Water bladder vs bottles

[CApighunter]

3L bladder and a 1L smartwater bottle. I drink a ton of water and water isn’t always readily available where I hunt. Have a big MSR bag if I need to store a couple days of water at camp.

 

[Marbles]

I have stopped using bladders as much (they use to be all I used) and more often than not go with an HDPE Nalgene or two in the side pockets. I find I don't use my side pockets for much else, but the space a bladder takes up in the main compartment alters my ability to load the pack how I want.

A 1.5 L Nalgene for water and a 1 L Nalgene for mixing powdered drinks works well. If I need to carry more than 2.5 L I will fill my 2 L dirty bag with water. I adjust what I carry to the area, if I know water sources are readily available I will only carry 1 L of water at a time.

 

[Mike Islander]

Lightest: Bladders. My Exo pack has a waterproof bladder pocket right against your back. It's accessible even with the pack bag rolled up. In freezing weather you can slide your hose down into the bladder pocket until time to drink. Bring near your back keeps your water and hose from freezing when you are on the move.

Lightest non-bladder: Aquafina bottled water. Yes, lighter per oz of water than Smart Water bottles or light Nalgenes. Who would have thought? Not me. But I weighed everything on the first pack hunt after knee surgery in an effort to get as light as possible. Aquafina for the win.

If you are carrying your water in, I don't think you can beat a bladder for weight vs volume. If you just need water for the day, then it really doesn't matter what you carry it in. In freezing weather a bottle will need to be insulated. Or you'll have to keep it inside your pack. An insulated hose will work for moderately cold weather. Beyond that it will have to stay in the pack as well.

Water plus cold is two different problems that have to be solved in their own way.

 

[Fatcamp]

Smart Water bottles. Just a better option.

 

[md126]

Out west I use both. Drink the bladder first and if it runs out the nalgene is sort a reserve tank.

Eastern hunts it’s nalgene only

 

[Bow_Hiker_]

I really wanted to love my 3L plat. Bladder, but I can’t. I now carry 2 1.5L smart water bottles, usually only 1 full as I do have access to plenty of water where I hunt.

 

[Voyageur]

Backpack trips I use Smartwater bottles...2 of them. On fly-in hunts I use a combo of 1 Nalgene for measuring, a Smartwater for day treks, and Sawyer or Platypus 2L bags for camp storage.

 

[Spoonman]

Smart water bottles? What’s the point in those? To remind you to drink? $60 a piece!?!?!?!

 

[loggerchas]

As someone else said, I run a Hydrapak and a Nalgene. I like being able to keep the Nalgene fairly full when walking to prevent sloshing and use the lightweight Hydra to refill the Nalgene when stopping to glass. Little Hydrapaks are very durable. I get about 3 years out of mine - though I have noticed the lids are not as durable as a Nalgene in cold weather - only issue I have had is the lids - never the body.

 

[Marbles]

Smart water bottles? What’s the point in those? To remind you to drink? $60 a piece!?!?!?!

No, they are talking about the bottles from Smartwater brand bottled water. So about $2.50 for a bottle of water, then reuse the bottle.

 

[Tradchef]

I use Nalgene's and i have an MSR Dromlite i fill up if need be. I also use a sawyer on a platy bag if im in areas with plenty of water.

 

[Rock-o]

On a recent hunt I used only a bladder for the first time. My only issue was several times the "hangar" (bladder) came of the loop (backpack), so I had to stop to open my backpack to get the bladder hung back up again. Not an issue - just a trivial nuisance. Aside from that I really liked the bladder versus only a bottle. I'll figure out a way to rig up the bladder so that can't happen and be happy in most of my hunting.

 

[Moserkr]

I prefer a water bladder - 2L. My 3L finally started to leak after 10 years of use. To prevent freezing as mentioned before, always blow back into the bladder to clear the line. If the tip freezes, put it in your pocket for a minute.

I also carry a single wall aluminum .5L bottle that weighs 3oz for hot coffee, and back up water. I use liquid drops as water treatment when I know good water is around so while my main is being treated, i have the spare to drink while I keep hunting. If I need it, I also have an 8L bladder for camp water in a group.

The problem I have with nalgenes or similar are that you have to stop or slow down to drink. Also they take time to refill more often. With a bladder my eyes are always looking ahead, and I can refill quickly to stay in the game. It all depends on how and where you hunt. High country with low deer numbers means Im moving a lot and looking all day. If I had better areas where I could use my eyes more, I could easily switch to just bottles.