Topic

big collapsible water containers


Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Home Forums Gear Forums Gear (General) big collapsible water containers

  • This topic is empty.
Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #1235095
    Ryan Linn
    Member

    @ryan-c-linn

    Locale: Maine!

    I'm looking for anybody's experience with collapsible water bottles in the 3 liter range… Nalgene Cantene, Platypus, evernew, or whatever else.

    My hope is that I can carry one soda bottle and a big collapsible water bottle for my hydration system. The collapsible one can be filled up for pushing through waterless areas, and for nighttime around camp, and possibly as a pillow. And when I don't need it to be full, it can take up less space in my pack.

    I can't seem to find the Nalgene cantenes or similar sized platys in any of my local gear stores, so does anybody here have any advice on this?

    #1488914
    Ian Rae
    BPL Member

    @iancrae

    Locale: North Cascades

    I use both the wide mouth Nalgene Canteen 3L and the Platypus 3L reservoir. I think the platy weighs about 1.5 oz, while the nalgene weighs 2.5. The wide mouth is pretty nice (it's definitely easier to fill them and mix powdered drink mix in them.) I think they're both good. The lids are definitely more durable on the nalgenes, I've had a platy cap break.

    #1488919
    Joe Clement
    BPL Member

    @skinewmexico

    Locale: Southwest

    I've used the Nalgene and the Platy. Both worked well, Nalgene was easier to fill and carry (by hand).

    #1488923
    Nick Gatel
    BPL Member

    @ngatel

    Locale: Southern California

    Ryan,

    REI sells the 3L bag and 3L hydration reservoirs. I don't like anything over 2L. They are too big and when full take up too much space in one area, making it hard to organize the pack. Plus I don't like one container for all my water, in case it breaks/leaks. I would much rather carry a single 2L and one or two 1L bags. I have two day packs, and use a 3L hydration reservoir in them, because I am carrying very little, aside from the water. The hydration sleeves work well for this. But on longer trips, the hydration systems are just too difficult to manage with all my other gear, and smaller containers work better.

    #1488927
    todd
    BPL Member

    @funnymo

    Locale: SE USA

    I carry (and love) 3 Nalgene Cantenes.

    Basically for the reasons mentioned, and like Nick, I don't like all my H2O in one container.

    #1488928
    M G
    BPL Member

    @drown

    Locale: Shenandoah

    When Platys first came out I broke many of them: punctures, worn holes from abrasion or friction, encounters with sharp climbing tools in packs during travel on pack animals, so many broken caps in critical situation that I started carrying replacement caps. I soon stopped using them altogether because my impression was that they were too fragile. I started using the Nalgenes again a couple years ago to save weight. I find them much improved and much more resilient and durable. The large opening is very convenient, my old water filter fits onto it when I need to use it and I don't have to worry about it as much. In a water critical envrionmnt like the desert I would likely have at least one hard body durable carrying container and not all soft contaners. Maybe that's paranoid but…

    #1488945
    Joe Geib
    BPL Member

    @joegeib

    Locale: Delaware & Lehigh Valleys

    I bought some Nalgene containers online on their webstore. I believe that they have free shipping standard.

    Good luck.

    #1488972
    Ryan Linn
    Member

    @ryan-c-linn

    Locale: Maine!

    Sounds like lots of good advice, so thank you everyone! I decided to buy two 1.5 L nalgene canteens and test them out this spring/summer. I forgot I had an REI dividend, so it turned out to be perfect. I'll see how they feel when they arrive.

    #1489005
    Jim MacDiarmid
    BPL Member

    @jrmacd

    That's a non-UL habit I have to break. I mostly travel in well-watered places, and now that I'm getting a Frontier pro, there's no reason to be toting 70 oz of water.

    The problem with the wide-mouth nalgenes is they wouldn't be compatible with the frontier pro. I know Platypus makes the big zip for ease of filling, but those are heavy-ish and more expensive than just the hoser. A UL funnel shouldn't be too hard to devise, should it?

    #1489006
    Dave T
    Member

    @davet

    .

    #1489064
    Tony Wong
    BPL Member

    @valshar

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Just a comment on the Platypus water tank series.

    I have been using the 4 L water tank as part of my gravity filter system and the zip on it is a royal pain in the butt to get closed, especially with cold, wet hands.

    Personally, I have a big lack of confidence issue with carrying large loads of water in my pack with it….I just would not unless I was desperate.

    They are easy to fill up when unzipped and for carrying water with the handles.

    I use mine solely when I am in camp for the evening so I have water that night and in the morning.

    Hopefully, they will design a better closure system.

    -Tony

    #1489171
    Ryan Linn
    Member

    @ryan-c-linn

    Locale: Maine!

    Of course carrying extra water negates light weight, but the benefit of collapsible water tanks is that they don't need to be full. However, when you happen to be walking through an area (say, the AT through Pennsylvania) where water is sometimes bountiful and sometimes scarce, it's good to have the capacity for carrying more. Having been seriously dehydrated a few times while backpacking, I'm happy to have one or two extra ounces of empty container to give myself the ability to go through that long stretch without refilling.

    #1489178
    t.darrah
    BPL Member

    @thomdarrah

    Locale: Southern Oregon

    Ryan,
    I agree, in many areas water conditions/availability can change drasticly throughout the year. Water sources that show on a map may or may not exist depending on the time of year, snow pack…! Having a collapsible water container that can be used as needed is light insurance againt dehydration IMO.

    #1489211
    Michael Davis
    Member

    @mad777

    Locale: South Florida

    I have a 3L collapsible Nalgene with a with mouth. I love it. No problems and it is quite old.

    #1489230
    Scott Peterson
    Member

    @scottalanp

    Locale: Northern California

    Tony – Just a thought…but for strictly in-camp use, silnylon bucket-style bags allow me to capture a couple of gallons of water at a shot. They are lighter than the poly bag products and pack down smaller. The drawbacks: Cannot be used to portage through long dry areas and they need to be hung from something. So far though, mine (slightly modified with a valve in the bottom) has been extremely useful in the sub-alpine/alpine areas I frequent.

    #1489260
    Tony Wong
    BPL Member

    @valshar

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Scott,

    Neat idea…reminds me of the water bucket used with the ULA gravity filter.

    Thanks…though as you pointed out, the drawback of having to need to hang it from a tree is a deal killer for me.

    Even using my Water Tank for dirty water in my gravity filter setup, I often just lay the bag on it side vs. hanging it in a tree.

    If I am really impatient, I will sit on the water tank to speed up the process, which requires that I take the time to really make sure that the water tank is closed tight.

    -Tony

Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Get the Newsletter

Get our free Handbook and Receive our weekly newsletter to see what's new at Backpacking Light!

Gear Research & Discovery Tools


Loading...