Ok diy fans, I brought this up in another forum, but I want the best diy minds on this. :sun

Leash to attach water botttles to pack. Not going to whole explanation as it has been done.


--des

Here's one of the options I use. Sorry 'bout the quality, took with my cell phone.

From his "harness," a peice of strong mason type line. Long enough to drink from attached. You will have to experiment with bottle shapes to find one you like tying knots on, (lips/indents) probably will find one that stays put in the pocket. These leashes are a pain. Very good for things like keys.

How's the weather out there?

water bottle leash will drive you nuts as you walk. sew an easy to reach silnylon pocket on your pack.

I think you really need both.

1. A shock chord leash.
2. A snug pocket on the front straps.
3. Reposition the front straps so they attach perhaps 1" closer to centre on your belt.

I just use a slip knot on the neck of the bottle or platipus and then a loop large enough to put my arm thru and carry water back from a source. I use Para cord and just enough to be able to tie it down and haul it when getting water. I keep three and they are simple and small. A slip knot and figure 8 loop thingy :D

http://www.lanyardstore.com/water-bottle-lanyards.htm

I put two pieces of tent shock cord with cord locks through loops in my shoulder strap to hold a small Gatorade or similar bottle for water. Right there when I need it and doesn't hang and bang. :p

i feel if a water bottle needs to be on a leash, it shouldn't be on the trail. a well trained water bottle that knows how to heel will be much happier and provide a better experience for both of you

Thanks for replies. I think that the pocket is actually pretty good, deep and so on, so that the only reason it would have come out is that either I didn't secure it down far enough. OR more likely it came out while scrambling.
So that actually I think the pockets are good, but they aren't enough. The cord idea sounds very good and I just got a pretty good length of mason's cord for my great bamboo walking stick :-). I also have paracord, which I think is similar material. So the loop of some sort might work nicely.

I think there are merits to have it easier to access though. I might think about that later. I think I am going to copy all these thread comments to a file, they are so good.

And to answer another question: the weather here is great. Mid 60s by noon.

--des

And to answer another question: the weather here is great. Mid 60s by noon.

--des

AAAAARGH!

Leash to attach water botttles to pack. --des

Find a supplier of rubber O-rings, such as a plumbing or hardware supply store and get two or three of the correct size to fit snugly over the neck of your water bottle. Just stretch and roll the ring onto the bottle. You'll have the pieces needed to make the leash(es) as well as a spare or two. Tie a length of string, cord, or rope or (be a bit fancy and) sew a loop into a piece if 3/8-inch webbing long enough for personal preference to hold the bottle at a comfortable length on your pack. Sew or tie a loop into the other end of the webbing large enough to hold a small carabiner or even a keyring. Use this end to attach the leash to something on your pack. :)

Find a supplier of rubber O-rings, such as a plumbing or hardware supply store and get two or three of the correct size to fit snugly over the neck of your water bottle. Just stretch and roll the ring onto the bottle. You'll have the pieces needed to make the leash(es) as well as a spare or two. Tie a length of string, cord, or rope or (be a bit fancy and) sew a loop into a piece if 3/8-inch webbing long enough for personal preference to hold the bottle at a comfortable length on your pack. Sew or tie a loop into the other end of the webbing large enough to hold a small carabiner or even a keyring. Use this end to attach the leash to something on your pack. :)

This is such a great idea! Too bad I was in the plumbing supply store the other day and didn't get this.

BTW, I missed the joke on the "if the water bottle isn't well behaved..."
last night. Hah! Too funny!:D

Ya'll are so smart I'm in awe. I had many compliments on hiking stick btw.

Sorry about our weather (actually I'm not sorry) but too bad I am not rich enough to fly you out here. My hiking partner says he's going to miss winter. I'm not too much in agreement. :)

--des

I never trusted the rubber o-rings in the water bottle carriers. Just didn't seem durable to me...YMMV. I just tie a jug knot around the neck of the bottle for a nice sturdy way to carry it. I feel it is worth the effort of learning to tie (plus you can amaze your friends). This url: http://www.ropeworks.biz/reader/jugknot.pdf shows how to tie the knot.

