View Full Version : Water Bottle Question
skinnbones
10-16-2016, 11:06
I know this is a stupid question, but here goes... I have a 32 ounce water bottle. That's almost a liter of water. Is this all I need? When bottle gets low, stop and refill. Or should I carry 2 water bottles? If 2 bottles are a wiser choice, where do you place the filled second bottle? Thanks for any help.
You may need 3. Depends on how far you hike and how far from water you want to camp.
2 empty water bottles is maybe one ounce. You don't have to keep them full all the time.
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Heliotrope
10-16-2016, 11:40
I like to use one smart water bottle and two 1L bladders fir back up. The soft bags collapse and can be steed away. One of mine is the dirty water bag for my Sawyer squeeze. Here in Maine I often hike between sources carrying little and drink at the streams.
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Heliotrope
10-16-2016, 11:49
I should add- my pack has open water bottle pockets on each side I can easily fit a 1.5 L bottle on each side and even squeeze a soft bladder in too. Sometimes I hand carry the bottle I'm working on. Again, terrain and temperature and water availability will dictate your set-up and strategy.
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I always carry 3 20oz coke bottles. One of those bottles is empty most of the time. I use it for camp water and if I encounter dry conditions. The 2 full bottles I carry in clip- on cozy's on my chest strap. I got those cozy's at the Walmart store.
soumodeler
10-16-2016, 12:54
I always carry two 32 oz Gatorade bottles. One may or may not be empty, depending on water availability. I also have a 2 liter bag for filtering that I can use to carry water in dry sections, but rarely is it full even then.
soumodeler
10-16-2016, 12:55
Hit post too soon:
Total weight of 5 liters capacity: 5.5 ounces.
Not s stupid question at all.
Well my first question is where are you hiking? If you are thinking the AT, then it depends at what point along the trail and what time of year.
If conditions are relatively "normal" and not too deep into drought, most of the time 1 quart bottle will suffice. AWOL's AT guide is IMHO the most useful guide to obtaining water. Before starting out each morning, look at the guide and find reliable water locations. I usually start out with 3/4 liter each day. When I get to a stream/spring after a couple hours, I'll tank up by drinking a whole liter, then carry just 3/4 liter from there.
I'll adjust my carry amount depending on resources ahead.
Now if you're talking desert PCT, then that's another story.
Old Hiker
10-16-2016, 17:10
I was different. I started without much worry too much about carrying too much water. I started with 2 - 30 oz gatorade bottles and 1 - 60 oz juice bottle. When water was very plentiful, I dropped one gatorade bottle until the middle states, where water grew scarce.
Tried to camp with 60 oz of water - 30 for supper, 30 for breakfast.
There were several places of 9-14 miles without a reliable source of water.
I don't mean to hijack this post but when on the AT is there a way of knowing where the next water source will be ?
Moosling
10-16-2016, 19:16
I was different. I started without much worry too much about carrying too much water. I started with 2 - 30 oz gatorade bottles and 1 - 60 oz juice bottle. When water was very plentiful, I dropped one gatorade bottle until the middle states, where water grew scarce.
Tried to camp with 60 oz of water - 30 for supper, 30 for breakfast.
There were several places of 9-14 miles without a reliable source of water.
I carry a 20-24 ounce Gatorade bottle on my pack strap just rigged up with some heavy duty rubber bands, and a 1L smart water bottle in my bladder pocket on my pack, depending on where I am I might even use or bring the big bottle. I drink a lot of water when I'm not hiking like 90+ounces so on the trail if I pass a water source I will almost always stop so the small bottle sees a lot of use.
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soumodeler
10-16-2016, 19:46
I don't mean to hijack this post but when on the AT is there a way of knowing where the next water source will be ?
Any of the guidebooks or apps like Guthook will tell you the water sources. In times of drought, I am constantly asking people I meet heading the opposite direction how the water is up ahead and telling them the same.
Pastor Bryon
10-16-2016, 19:47
I don't mean to hijack this post but when on the AT is there a way of knowing where the next water source will be ?
Guidebooks are helpful, but conditions can vary quite a bit. Checking here on WB helps, and keeping in mind the amount of rain over the past month or so is critical. Just because it is on the map doesn't mean it will be there. Most shelters have a reliable water source nearby.
Pastor Bryon
10-16-2016, 19:53
I know this is a stupid question, but here goes... I have a 32 ounce water bottle. That's almost a liter of water. Is this all I need? When bottle gets low, stop and refill. Or should I carry 2 water bottles? If 2 bottles are a wiser choice, where do you place the filled second bottle? Thanks for any help.
Keep in mind the temperature also. You will likely lose hydration faster at 70+ degrees than at 40, pace can affect this also. Having said that, just because it is cooler doesn't mean you won't sweat out a decent amount of fluid.
I think this is a good situation where day hikes and moderate overnighters can get you a feel for how your body does. Not every person will react the same to conditions. All the advice you get here could be proven wrong, you just won't know until you do a couple of hikes in a variety of conditions and find what works for you.
Filtration matters, too, in my opinion. I switched from the Hiker Pro filter to a Sawyer, so now filling up anywhere takes less time and beyond the time factor just feels like less of a hassle.
bigcranky
10-16-2016, 20:50
Also think about camp. I find I need a minimum of 2-3 liters of water to make dinner, clean up, and make breakfast in the morning. If I had to walk steeply down hill to the water source every time my one and only quart water bottle ran out, that would get old pretty fast. (Assuming there is a water source where I am camped anyway.)
