder strap, depending on time of year, duration of hike, etc. If they leak, get lost, etc., just buy some more sports drink at your next stop. I rely on a Platy zip top bag for extra water in camp.

[Bosman]

I plan to do 2 smart water bottles on the shoulders straps for counter balance. The smart waters have a flip cap cover and a hole that drains into your mouth quickly. I am planning to experiment with a straw much like the flip nalgene's use but longer so I can just tilt my head for a sip. The caps also fit evernew bags. I have many platy's but I have converted to evernew because of their secure caps and they are always attached so you don't loose them. I have put boiling water in them a few times this winter and have no issues.

[garlic08]

I tried a bladder and hose on my first long hike. It lasted about 500 miles miles until I replaced it with recycled water bottles. The bite valve was a pain, having to protect it and clean it out every time a small piece of debris in the water caught in it. Set the pack down on the valve and you lose your water (this was before shut-off valves became common). The last straw was when the bite valve snagged on a bush and it valve flew off into the bushes and I had to remove my pack and try to salvage all the water, with one hand crimping the hose. It just wasn't worth it. The more time I spend hiking, the fewer moving parts I want, and I don't want to carry anything they sell a repair kit for. This is also the reason I stopped using a water filter and started with Aquamira--just reliability and simplicity. Weight is less of a factor, but still there.

[Sensei]

I love my camelbak for day hikes but I wouldn't trust it on overnights. On more than one occasion I have been hiking w/ friends whose bladders leaked in their packs, and in all of these instances the person had never had a previous issue with a bladder. The problem goes beyond wet gear, of course, because if you can't fix the leak then you must have an alternate water carrier. I had to carry water for one of these friends for two days, so it's a good thing they weren't hiking solo.

For most trips I have always carried a 1L disposable bottle in each side pocket for balance, and I also usually keep a 2L Evernew water tote rolled up in my pack to use for dry camps and longer carries. I agree that it's important to choose a pack that allows you to remove and replace bottles without taking the pack off so that you have no excuse not to stay hydrated. In a pack where this is difficult, you might try a Smartwater bottle or something similar that is tall and slender rather than a short and fat bottle (like Gatorade). Another big plus of this setup is that if you use chemical water treatment, you can keep that in a hipbelt pocket so you can fill up and treat your bottles without ever having to take off your pack.

[CarlZ993]

Most of the time, I use two, 1-L Aquafina water bottles (the old style with a wide mouth) and a 3-L Nalgene Cantene (Bladder). I'll also have a 0.5L bottle that is empty that I use for flavor packets (massive quantities of water start tasting gross after a while). Once I get to camp, I've got plenty of water for the evening & morning meals, clean up after the meals, water to camel-up on in the morning, and fill at least one water bottle for the start of the next day's hike. If I need more water than this, I'll substitute the 3-L Cantene with two, 2-L platypus bladders (more capacity with lower weight).

[ferdinand the bull]

After hearing all the good points here I'm going to go with two 33oz soft bottles rather than a bladder, and when hitting some arid spots I'll pick up a few extra Gatorade/ smart water bottles or a 2l platypus before going in. Thanks for all the input WhiteBlaze.

[Odd Man Out]

After doing a moderate amount of research, I came to the conclusion that I have better things to worry about than BPA from water bottles. I think the dangers of it are over-hyped. That's just me, though. Read the studies and come to your own conclusions.

FWIW< I attended a seminar on Monday given by a PhD chemist/toxicologist with Dow Chemical. She said that after a review of all the research on BPA, she concluded that there is no significant hazard from BPA.

I like to use a Sawyer squeeze with the 2 liter dirty water reservoir to fill the 1 liter water bladder a 1 Liter water bottle (Gatorade/Aquafina/whatever). The bottle is in a pocket or holster that is convenient for drinking while on the go (I do not like hydration systems with a drinking tube). The reservoir is carried empty, unless there is a long dry stretch or will be dry camping. The 1 liter bladder is a backup for filtering in case the reservoir fails. This is for AT type trails where water is pretty reliable. For dry environments I would add another reservoir. Would rather have several small containers than one large one to prevent catastrophic failures.

[Hot Flash]

I've been trying for a while to come up with a way of combining my two water flasks as my heatable mug/pots.

Solution:

http://www.vargooutdoors.com/Titanium-BOT-Bottle-Pot

[JAK]

Solution:

http://www.vargooutdoors.com/Titanium-BOT-Bottle-Pot

Holiest of crap! Someone has finally done it.

Pricey.

Well good for them. Hope others catch on and it gets cheaper.

[Hot Flash]

Holiest of crap! Someone has finally done it.

Pricey.

Well good for them. Hope others catch on and it gets cheaper.

Well, it IS titanium...

[Downhill Trucker]

Solution:

http://www.vargooutdoors.com/Titanium-BOT-Bottle-Pot

That is amazing. Does anyone have one of these?

[JAK]

Any ideas on how to DIY one out of aluminum or thin-wall stainless?
The BOT is not super light, so it should be possible to beat it on weight and price.
Also a bit bigger than I think it needs to be.

I've thought about cutting the outer wall off some stainless soup thermos.

[ferdinand the bull]

Holiest of crap! Someone has finally done it.

Pricey.

Well good for them. Hope others catch on and it gets cheaper.

That doesn't seem like that solid of an idea to me.
You could get an evernew 500 which weighs 2.6 oz, and still carry three 1 litter bottles which would weigh less, carry more water, save space if you use collapsible, and be way more versatile.

[leaftye]

That, and titanium galls, so using it in a piece of gear that must be screwed and unscrewed frequently seems to be a poor use of materials.

[SoCalled]

The filtering system you use somewhat determine the rest of your kit.

I use bottle only. One in stainless to my belt (to double as a boiling pot if needed) and a few Sawyer Squeeze bags as backups. Never had an issue so far. Bags are flawless and pack flat when unused but they stay outside my pack in the mesh pockets when filled. I dont need any "dirty" bag to gather water with my modded filter so im pretty much happy with my system.

A friend of mine had his plat emptying itself in his backpack 2-3 years ago. He was miserable for the rest of the trip.

The Osprey trampoline back suspension allow to store your platypus outside of your bag. Thats the only setup I would use a bladder with.