Water bottle holder??

[Alvie Morton]

Water bottle users – what type bottle and how and where do you suspend it from pack?
I have a platy hoser that I am just tired of, for several reasons. I use a ULA Catalyst or Jam2 pack. The 24 oz bottle seems to be a good size for me, but I would like access that is easy. The shockcord and toggles did not work very well. (You only have to chase your bottle down one steep hillside to realize that.) Thanks Alvie

[Rod Lawlor]

A short piece of string/cord with a loop around the neck of the bottle, then a LW 'biner on the bottom of the shoulder strap, where it meets the pack body. It sounds awkward and bouncy, but in reality, it just doesn't move.

Never lost one yet, and very easy to grab. (Unclip the 'biner from the strap, not from the loop)

Also leaves your pack pockets free.

Rod

[Mike Clelland]

I use one big platypus, and put it inside my pack. I have to stop and take my pack off to drink. It works!

[EndoftheTrail]

I use two 1L platypus bottles and place them in my pack's side mesh pockets. I believe your ULA has these pockets as well. The platys' somewhat "irregular/elastic" shape and corners prevent them from jumping out and escaping into deep ravines — unlike supermarket bottles that are smoothly cylindrical.

I connect one of the bottles to my Platypus hydration tube, then placing it upside down for easy water sucking. When emptied, I then switch bottles. This causes a theoretic weight imbalance, but I can't ever tell the difference in real life.

The above set up makes it much easier to replenish water, allows me to gauge the volume of water remaining — and provides me with the same "hands free hydration" capability as any water bladder.

Finally, for camp use, I also pack in a 3L platy.

[Craig Burton]

Yep, I use something very similar to this and believe it is the way to go — though I don't ever unclip my bottle when grabbing it to take sips. My string is just long enough to allow the lip of the bottle to reach my mouth and also dangle down a comfortable distance.

Just leave the string attached to the bottle at all times, and whenever you need to fill your bottle up or make it more portable, then you just unclip the biner, fastener, clip, o-ring or whatever you use — no need to tie, untie, or mess with shockcord. The higher on the shoulder strap the better. You can also always toss the bottle behind your shoulder if you feel the bottle bothers you up front or for when you are going through thick brush.

PS. I should mention that I can not attach my bottle high enough on my Conduit shoulder strap for this to be convenient, so I am currently using a combination of this with the shockcord method to keep the bottle from bouncing around. Looking at the Catalyst though, you should be able to find a mini-clip and o-ring that will attach to the strap clip at the very top of the shoulder strap — it doesn't look like a mini biner would fit.

I should also state the obvious that you should still carry a light 2 liter platy to camel up when 20-32oz of water is not enough between water sources.

[Tony Wong]

You might want to take a look at this:

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=71&osCsid=a16917c30cc50025b2be87e6f76fd8ef

Cost is $18.00

My friend has a Granite Gear Vapor Trail and has this on his shoulder strap and likes it.

He is using a gatoraid bottle in it…small or med size bottle. (24 oz???)

Hope this helps.

-Tony

[Joe Kuster]

I usually use .5L water bottles like you find in the grocery store.

I just made a tiny sil-nylon stuff sack with a clip loop and a draw string top closure. Then, depending on the pack, I clip it to my hip belt or to my shoulder strap. It moves very little, cannot escape and is extremely easy to grab without stopping.

I made another identical stuff sack to hang on my other side to put my snack trash in while walking. Things tend to blow out of side mesh pockets and they are much harder to access while walking.

This system also means that in bear country I can simply bear bag that little stuff sack than risking contaminating my whole pack, especially useful if I end up with things like melted chocolate on it or gatoraid on the water bottle stuff sack.

If you are looking to buy something more polished look at the simblissity unslack pack. I believe BPL stocks it here.

[Mike W]

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