Gearing Up: Packing a sturdy water tote can help fend off dehydration

MomSeattle · Pets · SPI · MySeattlePix · My account

Local

US/World

Sports

Business

A&E

Life

Comics

Photos

Opinion

Blogs

Buy Ads

Jobs

Autos

Homes

Rentals

NWsource

Getaways

July 2, 1998

Gearing Up: Packing a sturdy water tote can help fend off dehydration

By KRISTIN HOSTETTER
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Thirst is a powerful thing. Not only can it make your lips feel like sandpaper and your tongue feel like a ragg wool sock, it can turn you into a bumbling, stumbling safety hazard if you let it go on long enough.

In fact, by the time you actually feel thirsty, you're already well on your way to being dehydrated. Not a good thing when you're miles into the woods and a day's walk from the nearest Big Gulp.

Clean drinking water is often a precious commodity Out There in the wilds, which is why your method of carrying the stuff is so important. Sure, you could carry your water in a 2-quart Evian bottle -- it's cheap, light and widely available -- but drop that bottle on a rock and you could end up with an unrepairable puncture or gash. There are much better options.

But before we look at the different types of water holders, remember: It doesn't do any good just to carry the water. You need to drink it regularly. One sure-fire way to find out if you're drinking enough water is to check your urine. As my friend Dusty, who teaches wilderness first-aid courses, says: "Clean and clear: nothing to fear. Yellow and stinky: drinky, drinky, drinky!"

Wide-mouth bottles: Made of either polyethylene or Lexan plastic, wide-mouth bottles are versatile and rugged. The gaping maw makes it easy to tote leftover pasta from last night's dinner or rehydrate dried foods for tonight's recipe.

Lexan plastic, distinguished by its smoky gray color, is super-strong and light and resists odors and tastes like a champ, so it's great for flavored drinks and food storage.

Look for wide-mouth bottles with caps that are attached to the bottleneck so you won't drop the cap in the river while filling up.

Bladder systems: You'll find all sorts of newfangled "hydration systems" on the shelves of your local outfitters. These systems consist of a soft-sided bladder bag or reservoir that holds your beverage and stows in your pack, plus a long flexible tube with a bite valve on the end. As you're walking down the trail, you just grab the valve and suck -- no need to drop your pack and rummage around for your bottle.

The beauty of a system like this is that you're much more likely to drink early and often to fend off dehydration. Look for a strong bladder bag with welded seams and a bite valve that's easy to operate.

Bike bottles: Those thin, plastic, snap-top bottles that fit so nicely in your bike bottle cage have no place in your backpack -- unless they're leakproof.

Before you put a bike bottle in your pack, fill it up, shake it, squeeze it, hold it upside down and check carefully for leaks. Look for O-rings that seal off openings, but remember that these can get dislodged.

Your best bet, if you must go with a bike bottle, is to pack it in a side pocket, where it can't soak your sleeping bag or food supply.

Canteens: If you like the slender shape and no-drip, narrow-mouth opening of a classic canteen, toss that rusty old Boy Scout remnant that's in your basement and invest in a strong plastic one. Your water will taste better, and it won't dent or leak in your pack.

Water bags: For toting large quantities of cooking water from the river up to camp, you can't beat a fabric water bag. They weigh practically nothing and pack up in the size of a baseball. Some have leakproof valves so you can haul water from camp to camp, but most come in an open bucketlike shape. Either way, look for a bag with a handle or hook so you can hang it from a tree branch for easy access.

Kristin Hostetter is the equipment editor for Backpacker magazine. She resides in Portland, Ore., but spends most of her time in the wilds testing gear. For more information on equipment, check out Backpacker's Web site atwww.bpbasecamp.com.