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willbump
11-01-2010, 12:00
Just wondering what is a good number to be around as far as total volume of my water containers. Any thoughts?

flemdawg1
11-01-2010, 12:29
2-3 liters seems to be the average. I normally carry a 2l bladder for sipping while hiking, a 1l nalgene or gatrade bottle for mixing some electrolyte mix for lunch, and a 4l nalgene cantene for camp. The 3l normallay gets me thru the day of hiking, and I refill all for camp (dinner & breakfast) and water the next day.

Rick500
11-01-2010, 13:17
I'm admittedly paranoid about running out of water, so I probably carry too much, but I'm willing to take on the extra weight; it makes me feel better.

I carry a 3-liter Camelbak, a one-liter plastic bottle, and a (usually empty) 2-liter collapsible Platypus bottle. So whenever I fill up, I generally have 4 liters.

garlic08
11-01-2010, 13:30
Three liters is good, though the season I hiked I never carried that much. Mostly I drank out of a one-liter recycled soda bottle that weighed one ounce, and carried in reserve a two liter platypus that only weighed 1.5 ounces. Some seasons on the AT may require more water, especially if there's a chance you'll have to dry camp. On desert hikes, I carry the above plus up to two more two-liter bladders for a maximum of seven liters capacity.

leaftye
11-01-2010, 14:25
I like my 10 liter bag. I usually don't fill it all the way, but it sure is handy when I spend a lot of time in camp. It lets me do laundry, bathe, eat and hydrate without going back to filter all the time. I also carry a one liter recycled water bottle plus my shaker bottle.

swjohnsey
11-01-2010, 14:55
You can always put one or two liters in a three liter container.

ChinMusic
11-01-2010, 15:05
For the AT:

One 32-oz Gatorade bottle (replaced at next resupply) for hiking and a 4L collapsible container for camp (and for cases were an area may be dry)

halftime
11-01-2010, 15:08
4 L capacity.....2 one L bottles and a collapsible 2 L for use in camp or when needed between sources. Usually hike with 1 L if water is plentiful along the route.

bigcranky
11-01-2010, 21:42
Two 1-liter Aqua Fina bottles for hiking, and a 4-liter Platypus big zip bag to collect and treat water in camp.

Johnny Thunder
11-01-2010, 21:47
i found that a 4 liter bag was enough for me to fill at camp and would last through a quick "shower", dinner prep/clean-up, after dinner drinking, and a liter to fill a waterbottle in the morning. if i wasn't a clean freak i think it could be done with a liter bottle and a 2 liter camp/reserve bag.

garlic08
11-01-2010, 22:32
A side note--I learned the hard way that it's not a great idea to carry all your water in one container, in case of container failure or (in my case) a stupid mistake and loosing all your water. If you really need four liters in dry country (not talking about convenience for camp cleanup, showers, etc), it's safer to carry it in multiple containers.

Trailbender
11-01-2010, 22:54
For the AT:

One 32-oz Gatorade bottle (replaced at next resupply) for hiking and a 4L collapsible container for camp (and for cases were an area may be dry)

I used the same 2L gatorade bottle from Hot Springs to Katahdin. Started with a 1L gatorade bottle, but it wasn't big enough. No need to keep throwing them away and buying new ones. If I wanted one in town, I got the powder packets.

leaftye
11-01-2010, 23:00
A side note--I learned the hard way that it's not a great idea to carry all your water in one container, in case of container failure or (in my case) a stupid mistake and loosing all your water. If you really need four liters in dry country (not talking about convenience for camp cleanup, showers, etc), it's safer to carry it in multiple containers.

Agreed. It can also be inconvenient. That's one of the main reasons I carry a liter bottle in addition to my water bag. The liter bottle goes on the outside of my pack and refills my shaker bottle. When the shaker bottle and liter bottle are empty I open the pack and access the water bag. I don't like opening the pack because it tends to lengthen my breaks to over 10 minutes. It's extra weight, but it makes my hike go much more smoothly.

willbump
11-02-2010, 00:27
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback.

ChinMusic
11-02-2010, 00:38
No need to keep throwing them away and buying new ones. If I wanted one in town, I got the powder packets.
I like having a fresh bottle. I demote the older bottle to a pee bottle and throw the old pee bottle out. I keep one extra cap in case I lose one......has happened.

OldFeet
11-02-2010, 08:47
A 2 liter bladder here along with a 4 liter bag for camp. I also carry an empty 20 oz. bottle to use for mix ins in camp.

Stitch/Belch
11-02-2010, 19:03
I carried a 2 liter Platypus Hoser and a 1 liter Powerade bottle, and that worked well for me.