Nalgene bottle or Hydration Bladder or Both?

[Dryfirepete]

3 l bladder plus 2 l bottle is what I carry. A bottle in addition to a bladder is always useful to have, I think…

 

[UA_Blake]

I run both and pretty much use the Hoser as a water reservoir. My pitch for the nalgene is drink mixes. Could use a smart water bottle and accomplish the same

 

[Jimss]

Take a look at BeFree. They are both a water purifier plus bottle all in one that only weighs a few ounces. I've use mine where there was water available during the day so I didn't have to lug water bottles/bladders around. I merely dunked it in the creek and drank from it when I needed water. The other nice thing about it is I don't need to haul around a purifier.

Katadyn BeFree Water Filtration Systems​

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[Jim Lahey]

Nalgene and go with the white translucent ones

 

[Trees91]

Bladders are cool till the hose freezes....or leaks in your pack. I gave up on them.

Smartwater bottles a 3l hydropak and a befree if I need to filter water.

 

[thebadger]

bladder if it’s warm, more convenient so i stay better hydrated, but i take a bottle as well always. if it’s cold the bladder is still nice to store water in my pack; a frozen hose is a pain in the eh.

 

[JohnnyB]

Take a look at the Swig Rig from Hardside Hydration (a site sponsor). I won one in a giveaway and was impressed. Insulated hose, no drips, 48 oz nalgene, quick disconnect and easy flow. Used it on one day hike but I am going to test this out some more.

 

[5MilesBack]

I use both a 3L Camelbak bladder and a 32oz Nalgene. I can easily filter directly into the bladder via the drink tube, and only use the Nalgene with drink mixes. I've been using the same bladder for the past 17 years, just replacing the o-rings when needed.

 

[Hussar]

If water is abundant, I'll rock two 1 liter smart water bottles.

If water is more scarce, I'll do one 1.5L smart water bottle and one 1 liter smart water bottle

Filter is a 3L Katadyn Be free that I can hang in camp to have a stash of water

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

 

[just.mark]

When it's warm I'll use a bladder and carry a nalgene. When its gets to be cold i switch to a 2l nalgene. I have found i like having a 3l bladder for using around camp.

 

[bpurtz]

I had a bladder w/ insulated hose freeze up - now I carry a 50 oz bottle.

 

[Dave0317]

I’d say the best approach I’ve found, after many days in the woods hunting, camping, doing military stuff etc. is to not get too attached to one type. I’d say the most common setup I’ll run is a 3L bladder, one 1L nalgene, and one 1/2L nalgene. Like someone mentioned above the small nalgene is perfect for electrolyte drink mixes, coffee, etc. Just shake some water and dump it a couple times in between drinks.

On a trip where I expect less water to be available I might bring a 3L bladder, 2-1L nalgenes, plus the small nalgene.

On a plentiful water type trip, bring a Nalgene or two, or maybe a 2L bladder and a nalgene.

Main thing to keep in mind is, bladders are great for their overall capacity and ease of continuous drinking. Nalgenes are great for their durability and slightly less propensity to freeze easily. I rarely take a trip where I don’t have at least one of each. If I had to absolutely only choose one, it would be the nalgene for its durability. More fail proof option.

Bladders are not necessarily weak though. Camelback used to be horrible and have improved much from what I’ve seen recently. Source bladders have been good for me as well. Right now my favorite is Platypus. They have been very tough and served me well, while also not being overpriced.

 

[Lando]

I prefer these Nalgene bottles:

https://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Tritan-Water-Bottle-Smoke/dp/B00V8ZVWIU/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2E0CWE91I5ANS&keywords=nalgene%2Bwater%2Bbottles&qid=1655670767&sprefix=nalgene%2B%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-10&th=1&psc=1

Still have a wider style mouth and the cap can be clipped over a pack strap.

 

[TheGDog]

Osprey 100oz bladder. Platypus... the drinking valve is Noisy! Platypus also has a bladder bag that's just for carrying extra water, it's capped, doesn't have a tube. That one is cool when it's summer scouting/hunting and ya need to hump in like 8L total. I'll do the 3L tubed, the 3L backup, and 2x 1L Vapur bags.

I haven't had to deal with freezing issue yet, but that may possibly change since got D14 tags again this year.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I tailor this to each individual hunt. In drier locations with few water sources (that are sometimes dried up) I carry 4 or 5 litre bladders + a big bottle of electrolyte water. I was in CO in 2019 and it was bone dry even at elevation. Ran outta water (nearly 6 litres) on the last two miles back to the truck. This was in triple digit weather. Over 100* at dusk. Better to have it and not need it...especially if hunting solo. No buddy to pimp H2o from. There is no one correct answer. Oh and I always pack a Hiker Pro so I can refill if the opportunity presents itself and I need more. Likewise, I sometimes dump water to lighten the load as I get nearer to the end of the day. I had a friend fall and bust his leg, had to spend the night in the field. He had the basics and sufficient water...he never complained about the water weight after that experience.

 

[TheGDog]

All it takes is ONE TIME.... of running out of water, and you'll never bitch about carrying around "too much" water EVER again!

When I was very green and just barely started getting into hunting in 2014... I ran out of water when I'd descended down Mt Wilson and further descended past Newcomb Pass and went down to Devore... then I realized I needed to turn around and go back the way I came. At Newcomb Pass, my 3L bladder ran out on that hot and muggy October mid-80's afternoon, down there at the base of Mt Wilson it's 3.5mi to get up to the top! something like 2700ft in Elevation Gain! It was about 3:30p

In my pack I had a nice big Orange and a big Apple. I was SOO thankful for them!

So I stopped, relaxed and proceeded to eat them both at a calm pace... and thought about what lied ahead.

