New Backpack ~ Hydration pack or just canteens?

I have run the full spectrum. Started with aluminum canteens in the '70s, then went to soda bottles, then nalgenes, then camelback bladders. But this year I got a new pack that has side pockets that I can easily reach without taking my pack off, so I switched back to using recycled 16oz water bottles. They are lighter than a camelback bladder and easier to refill. There are plenty of them laying around the house, so I can use and throw away whenever they get too banged up.

And they are a lot easier to rinse out and clean than a camelback bladder.
 
I'm a big fan of hydration packs.

I also love the platybottle. I've used mine fairly hard for over a year, and just got the hose attachment to make it into a 1 liter bladder as well. Thumbs up for flexibility.
 
You may have to boil water to purify it. I don't think you can pour boiling water into a bladder. I carry 2 - 1 quart military canteens full and a 1 liter Nalgene empty. I guess you can carry a bladder and just one Nalgene to cool the water in. You can also cycle your tablet treated water through it. An empty Nalgene is a good addition to your pack for many reasons and only adds 4 oz.
 
Halberdier said:
You may have to boil water to purify it. I don't think you can pour boiling water into a bladder. I carry 2 - 1 quart military canteens full and a 1 liter Nalgene empty. I guess you can carry a bladder and just one Nalgene to cool the water in. You can also cycle your tablet treated water through it. An empty Nalgene is a good addition to your pack for many reasons and only adds 4 oz.
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Are you in such a hurry that you can't wait 5min for your water to stop boiling before you put it in it's container? If you're boiling water to purify it in the first place, that tells me you have all the time in the world...

Also, it may not matter if you're not multi day backpacking, but a 1 liter Pepsi bottle only weighs about an ounce, and can be flattened if you need the space. Only thing is that it doesn't have a wide mouth, but it is perfect for a steripen, so I guess that depends on what feature is more important to you.


I usually carry an empty 1 liter pepsi bottle along with my bladder. I use the bottle to purify water with the steripen then refill my bladder. And when I stop for lunch, I add a powdered propel to the pepsi bottle for something different without gunking up my bladder.
 
Dayhikes- hydration bladder (3L).

Backpacking- bladder (3L), 1 ss water bottle, and 1 plastic bottle.

For me, canteens are more durable and easier to clean. Yes, you do have to stop and reach for it to drink. But that just makes for a nice break.
 
stingray4540 said:
No one's brought it up yet, but if it does, don't listen to the BS that a bladder is harder to clean. It's just as easy to clean as a bottle.
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This is one thing I don't get. I've had my 3L Camelbak for a couple years now and I've cleaned it once, and it didn't even need it, I just did it on principle. What's the deal, are you guys all putting sugary electrolyte drinks in there or what?

siguy said:
I'm a big fan of hydration packs.

I also love the platybottle. I've used mine fairly hard for over a year, and just got the hose attachment to make it into a 1 liter bladder as well. Thumbs up for flexibility.
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THANK YOU. Because of you I just took my spare Camelbak hose and stuck it on my 1L platypus. Now it's an unholy hybrid that rocks even more than before.


On topic - I always take my Camelbak with me. Usually I will pack a little extra in my Platypus or a SS bottle.
 
stingray4540 said:
Are you in such a hurry that you can't wait 5min for your water to stop boiling before you put it in it's container? If you're boiling water to purify it in the first place, that tells me you have all the time in the world...
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You're typically boiling a pint at the time. At 5 minutes to boil and 10 minutes to cool, you'd be spending an hour and a half filling a 3L bladder. A transfer container takes an hour off of that and saves firewood. You never have an hour to waste outdoors and you may not have the wood to spare.
 
Yea, gotta join the lemmings and recommend the hydration bladder. I've been using them for 12 years or so and will never go back to canteens - FOR WARM TEMPS ONLY. For general long-distance water hauling, i also use a 3-liter MSR Dromedary bag. It's from 1000 Cordura so plenty tough and (if i use it) my Pur/Katadyn pump filter fits onto the opening.

In the cold, i tend to use Nalgenes and a cozy to help keep 'em from freezing.
 
