Easy way to save not ounces but a couple pounds off your pack!!!!

[mik matra]

EDIT: After a fair few respondents concentrating on parts of this information that is not the main ideology I decided to amend this initial post.

A mate of mine got me onto a ‘trend’ that is SO simple and has a massive weight saving knock on effect. Here it is:
***BE A LITTLE OVERHYDRATED BEFORE LEAVING CAMP***
Some respondents have been using the ‘camel-ing up’ fraze but that seems to have conjured up images of water guzzling. This method however is NOT about guzzling very large amounts of water, or drinking till you feel bloated and or ill on the trail!!! That is too much water consumption that may lead to health hazards!!

So here is the method:
In between the time after wake-up and leaving camp drink a little more than usual.
AS A GUIDE ONLY – For me that is ‘about’ 1L of water on top of normal breakfast liquids and I drink that in the last 10-20mins before heading off. You may want to experiment with your own quantity of fluid intake and time to down the liquid here. While the body is working through the excess water, you are moving, chewing through the kays.
AGAIN AS A GUIDE ONLY – It will take my body a good 1-2hrs to work through the excess water (it is dependant on how hydrated I was before downing the water) by which point I am a good 4-8kms into my day. ‘At that point’ I am fully hydrated and it will be a further 1hr (give or take) before I feel thirsty. By that stage I am 8-12kms into my day. I only have to carry enough water to complete my day or to make it to the next known water source whereas if I was ‘just hydrated’ upon leaving camp I would be thirsty within an hour or so which is only roughly 4kms into my trip. It very simply means you do not carry the first few hours of walking’s worth of water in your pack because you will not feel thirsty.

One downside which I would call a very minor inconvenience…..depends on how well you were hydrated before downing that water will dictate how many time you will stop for a quick wee upon setting off.

DISCLAIMER: Everyone I have introduced this method to has liked it so much that they are constantly doing it now whilst hiking. Even more so, a larger than normal water intake in the morning has other health benefits which can be found on the net. Not one person has gotten ill, not one person has died or gotten airlifted out. Remember, if you are feeling ill or bloated for a period of time after your extra fluid intake you have probably drank too much. Experiment first with smaller units of fluid intake. I mentioned 1L ONLY AS A GUIDE because I found it worked GREAT for me. I have also had up to 2L before without any problems but it is up to you how much you drink….err on the smaller side and work up from there.

As I have mentioned this I am surprised to find how few people are doing this.

Thought I’d post it here as it has such a LARGE weight saving effect!!

[Mark]

Wonder if this person has actually sat and tried drinking 1 litre of water quickly?

Stupid advice.

1/ You’re body can’t process that much fluid in that short amount of time, so you’ll end up peeing out most of it.

2/ You’ll likely have stomach cramps on the first incline you try climbing

3/ 1 litre of water in your stomach weighs EXACTLY the same as 1 litre of water in your backpack so you’re not actually saving any weight

[mik matra]

I can clearly tell you are not refuting this strategy based on experience. Maybe try before you knock it hey :-)

1.It actually does. It goes straight into your blood stream. You also do not need to smash it down and you don’t exactly need 1L (be it more or less), the idea is to be very well hydrated so that you don’t need to reach for the water bottle in the first half of your walk. Experimentation of volume needed couple with dehydration levels will play a role here.

2.Never had that issue since I started doing this. 1L is not an issue by any stretch of the imagination!

3.A bunch of water in the gut is NOT carried on your back!!! You may still burn the same calories carrying that 1L (or whatever amount of water you just downed) in your body or on your body but since you do not carry it in your pack it then doesn’t weigh your pack down. That is the difference….and it counts. Again, I am talking of experiencing this.

As I said, try before knocking it hey

[Marcel v]

Sorry, gotta agree with Mark here:

1: Yes, it goes straight into your blood stream, and then you pee it out… your body has no use for so much liquid at once.

2: I’d find a liter in one go too much, half a liter, OK.

3: But it’s still not a weight saving, you’re just moving the weight.

