Vented drink tubing?

Chad, that's cool, had one for my Nalgene days years ago but you can save some dough by MYOG like this.

just a grommet in a hole and a drill a tiny breather, just enough to vent, no more. Just don't set you pack upside down, could dribble a bit.

Ah, instant gratification.

jimmyb

So I have a choice of a plain rocket bottle I can drink straight out of and reseal 100% safely, or a plain rocket bottle with the extra weight of a length of tubing and the real danger of a leak inside my pack.
Um ….
Backpacking Light

Cheers

"Danger of a leak inside my pack"

An extra screw cap weighs very, very little.

"So I have a choice of a plain rocket bottle I can drink straight out of and reseal 100% safely, or a plain rocket bottle with the extra weight of a length of tubing and the real danger of a leak inside my pack."

Roger,

But, but…. this is unfair!
You are totally ignoring the unquestionable gains from weight saved by punching the hole in the cap…..

But Roger, you miss the fact that some people like to suck small amounts of warm water through a hose while their hands are free.

Nope, not in my pack… Fluids go in side pack pockets of my cuben (waterproof) backpack…

Also, the weight of a single 1L Platy and the tubing would be less than the 2 Gatorade bottles I carry, so it would be

lighter

And I am just wanting to play around with this and see if it would work for me… can't knock it till you try it.

"Also, the weight of a single 1L Platy and the tubing would be less than the 2 Gatorade bottles I carry, so it would be lighter… :)"

But you'll have less capacity.

>But you'll have less capacity.

Only by as much as 8 oz (and likely only about 6 or 7 oz) as I carry two 20 oz Gatorade bottles to drink from during the day. I always carry a 2L Sawyer bag in my pack though to fill my Gatorade bottles from and to use at camp at the end of the day. With this I would still have as much as 3L water carrying capacity.

I think the bigger issue would be durability though… those soft bladders will fail before a Gatorade bottle…

I have found the best of both world by making a shoulder strap bottle that I can drink from without removing, I also made it a closed system to filling with a sawyer mini using quick connects. The female quick connect on the bottle has a hose in the bottle that reaches to the bottom. When the bite valve quick connect is disconnected the valve closes so acts like a normal bottle cap.

Roger please,

I carry this bottle in side pockets, never in my pack. The tubing is worth the weight when you have overheating issues caused by Fabry disease. Unfortunately I was born with a non functioning cooling system. This set up provides me a manner to keep pushing forward instead of stopping to drink very frequently. I have never lost more than a drop or two of fluid over the course of a day. I carry a second bottle with solid cap for stretches when I have to carry more than a liter. I could always stash that in my pack but not necessary when I have two side pockets. I use a compactor bag to keep my gear dry so If I was to carry liquid in my pack it sure as hell would go outside my liner. This is what works for me. I offer it to others who may find it advantageous to them.

Being physically challenged I for one realize that all things cannot be motivated by weight alone. Before you get too critical on some ones kit realize it may be motivated by other factors. I also carry poles cause I have no natural balance due to bilateral destruction of my inner ear. I'm a bit touchy when people say that poles are useless too. It's akin to telling a guy with no leg that the prosthetic he's using is too heavy for UL BP'in. If I have offended your senses of UL hiking by carrying my oz. or so drinking hose please accept my apologies.

sincerely jimmyb

Oh and by mentioning my difficulties I'm not looking for a pity party. I don't need that crap, just consider me as every one else around here, some one that loves to walk trail and spend nights outdoors.

jimmyb

"So I have a choice of a plain rocket bottle I can drink straight out of and reseal 100% safely, or a plain rocket bottle with the extra weight of a length of tubing and the real danger of a leak inside my pack.
Um ….
Backpacking Light"

Not dissimilar from comparing the weight savings and reliability benefits of a solid fuel cook-kit vs a canister stove. Sometimes we make choices to modify our gear or carry extra stuff because the weight penalty is worth the benefit the gear provides.

In the '80s and before Camelback systems, we would just drill holes in our Nalgene bottles and use surgical tubing as a straw.

If a bunch of heavy hauling boy scouts can do this without issue, I suspect super elite UL backpackers like ourselves can make this happen without too much trouble.

(I threw up a little in my mouth typing that last bit)

I kinda get Roger's point. Why bother will all the extra "stuff" and problems of a "hydration system" when you can just drink out of a bottle? I've tried it, but I can't figure out the benefits of the hydration system. I don't need to drink every few minutes. If you really do, then you gain some benefit to offset the disadvantages. I suspect that very few people really need to drink that often. They have been convinced that they do my a good marketing campaign.

However, in the end, it isn't much extra weight. If you don't mind drinking warm water, or don't have that problem and like the hydration system you use then it's all good. If you like it, then that is what matters, even if you have been convinced my someone else that you like it. Sorry, couldn't help myself. The threads on here lately must have infected me… ;^)

Edited to fix my typo (comes from fast lazy typing).

Hi Jimmy

If it helps you get out more, go for it! Whatever it is.

Cheers
Roger

Who's Rodger? I've never met a Rodger, only Rogers. I only comment because I see this misspelling from time to time and wonder where it comes from.

I can appreciate the handiness of the tube setup. In practice for me it never gives me that thirst quenching big gulp of cold fresh water that I get from drinking from a rigid bottle.

