The ultimate shoulder strap water carry system

Nice, haven't tried this system exactly, but its pretty close to the perfecrcombo of what I use for long trail runs & backpacking. I'll probably give it, or some variation, a try.

Hey – your pictures are sideways and somewhat difficult to view. Had to turn my monitor sideways to view ;)

Every once in a while I attach a shoulder pocket to my pack to carry small frequently used items. After a few days of having that pocket "in the way," it becomes extremely irritating. I can't imagine the frustration a water bottle would cause. Not to mention the extra weight and fiddle factor of a filter and straw when refilling. Do people actually stick with these shoulder strap water carry solutions over the long term?

I have been carrying water bottles in side pockets for 50 years and that method seems the most logical to me.

nick, not sure what you mean. I just looked at the page on my mac, pc, ipad and android and the pictures are oriented correctly on all…

but yea its def one of the hyoh things. not gunna be for everyone. I absolutely see your point but it doesn't bother me one bit having the bottle there. I use trekking poles so it keeps my arms out and away from the bottle too

Great minds think alike, Jason! I came up with this arrangement last week for a Platy and a Sawyer Mini. I love being able to scoop up water as I hike without taking off my pack, taking time to filter into another container, or taking time to add chemicals.

I thought it would be fantastic, but no matter what I did there were bad leaks where the Mini screws onto the Platy. Had to dump that setup, and was bummed about it.

How to figure out which Platy seals well with a Sawyer Mini?

My Plus bottle doesn't leak a drop

im squeezing pretty hard here

I've found that I used to overtighten my squeeze and mini onto bottles to the detriment of the seal (I think by deforming the washer too much). Seems to be better to tighten just enough. Also I replaced the washer on the Squeeze with a regular garden hose washer and it's been great (I think it's a little more robust).

I don't carry on the shoulder strap, but I do like to drink directly from a bottle or evernew bladder with filter attached. Only problem with bottles is that you have to blow back through the filter to re-inflate the bottle after a while (or unscrew the filter I guess), but I figure blowing through it is like a mini back flush.

I agree with nick about stuff in the front being annoying but that my prob.

What I really like is the frontier pro prefilter idea. Floaties can be a bother (I use AM) and that is a pretty sexy fix.

Fwiw the pics are funny for me also but I can tell what's happening.

I've been using a katadyn micro bottle (or whatever it's called these days with a frontier (not pro) ghetto-rigged on the straw part but that bottle weighs a ton. Ok -a few oz, but that is unacceptable! Lol.

I'm gonna try the platy, AM drops and the pro's prefilter.
Seems to be a winner. I need to try to get the frontier (not pro) (amateur?) into the platy. That would be sweet- light, no floaties, no wait time. (Scoop and go is the bomb, son!)

The OCD in me is having a hard time ignoring your angled sternum strap. Is it really that extreme of an offset from side to side or is that the photo playing a brain game?

edit: appears the water is just tugging the one side strap down an inch or two. For obvious reasons, my brain would explode hiking with one shoulder strap mounted water. Two, maybe not :)

That it works for you and you are happy with it is all that really matters.

Personally, I would prefer to not have 2.2+ pounds of weight pulling down on my shoulders.

I believe weight should be on the hips, not the shoulders.

I wasn't really trying to convert anyone.. simply pointing it out for current shoulder strap carriers.

@matt the pack is empty in the picture so its obviously going to be pulling only the one side down. with a full pack its rides even.

@john it doesn't pull down on my shoulders at all. if anything it feels like it has a counterbalance type effect. however, a frameless sul pack might be a difference story.

I shoulder mount an inline filter and hose while leaving the bladder in the pack. The hose runs under my arm. The bladders I use have quick disconnects on them so I can detach them from the hose for easy filling.

@Nathan – The point of the shoulder mount is to not have to take off and open your pack each time you stop for water. I try to just use this and refill more often as I come across water sources. just dip and go.

@Jason

I like carrying water up front too. That’s a nice system. Thanks for sharing it!