For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
I'm with Davebugg on using a bladder. Given the picture of the military medical service pin attached to his name I'm guessing he knows plenty about the amount of wter we really should be consuming daily during a typical 25+km trek and 2ltrs isn't much. Most well experienced back country back packers will also say that consuming two ltrs of water in a day's worth of trekking isn't much. Some days a curse the weight of my 2 ltre bladder but fact is with the tube I drink much more frequently than I would with a bottle because of easier access. That translates into a better functioning, injury resistant body that bounces back quicker. If you are going with bottles do as Robo is in his picture above, carry them out front so they are accessbile. Most that I have seen have them stuffed on the side or back of their packs and that means they are not drinking water as much as they should be because it is not easily accessible. Just my two bits worth.
I literally just posted this on another thread. Not sure how to link to that post, sorry mods, so I'll just move it to here as this thread is more relevant.
There are a few things to consider IMHO.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was a confirmed bladder user on my first Camino. I loved being able to sip 'at will' and being able to carry plenty of water with me. I go through a lot. I too had a 2 L bladder, and on hot days would throw a couple of extra bottles in the side pouches.
On my next Camino (#3) I won't be carrying a water bladder.
Like the whole debate on poles and footwear, it's a very personal choice. But my reasons are:
I really didn't want to give up on my water bladder, using it on #2 as well. But the logic and reasoning of other Forum members got through eventually
- Using the bladder I tended to carry too much water! And the extra weight was noticeable.
- The empty bladder itself is not light.... (165 gms)
- Having said that, a couple of days the bladder ran dry! On really hot days. Thankfully I had a small emergency bottle with me, or came upon a drinks stand in the middle of nowhere. But because the bladder was inside my pack I couldn't easily monitor how full it was...... (one time the bite valve had leaked)
- I'm now training with water bottles, hanging on the front straps of my pack. I use a tube looped around to the other side to drink from. This works really well. I can see exactly how much water I have left. I can use what ever size bottles suit the day. 1.5 - 2L each side if need be! I'm training with 750 ml each side. Pat is using it too and loves the 'system'. She likes to sip as she walks too.
- You'll see on the pic that I use the full length drinking tube. I could cut it very short and save a few gms weight, but I like the idea of added flexibility. I could carry the bottle in a side pouch or even inside my pack if I wanted to.
- Lastly, in the past I have tended to carry too much water (and hence weight). This time I'll make sure to top up my bottles more frequently along the way. Cafes, fonts, etc. But always carrying an 'emergency' bottle of 500 ml or so just in case. That usually also had electrolytes in it.
- I expect most days to carry 2 x 750 ml. Pat carries 2 x 500 ml. But of course that is weather and distance dependant. I think the first time on that 17 km section out of Carrion (with no fonts or villages) I must have carried at least 3 L. I probably used 1.5.........
Note. The small white clips are Clipsta. As recommended by David. Now called Hipsta I think.https://www.hipsta.com.au/
The yellow elastic cord is from Amazon. They are quick tie shoes laces.......
The bottle on the right of the picture is actually held in place by the packs 'stow on the go' pole loop.
The one on the left, just with the yellow shock cord.
I have used both bladder and bottles.
Two things that have not been mentioned are;
1) Filling a bladdr usually calls for pulling out a bunch of stuff so filling the bladder is possible. That usually means, pull it out, fill it and squeeze it back into its sleeve and repack before continuing. Takes more time / hassle than bottles, but, as Robo says, the "sip'n'go" feature is a plus.
2) When using bottles, taking a lIfeStraw allows me to "water up," just about anywhere. When I reach a refill spot, fill the first bottle (canteen), and put away. Fill the second bottle and drink as much as my body can take, through the LifeStraw, refill it and pack all away.
I di have to pull out the LifeStraw each time to rehydrate but when incorporating it with a rest stop, no biggie.
..... A hard lesson for my wife to learn, was to keep sipping.........
Hi Robo,Were you walking the more remote Caminos Michelle?
And filling up from rivers.
Just wondered why the need to filter the water.......
I had to do it once on the CF, and just dropped a couple of puritabs in.
But never actually needed to access that emergency bottle anyway.
The water source was not the best.......
