Hiking efficiency and eating+drinking

I try to eat and drink stuff when i'm stopped anyway.. taking a rest on a hill.. taking in views at an overlook, filling up water. Also I keep things accessible. My water bottle can be reached without taking off my pack. I put snacks in my hip belt pockets or pants pockets. I keep a small printed version of my map in my other hip pocket for quick looks on the move.

basically i eliminate almost all pack opening or removing.

my Exos does have the pole loops which i use to eat my snacks on the go and to drink while moving. I like the gatorade bottles with the twist squirt tops.

one of the best ways to increase efficiency …

get rid of poles
carry 1 handheld bottle with liquid food
have a second, and possibly a third handheld in top or side of pack in easy reach for quick exchange.

if you need poles for stream crossing and such, get BD ultra distance poles and have them folded up and attached to outside of pack for a quick occasional exchange between bottles and poles.

take a small sip from handheld every 15-20 minutes for a constant "drip" of calories and water.

only stop to rest when you must replenish your water supply.

Now if we could just learn to pee while moving like pro cyclists….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQRlBhFn3bE

I have the same issue, although for regular hiking it doesn't bother me. But when I try to keep up with climbing buddies on a long uphill approach it becomes an issue. My friends mostly can hike me into the ground if they're on a mission. I'm also on a personal mission to hike out the South Kaibab trail in the Grand Canyon in under 2 hours.

I use shoulder strap mounted gatorade bottles and like them a lot, but the trekking pole juggling is awkward. Having lighter poles has made it much more pleasant to hold both in one hand while I drink water, but I should still make some trekking pole holders. One thing I've started to do is just drink less water while moving and more during breaks. For the South Kaibab hike I am going to just drink less water period next time and fill up at the top.

A drink mix is a thought. I've been tempted to get some maltodextrin and start making my own.

I've come to realize I sometimes do better with drinking tube access.

I've trimmed down one of my old platy hoses and run it from a 1-liter soft bottle in a side pocket.

Being able to frequently sip on steep, dry days helps me a lot.

@Art, you do raise an interesting question. How fiddly are poles? Free hands allow you to eat, drink and carry stuff freely. The counterpoint of increased speed and balance are interesting too… both are worth trying.

@Craig W, I think pissing on the run is more efficient than I want… but maybe a rain-kilt/skirt would be advantageous for this.

>> basically i eliminate almost all pack opening or removing.

@Jake D, that's what I'm aiming for. The Poweraide bottles I currently use are too short for me to grab without stopping, they fall just low enough in the pocket. Maybe a taller bottle would help. Gotta test that.

@Nick, been thinking of a drink mix myself. That would get in the way of a Sawyer Mini… Only thing to do is test the options and find the one I like.

@Katherine, I like the idea of being able to sip regularly. Dehydration wears me out quickly too.

I hike faster when i have extra balance of hiking poles so i accept the trade off.

You could try a 1L smartwater bottle with a sport top on it they are a bit taller. The Gatorade bottles with the twist tops are only 24oz and about the same height as the 1L gatorade/powerades.

my exos pockets have forward and upward openings that make it easy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Socjake/Hiking/Jennings%20peak/IMG_0661_zps0a095fb1.jpg

re the Smartwater bottles. +1 — use a .7 L in the other side pocket for Emergen-C/extra capacity. I believe that's the size that comes with the sports top — which you could interchange w/the 1 L.

>"Now if we could just learn to pee while moving like pro cyclists…."

In Alaska, we all know some Iditarod mushers. They expect their dog to poop on the run. They are very proud of the dogs that keep their leads tight (are helping pull the sled) the whole time they poop.

Isn't that why the Scottish troops wore kilts? So they keep marching while doing their business?

ya Kat but i've learned the actual sport tops from Smartwater are very fragile when dropped so I'd use the type that comes on my sawyer squeeze instead

i don't drink a ton and can usually have a new water source fairly often so I do 1L of drink mix, put 24 oz in the gatorade bottle and keep the rest in a normal 1L bottle on the other side (usually thin it out a bit more so it comes out a bit more like 1.5L)

I use one of those green 32-oz. Gatorade bottles with the orange lid for my liquid food dispenser. They're not that heavy (2.0 oz.), are tall enough to easily access from a side pocket, and the wide mouth makes it easy(ish) to dump in scoops of maltodextrin.

I just picked up an Odwalla 1l bottle at the grocery store. It has a wide mouth and is rather tall.

Reading here I realize the sport cap might be nice so I'll pick up a large Gatoraide next time. I haven't looked at them in years so hopefully they've got a wide mouth. (Just saw Frank T's post. Yay!)

My wife finds my current obsession with disposable bottles amusing.

I use the Gatorade sport bottles. Their twist cap is NOT compatible with the regular 1 liter bottles, unfortunately.

However, a collapsible Nalgene canteen is widemouth and easy to roll up out of the way when not needed for either water treatment (I keep one liter "cooking" with my water treatment method of choice and 3/4 liter ready for drinking usually) or extra capacity. I pay a slight weight penalty here over a Platy for the ability to put hot water in the Nalgene and stretch the temperature range of my sleep system.

As always, YMMV.

In case there was any confusion, the Gatorade squeeze bottle I spoke of is not disposable.