I carry two or three 1-liter bottles (2 of the short fat wide mouth Gatorade bottles, and one Platy bag with a squirt top), and two of the Sawyer 2-liter bags to collect water for filtration. If I know I'll be dry camping and there won't be water for a while the next day, I can fill them all, but that's rare.
bigcranky
10-16-2016, 20:51
I don't mean to hijack this post but when on the AT is there a way of knowing where the next water source will be ?
The guidebooks are great, but whether there is actually water in the named water source depends on the time of year, and recent local climate conditions. I usually assume that springs at shelters will be running except during very dry years. I always ask hikers going in the other direction, and offer my own intel to them.
LIhikers
10-16-2016, 23:56
Like someone already mentioned, the most reliable and up to date information is from hikers traveling in the direction opposite of yours.
jjozgrunt
10-17-2016, 00:25
Flexibility is the key to water carriage IMHO. Having one big bladder is a recipe for disaster as I found out on a thru hike when I dropped a full one. Easy accessibility to the water is another big point. I've found leading walks, that people with bottles in the side pockets tend to drink less as it can be a pain to get them out and put back in without stopping.
So some solutions.
1. If you like to suck on a tube I've found that the source convertor tube is the best option. https://sourceoutdoor.com/en/source-accessories/154-convertube-sawyer-filtering-kit (you can now get them with an inline sawyer filter) It has 4 different bottle adaptors including one for a nalgene canteen bottle which will then connect to a sawyer squeeze. This is a better option than the bags that come with the filter.
1 or 2 x 1 - 11/2 lt bottles in the side pockets with a drinking tube on one, with 1 or 2 x 32 - 48 oz wide mouth canteen, https://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Wide-Mouth-Cantene-32-Ounce/dp/B001J4NDXW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1476677313&sr=8-5&keywords=nalgene+canteen, with the bottle attachment to hold a sawyer squeeze will nicely round out your water options.
2. My usual setup, and what I will be using on the AT. 2 x 600-700ml bottles on the pack shoulder harness. I use 2 lengths of shock cord with a cord lock on each, 2 per harness strap. You can get them in packs of 4 off Zpacks, they use them for trekking pole holders, or make your own. http://www.zpacks.com/backpacks/arc_haul_zip.shtml scroll down until you find them. These bottles will always be full.
I then carry 1 x 1 or 11/2 Lt empty bottle in one side pouch, it also has a cut off of a larger bottle on the bottom to scoop water and 1 empty 32oz nalgene canteen, folded up in the pack with the sawyer attachment. This will give me about 4 litres of carrying capacity.
Both of these options weight less than a good quality 3 lt bladder and hose, but give a lot more flexibility. Except for the nalgene, when they get grotty get a new one. Going somewhere dry add 1 or more nalgene canteens you can get up to a 96 oz bag.
Kc Fiedler
10-17-2016, 08:51
I know this is a stupid question, but here goes... I have a 32 ounce water bottle. That's almost a liter of water. Is this all I need? When bottle gets low, stop and refill. Or should I carry 2 water bottles? If 2 bottles are a wiser choice, where do you place the filled second bottle? Thanks for any help.
Personally, I use Platy Bottles (collapsible soft bottles) and carry two to three of them. For AT hiking I only carry two. I fill however many of them I need to make it to the next water source (sometimes two, sometimes only one) and collapse the unused one. I carry them on the two side pockets of my pack.
The third platy bottle only ever comes with me in situations where I might need more water for some reason (long distance between sources or extreme heat).
Hikingjim
10-17-2016, 09:05
unless it's a short hike where you know the water sources, you would likely want 3 quarts/litres of capacity. You wouldn't use the 3rd much unless it's dry season, but there are times when it's dry/hot or time where you are going to camp away from a water source and need to pack water for dinner/breakfast, etc
Since i use sawyer squeeze, I have one squeeze bag (or sometimes a smart water bottle I squeeze) that I use for dirty water/squeezing. If I need more than 2l of water, I will just fill that as well and squeeze it later when the other 2 are empty
turtle fast
10-17-2016, 18:32
I bring1 Nalgene bottle (in the cold can be used as a hot water bottle or keep hot coffee in.) Then pick up 32 oz Gateraide/Powerade bottles as needed. In dry sections, I used 3 bottles and didn't neglect to fill up with water when good water sources came up. When the 32oz bottles got scuzzy, I recycled then and bought new ones.
I have an Evernew 2.0 dirty water bladder for the sawyers squeeze (camp use not full in a pack) + Nalgene Winter / Gatorade Bottle Summer + Smartwater Bottle. The Smart Water Bottle is carried on the Strap of the ULA Ohm with their holder, Right Chest. The Nalgene/Gatorade is carried in the Rt Side Pocket of the Pack. Smart Water Bottle is Full to start hiking and used 1st. The Gatorade Bottle is used on an as needed basis depending on temperature, availability of water and distance between sources. The dirty water bladder is when there is real doubt as to the variables and the extra weight is worth carrying it (Seldom anymore). Like everything else, you carry your fears until there nothing to fear but the weight of the fear itself.
Def a couple of the bigger smart water bottles, they are made well and are pretty durable.