I recently took a wilderness training class designed for adult leaders taking cub scouts out into the wilderness. In the class the instructor was really high on Nalgene type water bottles, and pretty low on water bladders. His reasoning brought up some good points.
Water bladders leak
Water bladders tubes and bite valves freeze
Water bladders have one function / use
Bottles can be filled with hot water and thrown into a sleeping bag to warm someone up.
Bottles are durable
Bottles are a visible way to ensure both you and others are getting enough fluids.
Bottles can be used to carry stuff and are more versatile than a bladder.
I know that I sure enjoy the flexibility of having that hose hanging off my shoulder and grabbing water whenever I want. However, I have had CamelBaks leak and I have had bite valves and hoses freeze…
I’m not sure I am ready to give up the bladder, but I think I may modify my kit a bit.
My current bladder is a 4L MSR Dromlite with the Dromlite hydration kit Due to my leaking CamelBak experience and frozen tube adventure I did insulate the Dromlite tube. I also include the original lid so the bladder is still useful if hose / valve freeze. (For those not familiar with the Dromlite lid it is a screw on cap with a nipple that pops up that you can drink / pour out of).
I plan to experiment with adding a 16oz or 32oz Nalgene bottle. Debating were to carry it at this point, but we will see how it goes.
The instructors insisted the water bottle was a critical piece of survival gear due to their ability to warm folks up and measure hydration. I can see this when taking kids outs and being responsible for their well-being, just debating the value for me. What say you guys? Perhaps a Rokslide logo Nalgene will spin out of this?![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Water bladders leak
Water bladders tubes and bite valves freeze
Water bladders have one function / use
Bottles can be filled with hot water and thrown into a sleeping bag to warm someone up.
Bottles are durable
Bottles are a visible way to ensure both you and others are getting enough fluids.
Bottles can be used to carry stuff and are more versatile than a bladder.
I know that I sure enjoy the flexibility of having that hose hanging off my shoulder and grabbing water whenever I want. However, I have had CamelBaks leak and I have had bite valves and hoses freeze…
I’m not sure I am ready to give up the bladder, but I think I may modify my kit a bit.
My current bladder is a 4L MSR Dromlite with the Dromlite hydration kit Due to my leaking CamelBak experience and frozen tube adventure I did insulate the Dromlite tube. I also include the original lid so the bladder is still useful if hose / valve freeze. (For those not familiar with the Dromlite lid it is a screw on cap with a nipple that pops up that you can drink / pour out of).
I plan to experiment with adding a 16oz or 32oz Nalgene bottle. Debating were to carry it at this point, but we will see how it goes.
The instructors insisted the water bottle was a critical piece of survival gear due to their ability to warm folks up and measure hydration. I can see this when taking kids outs and being responsible for their well-being, just debating the value for me. What say you guys? Perhaps a Rokslide logo Nalgene will spin out of this?