I never trusted the rubber o-rings in the water bottle carriers. Just didn't seem durable to me...YMMV.

I've had the same one for four years and never had any trouble with it. After all, it really only needs to be stretched once when installed and then it just sits threr. It will only dry-rot if you leave it exposed to sunlight for long periods, so I always store mine in a storage case with all my other gear.

sunlight for long periods,

I could use some of that.

Thanks for replies. I think that the pocket is actually pretty good, deep and so on, so that the only reason it would have come out is that either I didn't secure it down far enough. OR more likely it came out while scrambling.
So that actually I think the pockets are good, but they aren't enough. The cord idea sounds very good and I just got a pretty good length of mason's cord for my great bamboo walking stick :-). I also have paracord, which I think is similar material. So the loop of some sort might work nicely.

I think there are merits to have it easier to access though. I might think about that later. I think I am going to copy all these thread comments to a file, they are so good.

And to answer another question: the weather here is great. Mid 60s by noon.

--des

Des - the other thing that you might try is to thread a thin cord around the top ehm of your bottle pocket and attach the ends through a cord-lock. Whe you put your bottle back in the pocket, pull the cord tight and lock it with the cord-lock.

Not much is worse than a lost water bottle!

I never trusted the rubber o-rings in the water bottle carriers. Just didn't seem durable to me...YMMV. I just tie a jug knot around the neck of the bottle for a nice sturdy way to carry it. I feel it is worth the effort of learning to tie (plus you can amaze your friends). This url: http://www.ropeworks.biz/reader/jugknot.pdf shows how to tie the knot.

I was going to post that one. In picture 9, I tie the two loose ends to the loop and it makes a great handle for the bottle.

You don't want stuff flappin' and swingin' off your pack. Wasted energy, snags on branches and blowdowns and jutting rocks. Just sayin'. I'd go with the "sew a pocket" crowd -- except my pack already has pockets.

Wal mart just got these in 98 cents it is hard to pull off might be good.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d52/oops62/stoves%202/th_waterholder.jpg (http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d52/oops62/stoves%202/waterholder.jpg)

What about plastic zip ties? They wont come loose or break. And weigh next to nothing. And when the bottle gets recycled, the don't even need to be cut off first!

I ended up combining some ideas for a "leash" that works very nicely. I have
length of webbing attached at both ends to a key holder type round piece on a caribiner. A large caribiner for the bottle (actually fits on the bottle) and a smaller one attached to a strap over the side pocket on the pack. The bottle slips down into the side pocket, and I can pull it out without unattaching anything. It worked just wonderfully for a hike today. Did not even remove it when I took off the pack. Just pulled it out and drank with pack beside me.
I wondered if it might catch on something, but the leash stayed neatly in the pocket when not in use.

I want to make some improvements (still based on some ideas here), but thanks for all the great ideas everybody.

I can post some pictures, if it might give someone else ideas.
I also made a little attachment for the dogs water "bowl", so I don't have to go in my pack for that.

Hey I like this diy thing!! :-)



--des

Des - the other thing that you might try is to thread a thin cord around the top ehm of your bottle pocket and attach the ends through a cord-lock. Whe you put your bottle back in the pocket, pull the cord tight and lock it with the cord-lock.

Not much is worse than a lost water bottle!


this sounds like the simpliest idea

this sounds like the simpliest idea

Actually ended up doing that. My partner found a piece of paracord. Not sure I like it as well as the other thing I devised.

--des

See if you can find some shock cord. Same idea, but stretchy. I have to go to a kayak minded shop to get it. Thick black, about 1/3 the size of the cord you used is like $0.50/foot.

See if you can find some shock cord. Same idea, but stretchy. I have to go to a kayak minded shop to get it. Thick black, about 1/3 the size of the cord you used is like $0.50/foot.

This sounds like a better idea. I'm not sure if we have kayak stores in Albuquerque. :)

--des