Why are Platypus hydration bladders to popular here?

I have Gregory [day, mtb] packs, which had Gregory bladders, and held up pretty well. They weren't really bad. Since I switched to the simple 2+ Liter, stand-up, Platypus types I've had an even easier time. I just use plain water, drain, and leave to dry after each use. I had one start to leak after folding … but probably after 150 uses. It's made me an advocate.

Are you referring to the Platy Bottle or the Hoser (bladder)?

I have never had one leak and have one pushing 10 yrs my ex has one that would be 14-15 yrs I have a dromadary bag that old also but its much heavier. However I am a recent convert of the cheap old plastic water bottle. Oh and yes its because of weight

Platys have nice weight to volume ratio, take up little space when empty, are US made with lifetime warranty, and aren't too expensive. I used to use the Hoser attachment (for hydration rig) which is also light for what it is. Gave that up for the last several trips in favor of a bottle, and doubt I'll go back.

Having said that, my current fav is a 1 liter poweraid bottle. Zero cost, not too much heavier than a platy, durable enough for several trips and easy to replace. Easier to fill in a running stream, too. I've still been carrying a platy (out of habit) but if there's plenty of water on the trail, it really only gets used partly inflated in my pillow system. So I'll prob. ditch it at some point.

My impression is, hydration systems other than platy are all way too heavy and gimmick-y.

Just curious, if you don't use the Hoser (hydration bladder), and just a Platy bottle, do you just store the bottle in the pack? A 2L bottle seems like it'd take up a lot of room. I don't have one but I do own 2L Camelbak bladders and filled up, they aren't small. I assume this would not fit in a side mesh pocket in your pack. So do you stop every 20 minutes and pull the Platy bottle out to drink?

A 1 liter bottle will last me half a day and fits easily in my side pocket.

David V., I think some of us carry a Gatorade bottle of water for primary drinking. Then, if we are going to be on trail stretches that are very long and dry, we may have a 2-L Platypus for auxiliary water storage. On a recent trip, I left camp each morning with my Gatorade bottle full, plus either one or two liters in the Platypus. Once the Platypus is empty or unneeded, you can fold it up.

Since my 2-L Platypus is part of my gravity feed filter system, it is multiuse.

–B.G.–

Weight, had 2 Camelbacks develop leaks on one trip (mine and my son's) plus it is easier to see if there is mold growing (had that happen on 3 different Camelbaks) and I like the convenience of a hydration bladder. I also carry a 1 liter plastic bottle for electrolyte drinks.

+ 1 Bob.

I used to use a 100 oz Camelbak bladder and then I realized that it was way heavy before adding water! I bought a Nalgene Cantene and it is fine, but with the wide mouth it doesn't fold down that small, plus I worry about where the bottle is attached to the mouth piece. Seems like it would fail. So, I grabbed a 2L Platy soft bottle. I love it. Packs down small and the 2L weighs less than my 1L Nalgene Cantene. Only problem is filling it. I usually carry and extra quart ziploc to scoop my water up and then pour it into the Platy to treat. As well, I use a Gatorade bottle to drink from. It attaches to the water bottle holder on my ULA Circuit's shoulder strap perfectly and is a cinch to get too. Plus, I can see how much I have left in my bottle.

>"Just curious, if you don't use the Hoser (hydration bladder), and just a Platy bottle, do you just store the bottle in the pack? A 2L bottle seems like it'd take up a lot of room."

When I had to carry extra water recently (Hells Canyon, tough routefinding, some dry stretches) I had a biggish pack and volume wasn't an issue. Filled the platy, put it in the main pack bag. Not to be flip, but a full 2 liter platy takes up about 2 liters of pack volume, not that big a deal in a 58 liter pack (and it's a soft 2 liters as well, so conforms to space better than a hard bottle). On that trip, I carried two 2 liter platys, as they were intended to be used for a PFD to raft across the Snake River. Never had water in more than one. I'm sure 3 liters of capacity is overkill most places I hike, but at 1.3 oz for 2 liters capacity, and virtually no volume when empty, it's a hard habit to break. And they make a nice cushy pillow.

I carry my 1 liter poweraid/gatoraid bottle in a side pocket, which is easier access as well (maybe take a drink every hour, if it's not hot. Hydrate well in morning and evening and at water sources). With a 25 liter pack (which I can use for 3-4 nights now) the platy would prob. take up too much volume. I could go with a 1 liter platy "soft-bottle", and save a few tenths of an ounce over the poweraid bottle. But as I say, the hard bottle is easier to fill, basically free, and has a certain reverse snob appeal.

About the only time when I need to carry much more than two liters of water is when I'm in the desert, and I don't go there that often. I did a crazy dayhike in Death Valley one time (Telescope Peak, the hard way), and I started with three liters of water. By ten miles up the route, there was a known spring, so I left there with 6.5 liters of water. (Yes, do the math. That's a lot of weight.) I think I finished the hike after 17 hours on the trail with about 1 left.

