RE: [pct-l] Hydration Systems

["Robinson, Brian A" <brian.robinson@compaq.com>]

Hydration systems are a good example of a general truth.  That which is more
expensive is not always better for thru-hiking.  Commercial gear is sold by
features; the more the better.  But do we really need all the bells and
whistles?  Rarely.  A thru-hiker is often best served by the simplest,
lightest piece of equipment available.  

Like many people, I brought a collapsible water bottle on my '97 thru-hike.
(A Reliance "cube" style bag with a big red valve on it.)  It worked fine
until it started leaking.  Thorny pieces of dead Cholla cactus put several
pin-holes in it before I reached Agua Dulce.  Duct tape slowed the leaking,
but I still had damp clothes.  Talk about useless weight!  And the other
features were not worth the weight.  The big convenient valve could open
accidentally in my pack.  A simple screw-on cap would have been better,
lighter, and cheaper.  The big red handle made the bag easier to carry, but
how far did I carry it that way?  Not far!

I replaced it with several soda bottles with screw-on caps!  They can be
found anywhere.  They're very light, cheap and durable, and can be discarded
or replaced at will.  An empty 2-liter soda bottle even makes a decent,
though noisy, pillow.  As others have mentioned, 1-quart wide-mouth Gatorade
or Snapple bottle makes a great primary bottle.  I didn't even miss the
space savings of the collapsible container.  The bottles had to fit in my
pack when full, so they still fit when empty.  If I didn't need one for the
next section, it was garbage.

Other's, whose packs were too small for all those bottles used plastic milk
or orange juice bottles with screw-on caps and a handle.  The handle allowed
it to be tied on outside or carried by hand.  It looked a little unstable
sometimes, but it worked.  And they got by with a smaller, cheaper, lighter
pack.  (My empty pack weighed about 6 pounds then.  Some of theirs were
under two pounds.)  

Are you looking for decent leak-proof containers in which to ship fluids for
your re-supply boxes?  You could buy a bunch of little Nalgene bottles at
REI, or you could buy a case of water bottles with screw-on caps.  Which do
you think is cheaper and lighter?

Brian  
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