When I was a kid I carried a Mil canteen and I still have an old round canteen, the kind with the metal band and blanket covers. But once I got a camelback I never looked back either. My day pack is a Camelback Rim Runner with a 3L bladder, it has side pockets and if I am out ona long one or if water is scarce I carry 2 of the SS 1L bottles from Gayot. They have the advantage of useing them for boiling and cooking..
Over nights and weekend pack I was useing a mountaineering pack that took a bladder, but just got a Large MolleII. Took me a bit to figure it out but it seems the way the Army guys figured out the way to carry a bladder was a Mil issue camelback strapped across the top of the pack, sort of makes sense. One of the things about a bladder system is it does encourage you to drink more because it is more convinient, that was all mentioned above.
I wore a tool belt for a lot of years and after that I wasn't interested in wearing a pistol belt with a canteen I guess. I use the came camelback for hiking and bike riding, way better than trying to fish a bottle out of a holder while your moving.
 
I like both.

I use a hydration pack, but I keep a pair of canteens in it as well. - specifically kleen kanteens. They are long and cylindrical, so they fit beside the bladder and lay flat. That way I have internal hydration, but I can still boil water and cook stews in the metal canteens.
 
depends on the hike, if it's skimpy on water availability we use hydration bladders in addition to a 1 liter and a 1/2 liter platy bottle (the 1/2 liter one is the perfect size for the Gatorade powder packets). if water is plentiful, just the two platy's
 
I use both. An inline sawyer filter in the platy tube drains purified water into my stainless nalgene.
 
Just taking some water with you ... I like canteens. I will usually just throw my web belt with them on.

"Hauling" water, i.e. carrying a lot of water on a big trip or trying to carry as much water as possible ... obviously hydration packs win out there.
 
lambertiana said:
...I switched back to using recycled 16oz water bottles. They are lighter than a camelback bladder and easier to refill. There are plenty of them laying around the house, so I can use and throw away whenever they get too banged up...
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+1 for soda bottles

I like recyled 1-liter soda bottles, cheap (free) and light. I carry 2. The day before I go on a hike I toss one about 80% full into the freezer (if I remember). By the time that I've finished my first, the second has melted quite a bit, and has also kept my lunch cool.
 
CoyotePhysics said:
+1 for soda bottles

I like recyled 1-liter soda bottles, cheap (free) and light. I carry 2. The day before I go on a hike I toss one about 80% full into the freezer (if I remember). By the time that I've finished my first, the second has melted quite a bit, and has also kept my lunch cool.
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Old trick that I don't think is mentioned enough. Thanks for bringing it up.:thumbup: Whether I'm packing for a SAR call-out (when time allows), a normal hike or am just taking a cooler on a car trip I do the frozen water bottle thing whenever I can.
 
I'm going backpacking this weekend up Spring City Canyon here in Central Utah. Will be carrying water in a military canteen with cup and canvas holder, two nalgene bottles, couple .5L bottles and a couple Gattoraid bottles. Have a water badder but have not come up with a good way to carry it in my Blackhawk Ruck.
 
moosez45 said:
I go old school, BSA 2 quart, and Mil spec canteen, cup and cover on my hip. I have the MOP top canteen and the hose attachment, but I never use the hose. I like a rigid bottle, it makes stream filling easier in my book. Plus, I can't live without my canteen cup. The cover for mine sux, but it still works, so, until total failure, it stays. I also use a Nal narrow neck, and a Platy, but never at the same time. My Platy is used to carry liquor into amusement parks, so all it sees is Jack. My Nal is my "urban" canteen, but its seen the woods some. My BSA and Mil Spec get the most use out of all in the woods. Moose
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I find your ideas intriguing, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

For backpacking, I have happily gone to a 3L Platypus bag/tube/bitevalve.
 
OwenM said:
Considering using a hydration bladder again for those days when the pack rarely if ever comes off. Hard to beat being able to drink on the go without messing with bottles in that case.
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I was really hurting for a hydration bladder yesterday, as the pack I was using made it hard to get to the water bottles, and impossible to get them back in the pockets with the pack on. Don't plan to use that pack for backpacking, anyway, but am still getting a new bladder and some kind of cover for it. Water was short along the way after a certain point, and I skipped coffee last night and this morning because all I had were 2 1qt. Nalgenes that I had to fill twice(second time in a little puddle in what's supposed to be a stream). A few liters of additional water would have been really nice.
 
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