What I found was the bladder did not want to fill properly due to getting squeezed by pack contents, ergo, pull it out yada yaday ada. Bottles save me time, maybe just me but it works.That's an easy fix. It is easy to install a quick connect to the water tube so that the bladder can be refilled while in the pack. Fill a collapsible bottle with water and screw on the quick disconnect lid. Connect the bottle to the QD on the reservoir water tube. Squeeze the bottle and it refills the bladder. Quick and easy. And if needed, a water filter can be attached to the bottle after filling it with suspect water, and the filter can the do the quick connect to the reservoir tube. It is a quick and easy system when backpacking in the backcountry.
Hi Robo,
I am in a foreign country. I am in a rural setting, regardless of the Camino or Canimho I may be walking. The minimal weight of a LifeStraw is nothing compared to the asurance of clean water with no concerns. It just makes all kinds of sense.
The last thing I want to be worried about is worms or bacteria.
Ahhhhh.
If you ever visit Sydney Australia bring it with you!
Tap Water here is awful
Never drink it unfiltered.
Water in Spain I find is really good though........
1) Filling a bladdr usually calls for pulling out a bunch of stuff so filling the bladder is possible. That usually means, pull it out, fill it and squeeze it back into its sleeve and repack before continuing. Takes more time...
What I found was the bladder did not want to fill properly due to getting squeezed by pack contents, ergo, pull it out yada yaday ada. Bottles save me time, maybe just me but it works.
I am walking my 1st Camino April/May and have read differing opinions on water bottles vs hydro packs. I am 120 lbs and wonder if 4 lbs (water& bladder) would use too much of my 12 lb pack recommendation. ???
I have never got on with bladders. Can't get past the idea that they would be hard to clean, ....
....I have used bladders in the past, and am sure they are quite unhygienic, especially on something like the Camino where you have limited resources a lot of the time, they're more of a hassle. The water also gets quite warm against your back if you put it in that space.
If I get access to a refrigerator I part freeze my bottle of water and its lovely and cool for a while. (I've always walked in summer). In the later part of the Camino especially after Leon, the villages are really close together and you can always refill.
What I like about a bottle, whilst walking on my own is that I stop to drink, and. "drink" in the surroundings, view, sounds, gentle breeze etc..... I was missing so much just walking walking walking
Maybe you should consider a bag for the output and you won't have to navigate around in the dark. You may consider having different color bags "clean", "dirty".I used to hang my bladder up in the bunk bed, like an IV bag, and drink water throughout the night whenever I wake up.
I wake up in the night a lot. Usually to go for a pee.
There it is, the missing piece of the puzzle. Thank you kind stranger.Maybe you should consider a bag for the output and you won't have to navigate around in the dark. You may consider having different color bags "clean", "dirty".
Maybe you should consider a bag for the output and you won't have to navigate around in the dark. You may consider having different color bags "clean", "dirty".
There it is, the missing piece of the puzzle. Thank you kind stranger.
I carried a bladder on the first couple of caminos, but we never had a really good relationship. At some stage during the camino I would finish up with a wet pack, often because the mouthpiece would leak when the pack was on the ground - either it would get squashed open, or something else would happen. When walking I never knew how much was in, and it was also a pain to fill and to clean.
Now I am very happy with 2 x 600ml bottles in my Aarn front balance packs.
I carried a bladder on the first couple of caminos, but we never had a really good relationship. At some stage during the camino I would finish up with a wet pack, often because the mouthpiece would leak when the pack was on the ground - either it would get squashed open, or something else would happen. When walking I never knew how much was in, and it was also a pain to fill and to clean.
Now I am very happy with 2 x 600ml bottles in my Aarn front balance packs.
Come now, not all of usYup, folks who use water reservoirs never, ever stop for a break, to look around at the vistas and scenery, or to have a sip of water and a snack on some rock or log under a tree.
Come now, not all of us
I used a bladder (2L), and had a mental calculation of what I thought I would need during the day. I also carried an empty 1 L water bottle in a pocket on the backpack. On the Camino del Norte, there were a number of days that had very long distances between safe potable water, so carrying enough was really important. I would suggest that if walking in hot summer days, you probably want to carry at least that much, if it will be more than 10 km between sources of water.
