Carrying water on shoulder straps

[Dale Wambaugh]

I am cooking up a SUL setup based on a pack that has no external pockets and a bungee cord stash on the front. I can rig a 2 liter Platypus using the grab loop and the bungee cord, but it seems like a lot of weight in the wrong place.

I have rigged water bottle hangers off the shoulder straps, using 1/16" braided line, mitten hooks and shock cord loops with sliding toggles. I can hang 500-600ml bottles easily enough and they are more stable than I imagined.

I'm curious what others have done to carry water without external pockets and what size water bottles you prefer.

[Jerry Adams]

Good idea, no external pockets.

I just put my one pint bottle inside my pack.

I know, few other people buy into this

I guess I like tilting at windmills

[BlackHatGuy]

I have external pockets, but still prefer to hang my bottles on my shoulder straps.

I use MLD bottle carriers, and always use 1-liter bottles, one per side. My friends joke that I must be nursing twins…..

.

[Daryl and Daryl]

I don't have external pockets but I use a front bag instead of shoulder straps and that's where I put the water. It helps balance the pack.

[John S.]

Used to carry a 20 oz gatorade bottle on each shoulder strap of a golite speed pack. Golite had a shock cord bottom and velcro top setup on each should strap. Mandatory Gear has a diy thingy

http://www.mandatorygear.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11&Itemid=25

Walmart sells

http://outdoorproducts.com/Products/webbing-bottle-holder/63

[k web]

I've used this pack before and carried a similar bottle as shown:

Simple velcro strap to secure the bottle around its neck. Stays in place pretty well when full. Starts to swing a bit when half or less full. I will do this again for an upcoming trip and add some stretch cord with toggle at the bottom to prevent swinging.

[te – wa]

i never gave it much more than passing thought, till i tried it.
my ohm came in and the bottle holders were put to the test right away.
i then added similar holders to my MLD Burn.
carrying 22oz on each shoulder is good. i havent tried larger, nor do i have plans to.
this of course, makes the large pockets on the OHM empty, as I cant find anything else i need them for.
the Burn is tiny so every inch of space is used. its nice to have side pockets freed up for other things, like snacks and such.

[James Marco]

One of the things I have found is that it adds all the weight, and counter balance weight from the pack, to your shoulders. I like the weight lower, on my hips and off my spine, so I don't use them. Shoulder pouches are reserved for light stuff.

[Tim Zen]

The Aarn pack claim to have solved the problem of carrying loads on the front. I have not tried the pack.

[Mark Ryan]

I carry my 1-1.5 bottle in a sling attached to my side compressor straps. I picked it up at Campmor; it's called the Sokool Insulated Bottle Carrier. Weighs 4oz with bottle and sling. Usefull for dayhikes.

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___83908

[Dale Wambaugh]

I didn't think about putting a sling around the pack. I can do macramé bottle holders that would work for that. It doesn't take much to wrap up a bottle.

My first attempt is to use mitten hooks, braided line and a shock cord loop with a toggle. There is a simple figure-8 of line around near the top of the web ladder on the shoulder strap. The mitten hook is tied to the bottle neck. The shock cord loop goes near the bottom of the ladder. The weight is being carried with the figure-8 at the top, with the shock cord helping to stabilize the bottle. Weight is negligible and the 600ml bottles shown in the photo are just an ounce each.

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img src="/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1298345057_37869.jpg" alt="Bottles tied to shoulder strap" width="550" height="1060">

I'm looking at this rig for day hikes and SUL overnights. The pack is 10oz and I would go to a larger pack for anything more than the absolute basics, so the bottles should be the lightest available. Going to the sling-around-the-pack idea, I could use one liter Platypus PlusBottles that have the loop opening near the neck.

[Steven McAllister]

BPL/Simblissity BotSPot. Very secure and doesn't get in the way.
http://www.simblissity.net

[Mark Ryan]

Zpacks makes a shoulder strap water container made from Cuden Fiber. UL (.3oz) and not expensive. Only holds .5 liter bottles though.

http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/shoulderpouch.shtml

[John S.]

The zpacks water container costs almost half of one of their packs. Yes, it is expensive at $19.