[Bob Moulder]

In some areas with spotty water availability, at times I have drunk a bit more than 1/2 liter of water at a time in order to consume my treated water before ‘tanking up’ at a water source. I find that this is about as much as I can drink fairly quickly without experiencing some sort of GI distress.

While it’s probably not a concern if done on an occasional basis, consuming large amounts of water can also lead to hyponatremia: 

• In some people who exercise, their concern about the potential for dehydration causes them to drink more water than they lose by perspiration. This may cause significant hyponatremia and has been known to be fatal in marathon participants who drink too much fluid without replacing lost sodium, in excess of what their thirst mechanism dictates.

[monkey]

This article too is relevant, How to Properly Hydrate Before Race Day

Human beings are not camels- we cannot store up vast quantities of fluid for use later on, rather once we are fully hydrated the body has to ditch any excess. To state the obvious, this is why when you start drinking a lot sooner or later you start peeing at least some of it back out.

[mik matra]

@ Marcel V:

1.So you guys think I am an anomaly? I literally do not drink for at least 2 hours after the start. This technique has hydrated me so well allowing me to not needing water for hours. I am having trouble understanding how it has worked very well for the guys that I have put this info to yet am getting a hard time from guys on here. Try it. You might be surprised!!

2.As I mentioned in my response to Mark’s refute, you do not need to necessarily bang in one litre in one hit. After getting up constantly sipping on your bottle as you are getting ready, or down 300mls in 3 sets (whichever way you down it) it doesn’t matter, it’s all about being very well hydrated before setting off. I have done 2 litres before with zero issues. Again, am I and the guys who have tried this to great success an anomaly that can drink a bunch of water in a short amount of time with zero issues?

3.Did you read this?: “A bunch of water in the gut is NOT carried on your back!!! You may still burn the same calories carrying that 1L (or whatever amount of water you just downed) in your body or on your body but since you do not carry it in your pack it then doesn’t weigh your pack down. That is the difference….and it counts. Again, I am talking of experiencing this.”

@Bob Moulder; Hyponatremia is the case of having had an extreme amount of water whilst not replacing the electrolytes. It does not occur by having a litre of water before you get going on a hike.

@Monkey; I have been racing bicycles for 10years and have been a state champion and 7th in the Nationals in my age category. I am very well aware how to ‘properly’ hydrate for races :-).

@Everybody: For the hit of water you have in the morning before you take off it takes the body time to work through it to then pee it out. Personally (depending on hydration levels pre water consume) it takes my body a MINIMUM of 1hr to work through the volume of water drank and sometimes I may still be stopping for a pee a couple hours later with the colour being very light. It just doesn’t happen immediately, so whilst that process is happening you will not be thirsty and you thus are saving on sipping on water that you do not have to carry on your back.

[Ryan K]

I will regularly consume up to 0.5 L as soon as I wake up (at home or on the trail), and on the trail I need it to help digest my dry breakfast.  Unless I’m hiking a dry stretch or it’s really hot, I’m not usually carrying more than 0.5 L at a time.  When I hit a water source, I usually drink everything I have left and refill to 0.5 L.  In theory, I probably wouldn’t need to carry any water and just filter/drink at each water source, but I like having water at hand whenever I want it at the cost of carrying 1 lb extra.

Everybody’s body is different – some can camel up more than others.  0.5 L is about my limit or I feel bloated, unless I’m sitting down and eating/drinking for a while.

You said “I won’t even touch the water bottle for the first 2 or 3 hrs!!!”  How much water are you carrying during that time?

 

[mik matra]

Hi Ryan. It really depends on how far the next reliable water source is marked on map or mentioned by other hikers, temperature of the day etc etc. VERY rarely do i carry any more than 1 litre at a time. I probably carry half a litre more than needdd for the ‘what if’ scenario.

That method you mention is exactly what i do!! Drink up when you can so you have to carry minimal.

[Clue M]

Maybe a test could help.

Chug a liter of whiskey.

See how it didn’t go immediately into the blood ?

Now wait, over the next hour you will feel it going into the blood stream.

