Light Packable Water Bottle Options?
Equipment
Time for a new one. Figured there could be a wealth of quality recommendations here to take along on my elk hunt. Lightweight most important. Thanks!
i like these. they are 32 oz. and have great tops that seal, and latch tightly closed.
i purchased them on amazon. they come under a few different brand names, but they're the same.
Zero field experience here, but when researching options for the elk hunt and tag I didnt draw, I was looking at 2 options.
The Grayl filter/bottle container system if we didnt have a camp filter option, or if we did have a camp filter, just a simple nalgene bottle or 2 was the most economical for packing/weight savings.
Well i wish I could remember the name. But I have a very durable collapsible water bag if you want to call it that. It has a pull lid for drinking. But I also have pretty much the other stuff mentioned already.
There seem to be a thousand-million choices for water storage these days. I personally always seems to come back to the standard 32oz Nalgene bottles for hunting. I usually carry a Platypus bag as well. Seems to be a good balance of volume/durability/weight for me.
Just around the house type stuff I really like the Yeti Yonder. It’s a bit heavier than Nalgene and doesn’t fit my Nalgene specific pack pockets so it may not make the cut for pack-in trips for me.
—Jim
I prefer a CamelBak reservoir that slides into a dedicated pocket inside my day pack. It has an over the shoulder tube that you drink from. I never have to take my pack off to grab a drink, and there's no noisy water sloshing sounds, like there is with a Nalgene type hard bottle.
Matt
Nalgene if a Gatorade bottle doesn’t fit the bill.
Check last season on elk101. They were using a new otc lid that turned the bottle into an over the should sucking hose like a camel back
Don’t overlook the military surplus canteens. I think they pack in a main pack better than the Nalgenes since they aren’t exactly a cylinder
I use hardside hydration and a Nalgene bottle. They also make a smaller lid that will fit on a regular plastic style bottle.
Camelback or platypus. If you are set on a bottle get a hydroflask. Keeps water cooler a lot longer then a naglen water bottle. Yes they are heavier, but better then drinking warm water out of a naglen bottle.
For those who use a Nalgene bottle, or something similar, does the constant sloshing noise bother you at all? I hate it. That's why I've always used a collapsable bottle like a Platypus or a CamelBak. You can squeeze the air out of them, so they don't slosh. But I'm kinda picky about abnormal noises when I'm hunting.
Matt
The sloshing doesn’t bother me. Heck, it gives me a rhythm to walk to. :0
Butcherboy, I bet you have squeaky boots and pants that rustle every step, too. ;-)
I don't like water bottles too big too heavy and water swashes when it's not full. Without a doubt I go with the Platypus bags super light super tough no noise everything you can ask for.
I use empty Gaterade bottles for hiking or daily use. Very light, very stowable and very cheap. If you leave it some place, who cares.
I follow Ambush around and pick up his missing Gatorade bottles and use those. Totally free.
If it's for the field a camel bak style reservoir is the only way to go
Camelbak for daily use and to have in the pack while actually hunting. If I'm packing in a camp I take a few empty Nalgene bottles and fill them up with filtered water once I get to camp. Then I leave them in camp for cooking, refilling bladder, etc. Where we used to hunt in Colorado, it was a half a mile down the mountain to the nearest spring from camp. It was just a nightly walk (or every other night) down to refill bladders and nalgenes. Then back up to cook and sleep.
When I truck camp I take one of those 5 gallon water jugs with a spigot. Works pretty well to keep bladders filled during the hunt.
I think a bladder is the only way to go for daily use while hunting. So easy to grab the hose and drink when you stop for a breath. If I had to rely on drinking out of bottles or naglenes I think I would get dehydrated, as I wouldn't drink nearly as often.
Gatorade bottles, without a doubt. They're significantly lighter than Nalgenes, infinitely replaceable, and have no downsides. Start out with Gatorade in them, then just use them for water bottles from then on. There's a reason this is what most thru-hikers do.
Lots of guys have dropped with heavier Nalgene bottles and went with empty Gatorade or Smartwater bottles.
I have a few issues with the bladders and hose. 1) you don't know how much you have drank and it sucks to run out. 2) I have had them leak out the hose on me more than once for various reasons. 3) if really cold water freezes in hose
I carry my Nalgene in a Kifaru Nalgene pocket. Not only does it keep the water cooler, you can't hear any sloshing. I've done the bladder thing but hate the hose. I've had them freeze or you get a nice draw of hot water. I've also had one leak and that's a disaster.
Grey Ghost, no squeaky boots here but my pants do swish on occasion. Just adds more music to the band!
I agree with Midwest. I used to be a bladder guy, no more. Too many leaks, frozen hose, leaky bite valves, just not worth it to me. I used to worry about the sloshing too, but honestly never notice it. Plus a 3 liter bladder is pretty big in may pack. If I have 2-3 Nalgene/Gatorade bottles I can spread them around a bit. Plus on a 12 day hunt if I bust a bladder on the 3rd day i could be in real trouble…
Was shooting TAC a couple years ago with a younger guy, he was shooting pretty erratic, but some right on. Everyone was giving him advice from twisted peep site to cracked limbs. He was ompletly flustered. After watching him shoot On 3-4 targets I noticed his string was hitting his bite valve. Pulled it off his shoulder strap and flung it over his shoulder and he was right back in business. Certainly not the bladders fault, but just one more thing…
—Jim
I used to use bladders but hated that your first swig would be warm/hot water or leaking. I had Badlands sew a couple of water bottle pockets on my pack. I use a gatorade bottle with water in the outside pocket and a 1-2 quart collapsible water bottle and a gatorade inside the pack. 72-104 ounces gets me thru most days and no krinkel sounds.