The bladder meant I drank more. And yes, not drinking enough will do crazy things to your mind. If ever you find yourself feeling overwrought and overwhelmed on the side of the Camino, drink some water before anything else. You'd be surprised at how much better than can make you feel.
The empty bottle was super light, but if it was a hot day, and a long ways between fountains, I'd find it easier to refill a bottle than my bladder. Also, I went through a few of them along the way. One I gave to a girl because she didn't have a bottle at all. Others got forgotten. (I have long since acknowledged that no matter how expensive a bottle/cup/mug/sunglasses/ or any other small portable object is, I forget it. The bladder is attached to me, so I don't forget it.)
I did make a point of filling the bladder the night before. I'd check the bladder before putting it into the back pack to make sure it wasn't leaking; that is the dirty secret of bladders - if they leak, they probably leak into your bag. Bad news.
pictures of how I carry my bottles.In my younger days I was in the military. As infantrymen we had to carry very large and heavy backpacks and large amounts of water. It was in the days before water bladders and we used a couple of military issued 2L bottles which we carried in the hip pockets of the battle jacked and on the sides of the backpack. The water in the hip pockets were used while walking.
The secret of carrying heavy loads over long distances is balance. Your pack needs to be balanced from all sides, left to right, top to bottom and back to front. To this day I don't like to offset the balance of my backpack for example to carry water only in one side pocket of the backpack.
My solution is to carry 2x 500ml bottles in front on the hip straps. Similar to Robo above. For each bottle I us two bungee loops with cord stoppers. The bottles are easily accessible and the balance of my pack is not affected.
I am walking my 1st Camino April/May and have read differing opinions on water bottles vs hydro packs. I am 120 lbs and wonder if 4 lbs (water& bladder) would use too much of my 12 lb pack recommendation. ???
I use an Osprey Kestrel. Their design is great but many do not have that feature, and it becomes a flaw, with consequences.In most cases, this is indeed a nuisance that weighs against using a water bladder. My wife and I, like so many other pilgrims on the Camino these days, use Osprey backpacks. Not all, but many of them have place for the water bladder that is between the frame and the actual bag -not in the bag itself. It has its own pocket right behind your back. The bladder easily slides right down in there. It is easy to remove, fill and replace. With the quick disconnect on the hose, this is even easier.
Just curious.. why would you need to load a whole days water supply in a reservoir. I never do.Hiking in the US, I always use a hydropack. I gave it a lot of thought, and switched to a large bottle (maybe 24 oz?) that came in a slightly insulated sleeve with a neckstrap, so I had the convenience of water at hand + the convenience of easy refills. It was absolutely the right decision. I never had to load up with a whole day's worth of water, never had to halfway unpack my pack to get at the bladder to get a refill, and yet lifting a bottle on my strap right in front of me was every bit as easy as lifting the tube/mouthpiece of a hydropack.
1 - re the Camino, if your reservoir is pretty much inaccessible once you've packed everything else in . .Just curious.. why would you need to load a whole days water supply in a reservoir. I never do.
1 - re the Camino, if your reservoir is pretty much inaccessible once you've packed everything else in . .
2 - re the US - nowhere to refill in the high desert mountains!
@davebugg you may need to refill the reservoir while on the Camino - it depends on which Camino and where along the route. Not to mention how hot it is.
The first day from Irun (Camino del Norte) is a minimum of 15 km (if you notice the little sign directing you to a fountain about 200m off the Camino), or 17km to the next village, with a climb to 500m, and no shade for long stretches. On a hot summer day, I ran through my 2L by the 14.5km mark. Other days, longer distances, cooler temperatures, different story.
I would not advise anyone to assume that 1L will be sufficient to get to the next refill point. It will depend on a variety of different circumstances, and research the day's walk ahead of time is well advised.
I like that quick connect system. I have a Source Outdoor Ultimate Hydration system, with an attachment to fill from the tube, but it doesn't work as well as the one in your video.For those with hydration water bladders, this is a video of a quick disconnect setup and use. Please not that for safe water sources, the water filter that's shown is left off of the collapsible bottle, and the quick disconnect lid is screwed directly onto the collapsible bottle for refilling the bladder.
