We don't really like going to places with no water, but it happened a few times that we had a full gallon extra in our backpacks (oh, so heavy) because we knew we'll be without a water source for over a day. Not carrying anything works, too, but then it takes more time to get water from the stream if you need to filter it. Sometimes we have as little as half a liter or less - if the weather is not too hot, there's lots of water along the trail, etc. Look at the map, talk to the rangers, ask hikers coming our way, etc. I always try to do as much research as possible and fill up accordingly. Hardcore ultralighters sometimes carry almost no water, and that's OK if you know the terrain, your abilities, and what awaits you. It happens pretty often that hikers get in serious trouble because of dehydration. However, at the risk of stating the obvious: you're friggin' dead without it.Īlways err on the side of caution. Water can be by far the heaviest item you're carrying, so you want to make sure there's not too much of it. Filtering with the Sawyer Mini from one Hoser to the other How much water? The valve cover solves this problem, though there's a bit of a learning curve on how to set it up correctly. When first testing the Platypus, I quickly realized that the valve can get dirty very easily as I'm really clumsy with such things. This is extra and it's pretty expensive for what it is, but it's worth it. I can attest to this, it never happened to us. In practice, this means that it will never rot on you if kept reasonably clean. The interior of the bladder is made of food-grade plastic with silver-ion to protect against bacteria and mold. It prevents it from bouncing around, and actually, we secure the bite valve, too as it can fall off sometimes. There's also a clip on the hose to secure it to the backpack. The end of the hose comes with a bite valve. The other end has a screw-closure at an angle, with a hose attached to it. The little clip at the top of the backpack's hydration sleeve goes here to prevent the bag from collapsing when it's getting empty. One end has a small attachment loop of hardened plastic. The Hoser is deceptively simple, yet very well engineered: it's a big, sturdy plastic bag. Yep, another aspect you need to check for. Also, the 3-liter would not have fit the hydration sleeve our backpacks. We chose the 2 liter size as the 1 liter seemed too small and the 3 liter too excessive. The Hosers come in several sizes, from 1 liter to 3 liter. Their Big Zip is supposed to be equally good, but it's heavier, and the extra closure on the other end makes for an additional part that can break or leak. It was the lightest, the simplest design, and everybody hailed it as really durable. We had no access to anything like a hydration bladder, but later, when I first learned of their existence, the idea of being able to access my water this easily appealed to me right away.Īgain, there are many choices, we settled with Platypus and within that, the Hoser. I always hated looking for the water bottle and drinking from it. The big conundrum, oh, the eternal question: how do you carry thy water? Soft bottles? Hard Nalgene? Aluminum? Hydration bladders? Goat skin?Īs I mentioned this several times before, I never did any real backpacking when I was a kid, but I went hiking and camping a lot. A Platy Bottle and a Platypus Hoser with almost-frozen water warming in the sun Em enjoying a well-deserved sip above Crabtree Meadows.
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