[monkey]

@Monkey; I have been racing bicycles for 10years and have been a state champion and 7th in the Nationals in my age category. I am very well aware how to ‘properly’ hydrate for races :-).

Such a weird reply…… I’m sorry for being blunt, but who cares?

The article I linked discusses optimal hydration during periods of physical activity, and as such elaborates on points raised by posters in this thread. I believe the comment did say ‘relevant’…..

[Ryan K]

Drinking your water IS a weight savings.  It’s not just shifting weight.

Otherwise, we should stop talking about pack weight, and only refer to skin-out weight.  And really, then we should include body weight/BMI.  E.g. I’m 5’11”, 150 lbs, with my 20 lb pack, hiking next to my friend who’s 5’11, 180 lbs, naked with no pack. Who’s more ultralight? My feet are still carrying less up the mountain. :P

[Ian]

Hi Mik,

i do what you suggest, except I still carry some water.  I start drinking a liter of water as soon as I wake, and by the time I break camp and eat breakfast, it’s done.  It’s consumed over a 1/2 hour or so.   I try to drink a gallon per day on cool days, and a bit more on warmer days.  I’ll drink two more on the trail (maybe more) and then another with dinner that night.  This has served me well from the jungles of Panama to -20*f in upstate NY.  A balanced diet with healthy levels of salt will help fight off hyponatremia.  I also mix a Nuun tablet into one bottle every day.

HYOH and all that

[Paul S.]

I thought this was old news, not a controversial topic. Maybe just this particular approach?

The principle is that if you are fully hydrated you don’t need to drink water all the time, thus reducing what you need to carry. How you accomplish this is secondary.

The suggestion from Mik is just one way to fully hydrate, I don’t think the idea is to be fully hydrated and then carry a liter in your stomach for weight savings.

[Lori P]

I drink water often for a few days before going hiking. I sip water often while hiking. Drinking more than a glass of water at a time makes me feel ill. If I’m hydrated properly my body doesn’t want it.
I’ve been dehydrated to the point of being completely stupid. It takes days to come back from it, days of drinking lots of water over a period of time. It’s the way my healthy, not-afflicted-with-metabolic-dysfunction body has worked.

I don’t think anyone who understands the way the body really works would expect chugging a ton of water all at once is a good idea. I don’t pretend to know how everyone’s body works — I know how mine has worked. And when I’m hydrated, drinking that much water in a single go is IMPOSSIBLE. I’d rather be hydrated properly and avoid the problems of dehydration entirely than save weight in the pack.

[mik matra]

For an activity that is so focused on achieving a minimal carried weight (90% of which is focused on pack weight) I am astounded at the baulking going on in this thread of a tested method not having to carry a couple pounds in/on your pack!!!!!!! :-o. I am not introducing a new product to the market and claiming ‘it works’…..everyone I have put onto this has not looked back. Your choice, your pack weight.

I STRONGLY suggest: Try it before having a negative comment. I too was sceptical yet now I am not carrying at least 1L of water extra in my pack. When we are constantly agonising about grams saved (fractions of ounces) I would have thought this was going to be tried before ‘educated guesses’ refuting it were posted.

Cheers :-)

[Roger Caffin]

So you guys think I am an anomaly? I literally do not drink for at least 2 hours after the start.

Well, most older Australian bushwalkers don’t drink for hours on end either. That’s perfectly normal for us. Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, dinner. We don’t go for the modern fad of sucking on a teat all day: it is simply not needed.

So what is the difference between 1 kg on your back and 1 kg in your stomach? Not much: your legs still have to carry the weight.

Cheers

 

[mik matra]

@Paul S; “The principle is that if you are fully hydrated you don’t need to drink water all the time, thus reducing what you need to carry. How you accomplish this is secondary.”

It’s more than that. It takes the body time to work through the extra water consumed ‘above and beyond’ optimum hydration needed by the body. During that process you will not be thirsty. Also during that process you are walking and not drinking and thus not having to carry the water you would otherwise be consuming if you were not as well hydrated.