Told myself, "Welp, you know what you gotta do. You're just gonna have to go super slow and take a lot of breaks, and take however long it takes to get out of here."

This was "The Rim Trail", which is like this brutal seemingly endless series of switchbacks that will eventually get you back up to where the observatory is.

By the time I got close to the top... the entirety of my tongue was COMPLETELY bone-dry to the touch... as far down into my mouth as I could touch with my fingers. As well as the entire inside of my mouth.

The inside of my clothing was sopping wet with sweat. It was a constant battle with heart palpitations on those switch backs as my body was beginning to steal water from my blood stream, thus lower it's volume, thus the pump needing to pump more and faster! So at each turn-around in the switch backs I had to sit or lean-up against something to take weight of the pack off and let my heart calm back down a bit before proceeding again.

I was soo out of it I kept saying to myself "Daddies comin' Papa!" (term of endearment I call my Boy), and with the way that terrain is, I was nervy as hell about a MtnLion seeing me coming along all huffing and puffing and out of it. Would be EASY for them to pounce down upon ya from the many pieces of rock and brush adorning that trails hillsides. So I kept repeating to myself over and over "Thumb forward (to disengage the tang safety on rifle), jam it in his guts, pull the trigger" because I was soo beyond exhausted I didn't want to ditz-out if something bad went down. So I kept repeating that to myself so those thoughts were fresh in my mind constantly.

I am VERY lucky that the temp dropped down to 45F by the time I got up to the top at about 9:30p. Not sure I could have made that much of a climb without water otherwise.

As I approached the top... I thought to myself there's got to be a water tap up there with the observatory and those various building they have. Guess what? It had one of those freakin' keyed spigot handles on it! I've never been soo pissed at humanity in my life! But then I figured they probably needed to do that so Bears wouldn't turn on the spigot I suppose.

Once I got to the top.... my vehicle was still probably like... 900yds away but it might as well have been miles with how physically exhausted of a state I was in.

Then a bit of luck happened! As I limped past this on-site housing building, I happened to be lucky enough to hear the squeal of a toddler! Being a father myself, I knew that meant an adult had to be there too!

So I got closer to the house (while maintaining a respectful distance from it) and shouted "Helloooo!!!! Anybody?? I need Help!!!! Please!!! Anybody?? I need Help!!! I ran out of Water at the Bottom of the Mountain!"

A lady opens the door of the place, at which point I get soo humbled and say to her "I am soo sorry Ma'am... please forgive me... I know it's the middle of the night, in the middle of the Forest... but I ran out of water down at the bottom of the Mountain... do you have any water?"

She lets me know she'll have to contact her husband to come over, to which I state "I completely understand Ma'am." as she then directs me to their lil patio table and chairs. So I proceed to drop the pack and rifle on it and crash with my torso and head laying upon the table.

I'm sure I'm glossing over the back-and-forth of the conversation there a lil bit. But anyhoo... after she called to her husband on the phone inside the home... like an angel she brings me several bottles of water which I proceed to squeeze the bottle to force-feed into my pie-hole as fast as humanly possible!

Eventually the guy comes up with his work truck. He explains to me that he'll have to take the rifle, to which I reply "I totally understand man, it's your family, it's the middle of the night, I totally get it" I explain roughly where my vehicle is at.

Then he backs up the truck and allows me to rest upon the tailgate/bed... and he drives me over to my vehicle while I'm laying on my back looking up at the stars.

Not only that... he was a real stand-up guy for the fact that he waited until he made sure I was in the car and the engine successfully started and I was on my way, before he returned to his family and job.

WHAT DID I LEARN? : When it's a new location or a new trail for you? Make sure you divide up your water in half amongst at least two main containers... so that way if you're sucking on the tube a little too much and blow thru half your water.... you know right then and there to STOP!!!.... and NOT proceed anymore further away from your vehicle. And to turn around.

Having such an experience will make you NEVER EVER EVER take water for granted EVER again! Now within my home I have a substantial amount of drinking water cache that I ALWAYS keep topping back up with each visit to grocery store. Approx 15gals for the 3 of us. I'm not as concerned about running out of water at my home, cause we have a pool and I figure worst case scenario of earthquake and waterlines break for awhile, I can boil the pool water if I had to. If we didn't have a pool? I'd probably make room for an even larger cache of water in the garage.

 

[mtwarden]

I was pretty anti-Nalgene when the really light bottles came out (Platypus, etc).

Then I half froze a Platypus bottle and could get the water out of the top (frozen); if it was going to be cold- I went back to Nalgenes

Then after suffering a couple of unexpected cold nights and not trusting non-Nalgene bottles with near boiling hot water- I went back to Nalgenes for good. Even a 16 oz Nalgene filled with hot water can save a cold night's sleep (ask me how I know )

If I drop one, there are no consequences. The wide mouth is essential if you happen to use a Steripen for your water treatment. The wide mouth is also much easier to fill from a stream.

The HDPE ones aren't overly heavy and are pretty much bombproof.

 

[hunting1]

2-Nalgenes and a platypus for water storage and or bladder with hose. I don't like putting drink mixes in bladders as mentioned.

 

[Dos Perros]

qty 1 HDPE Nalgene. They are 3.6oz vs ~7 for the other material.

Then I might carry a little Platypus 1L soft bottle thing.

Then if I need more capacity I can use the Cnoc 3L dirty bag I use with my water filter.

 

[JD Jones]

I favor CNOC bags for the wide opening. I’ve used platypus and hydra pak as well but CNOC for water collecting and nalgene for drinking water. I also carry a small 14-16 oz bottle for mixing electrolytes and what not. It’s probably excessive but weight is minimal and sometimes I don’t wanna taste residual lemon lime in my regular water