If you need to reduce your water consumption in the desert, hike at night.

I've had guys go up Whitney with me, and they carried some kind of big Camelback or other big water bladder. Then it would develop a leak. They had to invert the whole thing to get the leak onto the top of the bladder, and that slows down the leak rate.

I always found it more reliable to have multiple 1-L containers. But that is just me. In the desert, I really can't afford a water container leak.

–B.G.–

2L platy holds 2.5L at 1.25 oz. Hard to beat that.

Just curious, if you don't use the Hoser (hydration bladder), and just a Platy bottle, do you just store the bottle in the pack?

I don't use a tube, but I store my platypus in the space for a bladder. It fits really well there, close to my back. Since water is really dense, it makes sense for me to carry it there.

Of course, that assumes that I'm carrying any water at all. When backpacking, I rarely do. In that case, I usually carry it on the outside, so I can quickly turn it into a hand held gravity filter. It uses less room when empty than my little inline filter (which I also carry on the outside).

I also match the amount I carry to the expected need. So a two liter bladder may only carry one liter.

"Are you referring to the Platy Bottle or the Hoser (bladder)?"

Huh, I think models have changed. I originally got what is now the 2L "bottle" with a hose.

I'll take your word that the models changed. I only heard about Platypus this week. But it make sense, what you're saying, because the Platy bottle looks exactly like a hydration pack sans hose.

camelbak bladders in canada are $45+ in MSRP. platys are $15+ MSRP… not a hard choice

I've owned 3 camelbak bladders but have sold/attempted to sell them all off. They were way too overbuilt and burly for their intended tasks. I once saw an advertisement where the camelbak was run over by a truck, and survived. I thought that was amazing at the time and went out and bought some. Then I realized how ridiculous the advertisement was. When would my water bladder ever be subjected to such force? There was never a single "what if" situation that could justify how overbuilt the thing was. It was just wasted weight in my mind. So now I have a platy!

But i've ditched hydration/hoser systems for the most part anways. Water bottles are just easier to monitor.

If i was a special forces operator, whose pack had to survive being dropped out of a helicopter, I would own a camelbak. But alas, I am just a a typical paper pusher who enjoys weekend hikes :D

Hey Konrad, I saw that same video of the truck running over the Camelbak and thought the same thing, so I ordered one off of Amazon. Now, I don't carry it anymore, but I have kept it to loan out, or just in case I change my mind…but I don't see that happening…

platies have the advantage …

as to leaks … on day trips its not a huge deal … on long trips, youd patch it up the same way as an inflatable pad … never had a leak though on a platy … did have one on a source

as to hoses … it depends what you do … but when climbing you generally dont want to take off yr pack to get at yr bottle, assuming you wear one …. if no pack then i just strap a bottle to my harness …

I carry two of the 2L bottles, one hose, one cap. That's not UL. But I get a backup bottle, and 4L of camp water.

The reason I went with Platy is because for my group trips I take a Platypus Grav filter and when all my bottles are Platypus as well, I can ditch the Clean bag and just screw the hose onto the top of the bottles directly. When going on a trip where I'm responsible for just myself for water, the 2L Platy makes an Aqua Mira Frontier Pro filter easy to use since it too just screws onto the top. These are just a couple of my configurations, but since Platypus makes all their stuff so it will work together, there are tons of ways you can set up a water system to fit your needs.

The Platypus reservoirs are a good example of the ultralight philosophy: high performance at the lowest weight. The Camelbak bladders have the large, heavy cap/fill assembly plus the weight of the bladder material itself, and they are more expensive. The Platypus is just a basic bag with the fill and hose connection in the same fitting— half the weight and 30% less cost for a 2 liter assembly. It parallels pack design: stripped down minimalist examples vs heavy, feature-burdened ones.

You will also find a large proportion of UL hikers using recycled drinking water bottles and not using bladders at all, carrying them in outside pockets. Some use the Platypus bottles in the same way. This was in revolt to the polycarbonate Nalgenes which are 6.2oz and $10 each, vs the drinking water bottles that are under 2oz each and nearly free. Typically using two, a hiker can drop half a pound and spend less, which is much harder to do with a down sleeping bag or shelter, where an 8oz drop might cost you hundreds.

Great point about modularity. Thank you for pointing that out Bloodworth.

I like "light" but I like smart better yet.

Platypus Hosers,Platy Bottles, etc are the best of all the liquid storage devices I have found to date. I absolutely hate the stupid design of CamelBak, Nalgene/Osprey, Sawyer, etc with the opening on the flat face of the container. There are going to be times when you need to pour from it. Try it with any one of those. Oops, precious water loss…

I have owned them all, Platys are the best IMHO. Too bad they are cutting down and going to "cool" shapes and sizes.