[Daryl and Daryl]

A front bag can be added to any pack for 2 ounces or so if you use lightweight fabrics, webbing and buckles. It can hold a couple of quarts of water plus a bunch of other stuff. A couple of bottle holders would weigh that much.

I also use the front bag as a replacement for shoulder straps so my net addition of weight for this feature is zero.

It does take some getting used to however. Probalby not worth it to most of you.

[Dale Wambaugh]

I just cooked up the most quick-and-dirty front bag: take a Sea-To-Summit 4 liter UltraSil dry bag, find mating buckles (in process), tie one set of buckles into your shoulder straps and you have a 1 ounce 9"x15" front bag that will clip in place. It may even replace the sternum strap for a zero-added-weight option. I have a Platypus bladder that fits it perfectly. If it doesn't bounce too badly, it is a simple way to carry water or other items. It will make a prefect map pocket.

I'm going to get a 2 liter bag and some spare buckles today to see how that works– a little smaller wouldn't bother me and wouldn't be as hot as the larger 4 liter bag.

[Daryl and Daryl]

Dale,

That should work.

Couple of suggestions:

(1) Use adjustable quick release buckles. I find it helpful to change the height of the bag. For uphill I like it high so my knees don't hit it. For level walking I like it low because…..I guess I like it low….don't know why.

(2) If it bounces you can calm it by adding two straps to the bottom that connect to your waist belt.

Daryl

Here's a photo:

[Dale Wambaugh]

I'm off to Seattle Fabrics to see what I can find for buckles and I'm planning to get enough hardware and webbing to make it a sternum strap replacement, particularly for the 2 liter version. I'm hoping the 2 liter stuff sack will handle a 1 liter Platypus PlusBottle without being too floppy or in the way. I concerned that 2 liters of water (in the 4 liter stuff sack) may be a bit much. We'll see.

I have also been looking for UL waist packs to carry water as an accessory to SUL packs without pockets. It is all too easy to end up with a waist pack that is heavier than the pack itself, which is a 1-step-forward-2-steps back endeavor. But a waist pack would place the heaviest item (water) on an SUL list on the hips where it belongs. I am imagining a rig with a broad fabric "saddle" and a buckle system like the Golite Peak (vee's of small webbing and a small buckle) and simple bag pockets to hold a 1 liter bladder on each side. That should allow building a waist pack in the 4oz range. I can see making a no-sew version by coupling two 2-liter Sea-to-Summit bags with some webbing, but the waist band would be narrow and probably slippery. Making a sling bag this way would be very easy.

Update:

I didn't find buckles that were compatible with the Sea-to-Summit and the store I went to didn't have 2 liter bags. I sacrificed another bag to get the buckles and fastened them to my shoulder straps with 5/8" webbing and ladder buckles. I did look at some of the newer Outdoor Research lightweight dry bags and noted that they have larger buckles, which may make it easier to match up off the shelf buckles. Once you have the right buckles, you can work with any of the dry bags from a particular manufacturer and change sizes at a whim.

Anyway, I tried it with a 1 liter dry bag and the 1 liter Platypus PlusBottle. That seemed pretty good and didn't feel like a lot of weight or hamper. Then I tried the 4 liter dry bag with a 2 liter Platypus and that is workable too. The larger bag feels a little more ponderous, but it doesn't bounce much. I walked up and down some stairs and it bounced more on the way down, but those are pretty short choppy steps. I it is less ungainly with the 2 liter bag at 1.5 liters, etc. The weight of the bag negates any need for a sternum strap.

The 1 liter combo:

And the 2 liter Platypus in a 4 liter dry bag:

Details:

[Michael Rienstra]

Dale,

Did you ever take this on the trail? If so, how was it?

[Dale Wambaugh]

No, I sold the pack and didn't need the option. It works, but you need to live with the compromise of the bulk and blocked airflow. It struck me as being about the same as having an old school 35mm SLR with a big zoom carried in front.

[Yukio Yamakawa]

I was on the shoulder band, J band (4) we use. I stopped the bottle. It is flexible. Squeezing gently several times. And used for various purposes.

http://freelight.shop-pro.jp/?pid=33184871

in Japan

[Dale Wambaugh]

I see, club soda on one side and Scotch whiskey on the other :)

[Author]

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