I'm lucky that I can reach my bottle pocket with my right arm. Can no longer get to the left one. I can empathize with jimmyb.

I tried the SmarTube and it is okay. It does allow you to use alternative bottles rather than bladders and leave the bottle in a side pocket rather than wrestling bladders in and out of your pack. No way would I put a bottle with a SmarTube *inside* my pack.

I do find it odd that we can't stop to take a sip now and then and need a hose with a nipple hanging off a shoulder strap. It is another level of complexity cost and weight and really is a signpost for our "hurry up" attitude. I leave the city to get away from all that rot!

Weight aside, I have been using Nalgene "Oasis" bottles that are shaped like a military canteen. They sit neatly in most mesh side pockets and are easy to hold while drinking. They are a bit lighter than the standard plastic Nalgene at 4.6oz. I found mine at thrift stores, so I'll claim the High Moral Ground on all the negatives :)

I do concede that there is nothing lighter, cheaper or simpler than the recycled rocket-bottom bottle. If you forget one on the way to the trailhead, even a gas station store will have a dozen choices. Stop, have a sip and smell the roses!

"Hi Jimmy

If it helps you get out more, go for it! Whatever it is."

Roger -Thank you for your comment.

"even if you have been convinced my someone else that you like it"

Larry- WTF ………….if you ever get a brain tumor call me, I will gladly comfort you by telling you its all in your head. Sorry the devil made me do it.

jimmyb

Jimmyb, my comment wasn't directed at you. Only commenting on how marketing makes people think they need something. "Normal" healthy adults with no medical conditions do not need to drink water every few minutes. They have been convinced that they need to. A boon for those that do. But, I confess I was influenced by many of the snarky threads I have been reading on here lately. BPL made me do it. ;^)

I only carry my water in water balloons.

Did I win the UL measuring contest?

Yeah but Larry you are insinuating that folks, even "Normal", what ever that is, cannot think for themselves. That salesman have some powers of influence over them. I don't see it that way. I assume folks are very capable of making their own decisions until they prove otherwise. Especially folks that participate here. For the most part they don't strike me as being part of the general public fodder.

In the spirit of BPL :) I would ask for the proof of a connection to folks that use drinking systems and not being able to think for themselves. I also think its a bit absurd that it should be thought of outside the norm to use a drinking tube. That really doesn't hold water. (pun intended) My case, I simply cannot reach the bottle from my pack.

If its a matter of weight than you could make silly arguments all day long like your bag is too heavy cause you need more insulation than me cause your a cold sleeper. Or there is no reason to carry something as heavy as a filter when you can take chemicals. And the stove example above.

If its a matter of preference, who the heck cares. I don't get into the heads of others. I'm guessing I am not alone in enjoying a drinking tube.

Not really sure how my water gets warmer by using a hose? Maybe my water sources are just hotter than everyone else's ?? Sometimes I bleed the water back to the bottle so it is same as the rest of what's left there. IMO water don't spoil anyway. On a hot day I'll take it anyway I can get it.

I really dislike getting into these kind of exchanges when all I wanted to do is give Chad a heads up on a MYOG tip. I would rather give people the benefit of the doubt that they have given thought to their kit. I like to offer up alternatives but in the end it their deal. It is rare that you will convince anyone unless they have convinced themselves first, and that's fine.

I think what I'm sayin' is its time to pack my pack and leave the forum for a short rest from the crazy cooped up BPers, myself included and put some miles on my boots.

Thanks to all who have contributed to the immense amount of information posted here. It has been a pleasure learning from you all.

jimmyb

I did admit to it being a snarky remark. I personally go believe that the "industry" has convinced the average person they need more water than they actually do. The 8 glasses of water is an example. Considering one of the overriding concepts on BPL is doing mote with less, or taking only what you need I find a hydration system unnecessary for most. There are plenty of very light weight methods of carrying a water bottle so that it is accessible with your pack on. Therefor the hydration systems are excess weight. So, why do so many BPLers carry one? The only conclusion I can come to is that someone has convinced them that they need it. It comes under the "packing your fears" mantra.

All that said, it is "just" a few oz more, so it really doesn't matter. If it works well for someone then great.

As for the water being warm. Every time I tried to use one the water in the hose got warm.

As fir you, it sppears that you actually need one. You have a specific need and that is how you choose to fill it. It works for you and that it all that matters.

I did say that I acknowledged that it was a snarky remark, rigth? ;^)

Has anyone found a solution for trying to get a tube setup out of a 32oz Gatorade bottle? I prefer these bottle, but can't seem to find anyone that makes a setup for this. BD Smartube seems to make one adapter that might work for this, but I can't figure out where to purchase it.

It's all very frustrating, because this is such a popular bottle otherwise…

I've drilled a hole by hand using a step drill in a Smartwater cap and shoved some tubing through it without a grommet. It's got a nice pressure fit.

It breathes easily through a second tiny hole drilled with a very small numbered bit. You don't need much.

I used the setup with my old pack which had side pockets that were very hard to reach without dislocating my shoulder like a contortionist. Just my $.02 but I think a bottle with a hose is a much more reasonable solution than carrying a bladder inside your pack.