Gatorade 32 Oz Water Bottle

You can find them for $2 at some sporting goods stores.

Also the valve is “passive” (no way to seal it). So if you shake your energy drink too violently you may get a bit of a surprise.

For long days and maximum efficiency, I use a single 24 oz bike water bottle mounted on a shoulderstrap. I mostly hike in the sierras, so water is plentiful. I typically fill up at least once an hour, mix in some perpetuum powder from a ziplock bag, drink a bunch (anywhere from half to a full bottle or more, depending on temps and how i'm feeling), then head off with a half full bottle mixed with perpetuum that I can sip on till my next water stop. I've done this for 18-20 hour days with very good results and no other calorie intake until just before bed (2 lara bars before bed = dinner). I will sometimes bring a 1L platy for extra capacity, but rarely use it.

I like the bike bottles because they are nearly indestructible polyethylene, they fit in a typical shoulder strap bottle pocket, are clear and have no taste, wide mouth for easy filling with water and drink mix, no need to remove the top to drink (ie can use one hand to remove bottle and drink while the other holds both poles) and they don't leak or fall out of the pocket when I run. Also I have a few of them laying around so they are "free" and they seem to last forever. Keeping it about half full means the weight and bouncing is not too bad, but even when full it is totally manageable. The 2.5-3 ounce weight is a bit more than a disposable bottle, but for me the efficiency and ease of use for something that I am using all day every day is worth the small weight penalty.

I do use poles and I agree, having a way to stow them quickly while on the move would be great, but just holding both in one hand while drinking with the other is not that big a deal.

" you do raise an interesting question. How fiddly are poles? Free hands allow you to eat, drink and carry stuff freely. The counterpoint of increased speed and balance are interesting too… both are worth trying. "

unless one is frail or carrying a heavy pack, poles should generally not be needed for balance. anyone going for long distances with a light pack should have strong enough legs and midsection for adequate balance. if not … there are exercises for this.

poles can improve speed " if " one knows how to properly use them. more often than not they are simply used as a crutch, and as such only slow you down.

I have heard there is a secret way to hold both poles and a handheld bottle simultaneously, but I've never figured it out.

Allen,

I gave bike bottles a try on my shoulder straps but found that I still needed both hands to put them back on (to tighten the shock cord). Do you use the shock card method of attaching them, or do you have another option that's easier to deal with?

Nick,

I've been using an Inov-8 15L pack with an Inov-8 "add-on" bottle holder/pocket on the shoulder strap. I find I don't need to tighten the bungee each time, and the bottle stays in it just fine. It may take an extra finger to hold the pocket open so the bottle slides in easy – I haven't used it since september so I'm not sure if it is truly a one handed operation or not. But regardless it is easy enough that it works for me. I actually just ordered the UD fastpack 20 so I may be switching to that system for future trips if it works out.

I also use the Ultimate Direction Vests (I have the AK and the PB and really like both of them), and their "kicker" bottles work fine, but I sometimes use a bike bottle in one of the front vest pockets as the UD bottles they come with are only 20 oz. I do use a bladder in the vests sometimes depending on how much water and other stuff I need to carry.

Have you consider an IV drip?

"unless one is frail or carrying a heavy pack, poles should generally not be needed for balance. anyone going for long distances with a light pack should have strong enough legs and midsection for adequate balance. if not … there are exercises for this.

poles can improve speed " if " one knows how to properly use them. more often than not they are simply used as a crutch, and as such only slow you down.

I have heard there is a secret way to hold both poles and a handheld bottle simultaneously, but I've never figured it out."

Depends on your terrain Art. i'm sure on the pack trail groomers out west no poles is plenty fine but up here we have slippery rocks, roots, stream/river crossings, wet bog bridges, mud holes, and steep downhills where poles come in handy.

I'm neither feeble, heavy packed or of little core strength. ride 2-5k per year, have climbed up to .12b…

It is pretty easy to hold 2 poles in one hand and drink from the other, it's not like chainsaw juggling.

open invite is always out for people to come play in NH. It usually shocks people from out west.

nm

"…unless one is frail or carrying a heavy pack, poles should generally not be needed for balance."

My pack is typically around 25#. I can walk a 50' slackline. I've got good core.

Poles have saved my a$$ more times than I can count on scree, ball bearings, snow, toe-stubbers, slippery roots, and rocking rocks.

95% of the time they're along for the ride. It's a good trade-off.

I drink from a 1 liter bottle carried in a side pocket. Bottle comes out, poles go into my armpit, I un-cap, drink, re-cap, grab poles, stuff bottle, and continue on. All while walking. NBD.

YMMV.

"I drink from a 1 liter bottle carried in a side pocket. Bottle comes out, poles go into my armpit, I un-cap, drink, re-cap, grab poles, stuff bottle, and continue on. All while walking"

You nailed it, Greg. Like you said, NBD.

"Depends on your terrain Art. i'm sure on the pack trail groomers out west no poles is plenty fine but up here we have slippery rocks, roots, stream/river crossings, wet bog bridges, mud holes, and steep downhills where poles come in handy.

open invite is always out for people to come play in NH. It usually shocks people from out west."

Oops, there goes my tea. Thanks, Jake, for brightening up my otherwise wet, dreary Seattle day. ;0))