No, I'm not talking about a wrestling smackdown...

For hiking/backpacking, what's your preference and why?




(essays will be graded on grammar, structure, and content and must be in APA format).

Nalgene all the way.

Last year I went on a two-day, 20 mile hike about four hours from home. I had a 3 and a 2 liter water bladder in my backpack. Somewhere along the drive the 3L bag leaked, soaking my gear with about 2L of water. The ground water where I was hiking is highly contaminated with naturally-occuring arsenic and mercury, so boiling it wouldn't have made it safe.

Luckily, being the paranoid type I had two 1L Nalgene bottles filled with water along just in case (along with several liters of bottled water). The hike went off without a problem.

Now my water bladders are just used for extra weight on the treadmill.

-Blast

I use a combination of a one quart canteen, a 2 liter generic platypus/camelback, a 1 liter nalgene, and a 1 liter ss bottle. I use the canteen because I have had it for years and it has my canteen cup that I cook with in the cover. I ues the generic platypus/camelback because it makes a fairly good pillow, it can be stored under my jacket in the winter to keep it from freezing, and it's collapsable when empty for easy carry. I like the wide mouth nalgene because I can store food in it and it's easy to clean. and the ss bottle is the best foot warmer I have ever used in the winter. Depending what I am doing some time I use a Bota bottle/wineskin instead of the platypus/camelback.

If you don't mind sharing... what brand were the bladders?

I was a long time user of the lexan Nalgene bottles and still keep them around and use them from time to time. They are unbelievably durable but heavy.

I also own a 100 oz Nalgene bladder that fits my Osprey Ceres 38. I've been using it for several years and it's been dead reliable as well.

I have a couple of the Nalgene Cantene flexible bottles and they have been 100% reliable as well although I do retire them when they start looking like they've been twisted and flexed enough to make me nervous.

I tried the Platypus bottles when they were new and had a couple of failures. I haven't bought any lately but I spotted the new Evernew flexible bottles and think I will have to give them a try if I can find them in stock anywhere. If anyone has tried them I would love to hear their impressions of them.

You can see the Evernew bottles here... http://www.evernewamerica.com/products/watercarry/watercarry.html

Is it ok if I use MLA format?

Anyway, I like the backpack bladders when hiking as there is little to fumble with, so it's easier to use on the move.

However, most of the time I use Nalgene bottles. The durability of them is tough to beat and they have a lot of different sizes and styles.

If I had to pick one, it would probably be the Nalgene.

You can't compare Nalgene bottles to Platypus bags.

The main and deciding difference is bulk. I simply can't use a Nalgene bottle because my entire pocket kit is about the volume of a couple of packs of cigarettes. Even a small Nalgene bottle wouldn't fit. But I can roll up and slip in a pair of half-liter Platypus bottles.

My larger belt kit is all told about the same volume as a liter size Nalgene bottle. It rides in a nylon ALICE pouch meant for M-16 magazines. Two one-liter Platypus bottles fit nicely in there rolled up.

Nalgene bottles are a mainstay of the camping and hiking communities. They are tough and reliable. But they are bulky.

Platypus are comparatively less tough and reliable but IMO they are reliable enough for the intended use. Don't even try to compare the genuine Platypus with the cheap generic versions. Many of those are little better than glorified Baggies. Many of those leak right out of the box.

I have used the Platypus bottles with considerable success. Emergency use, kind of the point behind all those BOBs and kits, your talking about space-critical applications where the choices are much more limited. Your choices are roughly: Condoms, formula bags, Zip-Lock freezer bags, Platypus knock-offs or the genuine article.

Of those viable options for a compact kit, where you can't stuff in a Nalgene bottle or USGI canteen, the Platypus bottles are IMO the most rugged, dependable and capable choice. Which is why I chose them. To some extent I'm less concerned with long-term durability when stocking the survival kit. I'm not homesteading the woods when I'm using my survival kits. I'm on my way out by rescue or walking so if they last two weeks in that roll they have served me well. When I get back to civilization I'll buy more so the ones in the kit are always tested but new.

I find them pretty much durable enough for every-day field use but That's just me. Remember I'm in the SE so water is much less a critical and hard to find resource than if I lived in the arid SW where the next water might be ten miles away. This area is drying out, like most other places, but for the time being I can still find water pretty easily.

If durability is much more a point of worry for you than compactness then you can assemble much larger survival kits and stuff in a couple of Nalgene bottles or regular canteens. Different types of water bottles for different uses and different strokes for different folks.

I've moved over to hydro packs (camelbak and similar) easy to use, convenient and puts the weight in the right place.

The best bargain in water containers are recycled drink bottles - light and durable over the short term. Gatorade bottles are my favorite becasue of the somewhat wider mouth. Tube systems are just too fiddly and leak prone.

I concur with Blast. They might be bulky and heavy but you can use them in so many ways.

Good point; and one option that is often overlooked. I can't remember when someone first shared the idea with me but I felt a little silly when they did.

You mentioned Gatorade bottles for the wider mouth... that's the same reason that I've used the 1L Evian bottles. I hope to try the Evernew bottles soon because I prefer the collapsible bottles. They take up less space when empty and (for me) make a decent pillow.