Once you've used the quick connect to refill a few times, it takes a very short time to do the refill, and you don't even need to remove your pack to do so, much less have to remove the bladder from the pack itself.
The product itself... there are others, this is the one I have used and like.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EURFBKI/?tag=casaivar02-20
@davebugg apologies - I misunderstood what was being suggested (if I'd read closer...)
The small white clips are Clipsta. As recommended by David. Now called Hipsta I think.https://www.hipsta.com.au/
The yellow elastic cord is from Amazon. They are quick tie shoes laces.......
The bottle on the right of the picture is actually held in place by the packs 'stow on the go' pole loop.
The one on the left, just with the yellow shock cord.
Yup, folks who use water reservoirs never, ever stop for a break, to look around at the vistas and scenery, or to have a sip of water and a snack on some rock or log under a tree.
This is genius. I will definitely be trying some variation of this soon. Thank you for posting this!
LOL!!! Nice catch.You snack on rocks and logs,that's pretty hardcore :O!!!!
Osprey packs tend to have the bladder pouch on the outside of the bag so that this is avoided. Still a bit more time consuming than filling a bottle - you might add on 2 minutes to your day - but without the added hassle of unpacking and repacking bits of your bag.I have used both bladder and bottles.
Two things that have not been mentioned are;
1) Filling a bladdr usually calls for pulling out a bunch of stuff so filling the bladder is possible. That usually means, pull it out, fill it and squeeze it back into its sleeve and repack before continuing. Takes more time / hassle than bottles, but, as Robo says, the "sip'n'go" feature is a plus.
2) When using bottles, taking a lIfeStraw allows me to "water up," just about anywhere. When I reach a refill spot, fill the first bottle (canteen), and put away. Fill the second bottle and drink as much as my body can take, through the LifeStraw, refill it and pack all away.
I di have to pull out the LifeStraw each time to rehydrate but when incorporating it with a rest stop, no biggie.
It would all wash out to be the same, I guess as it takes time to fill a bottle to an equal volume as a bladder. The difference would be weight carried / time, I suppose.Osprey packs tend to have the bladder pouch on the outside of the bag so that this is avoided. Still a bit more time consuming than filling a bottle - you might add on 2 minutes to your day - but without the added hassle of unpacking and repacking bits of your bag.
The water from my hydration bladder doesn't taste like plastic. I think that it depends on the brand and quality of the bladder. Mine is from Source https://sourceoutdoor.com/en/10-hydration-systemsI haven't decided yet what I am doing for my upcoming Camino. Last time I used bottles but I know I didn't drink enough. My cousin gave me a bladder but it tastes horrible. The water tastes like plastic! Is there any way to fix the taste? I tried baking soda. Will vinegar help? Gracias!
How do I clean my Platypus bottle or reservoir?I haven't decided yet what I am doing for my upcoming Camino. Last time I used bottles but I know I didn't drink enough. My cousin gave me a bladder but it tastes horrible. The water tastes like plastic! Is there any way to fix the taste? I tried baking soda. Will vinegar help? Gracias!
IMHO the bottle vs bladder question is a case of horses for courses, as are most equipment choices. I've always used one 500 ml shop bought water bottle on the Frances since there is water available every few kilometres ( longest water free stretch is 17km after Carrion de las Condes I believe). For me it was enough to drink a full bottle at the refill point then carry 500ml more to next refill. I did use a bladder on my last camino because I ran some of the stages and it's difficult to take a drink whilst running! I would take a bladder AND a bottle if I did a more remote camino like the Via de la Plata where refill points are few and far between and the temperatures are problematic. Bottle - easy quick refill, harder to drink whilst moving, easy to see how much left. Bladder - bit of a pain to refill and reinsert into pack, can't tell how much water is left, great for drinking on the go (esp when jogging/running), great for carrying a bit more water for more challenging conditions but extra water weighs a lot!
I am walking my 1st Camino April/May and have read differing opinions on water bottles vs hydro packs. I am 120 lbs and wonder if 4 lbs (water& bladder) would use too much of my 12 lb pack recommendation. ???
Timely info on the water bottle and perfect for me, thanks DaveI've used this backpacking and really like it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075X5R67T/?tag=casaivar02-20
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?