As a side not – AS LONG AS your electrolyte levels are okay (a balanced diet will suffice) there is no danger of downing a little more than usual amount of water in a short time.

As an extra side not – I have experienced low electrolyte levels due to working as a labourer in the hot Australian sun in my late teens. You just cannot quench your thirst!!!! After talking to my doc at the time he said I was on a course staright hyponatremia if I did not address the issue. A simple sprinkle of salt on my lunch sandwiches solved those issues.

[mik matra]

@Roger: “So what is the difference between 1 kg on your back and 1 kg in your stomach? Not much: your legs still have to carry the weight.”

The difference is: if it’s not in your pack then it is not weighing on your contact points!!

[mik matra]

@Lori; “I don’t think anyone who understands the way the body really works would expect chugging a ton of water all at once is a good idea.”
– we are not talking of a ‘tone of water’, the philosophy is not about drinking water till you drop, it is merely that you have a safe amount more water than possibly needed and whilst your body is working through that you ae not thirsty and thus not needing to carry it on your person.

“And when I’m hydrated, drinking that much water in a single go is IMPOSSIBLE.”
– It’s easier than you think. Imagine you are in an emergency situation and you have no way of carrying water on your person. You have water where you are and need to walk a day (or 2) without any reliable source. Do you a) think you are well hydrated and off you go or b)drink more now knowing you will not have any for a while.

[Franco Darioli]

Mik,

Yes the focus here is to reduce the weight carried but using your reasoning, up to a point, we should also fill our pockets with stuff so that it isn’t on our back.

Years ago people laughed at me when I pointed out pretty much the same things as Mark did , that was when “cameling up” seemed to be a good idea. Mind you some were suggesting 2 and even 3 liters so I can’t really figure out now how the idea was even entertained never mind making fun of me for disagreeing.

BTW, if I managed to drink a full liter in half an hour or so in the morning, I would pee that out within the next hour. I typically drink less than 1 liter before lunch and about the same before dinner otherwise.

But if it works for you, that is the main thing.

[Clue M]

If people were not able to camel up then a double gulp or even a super gulp would be an unreasonable quantity of soda.

I drink 4-6 liters in the morning, then 2-4 liters every single stream crossing just in case we can camel up.

If i turn around, and can’t see the last spot I pee’d, then dehydration, confusion and eventual death become real concerns of mine.

[Justin Baker]

I met an old soviet immigrant in the Emigrant Wilderness. He said he doesn’t drink any water during the day. He only drinks in the mornings and evenings. He boils up a bunch of tea on a wood stove and drinks that.

[monkey]

It’s more than that. It takes the body time to work through the extra water consumed ‘above and beyond’ optimum hydration needed by the body. During that process you will not be thirsty. Also during that process you are walking and not drinking and thus not having to carry the water you would otherwise be consuming if you were not as well hydrated.

That’s were your logic appears to be off. Once you’ve drunk your litre of water, the reason you’re not feeling thirsty for a while is because your body is sufficiently hydrated, not because it is “working through” the extra amount consumed above and beyond. “Working through” in this case is excreting the unneeded water out of the body, which is very much opposite to hydrating the body.

That is why I think there is so much opposition in this thread to your “idea”: drinking more than necessary offers absolutely no weight savings, but has the potential to exacerbate situation once the person starts hiking, by making them feel queasy and heavy inside.

 

[mik matra]

@Monkey. Once you finished peeing out the excess water you are fully hydrated and at that point you have already walked (in my case) an hour or sometimes 2. It’s from this point on that you start needing to drink again…..hence saving you to carry that amount of water. For me I am not thirsty still for sometimes another hour!! I can easily go with NILL thirsty feelings for 3hours (which is about 12kms of walking for me) after camelling up on just 1L of water.

Anyway, it has ‘worked’ for me, it has ‘worked’ for everyone I have introduced this idea to. No one has died. No one has fallen ill. Everyone ended up carrying less weight in water from giving this a go. The idea is not to consume such a large water amount that you are uncomfortable, or ill….that is way too much!! It is simply being a little overhydrated, that’s it.

[Author]

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