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spittinpigeon
02-21-2008, 03:38
In my quest for a light weight pillow, my friend asked me if I've ever tried the bag from a box of wine for a pillow. I'm not a wine person, but he said that he has (in the past) traversed into the backcountry with a box of wine; drank it, and then used the semi-inflated bag as a pillow.
My primary concerns are with the valve. I understand that the valve holds back liquid for the duration of its purpose, but will it stand up to the rigors of a thru-hike?

fiddlehead
02-21-2008, 03:52
I use a similar bag for my "in camp" water bag. Mine is 10 litres i believe and REI used to sell them. They stopped them i believe and when i found out, i bought a dozen and still have a few left.
The wine ones are made from some silver "metalike" material that you cannot see inside to see dirt, mold, cleanliness of your liquid or whatever so, to me it's not as good.
But the valves are the same. So, to answer your question: The valves generally last about 1/3 to 1/2 of a thruhike before they start to leak. It is easy to get another valve however as you just need to buy another box of wine. (they fit mine too)

Now, i don't use mine for a pillow, i use it for water and i'm not going to gamble that i won't roll over in my sleep and puncture it or somehow open the valve and get my sleeping bag wet. But of course if you don't use it for water, keep it dry. It should work. I don't see any reason why not except perhaps it will leak air easier than water.

In using it for water, i have already lost the valve (top) in a very fast moving stream and thought i was in trouble (this was in the ''Bob" about 60 miles from the nearest blacktop road) but, i just started not filling it all the way, carrying it by the hole where the valve used to be, and found out it worked even better (didn't have to mess with trying to open the valve and wait as it was now a lot faster) AND was much lighter, and i just had to prop it up by a rock or fallen tree to keep it from spilling. I stopped using the valve after that. But, if you ever wanted to carry it far, that could be a problem.
I don't know that you'll find a lighter, 3 litre water bag or pillow out there. I think maybe the wine ones are a bit heavier than mine though.
Hope that helps. good luck. (i just use my empty pack for my pillow, with my frogg toggs covering it from the stink)