Water Bottles or Water Bladder

[Sytes]

Bladder w/ backpacks. Bottle with shoulder strapped hip pack.

 

[glass eye]

When hunting AZ or other warm regions I carry a 16 oz. bottle as backup to my 100 oz. bladder. If I start sucking air on the bladder hose it's good to know I still got 16 oz.

 

[hank4elk]

3-ltr Kenetrek HD Kevlar bladders the last 5 yrs. Had them freeze a couple times @ mouthpiece and ez to clear. Only had them leak a few times and that is usually operator error. MSR domadairy for bulk.
I also have a mil-surplus collapsable canteen if it get real cold,rare in NM. I carry it in my truck for hikes & hunting.
I hate water sloshing sounds, as much as office pants rubbing sounds, from other hunters...LOL

 

[Pucky Freak]

Powerade bottles plus a platypus or camelback (have had good results with both). Nalgene is fine if weight doesn't matter but for backpacking they are beyond worthless. You might as well pack a few lead bricks with you for good measure.

 

[RobG]

13 below yesterday and I used a bladder. Of course the d*mn tube froze solid because I forgot to drain it. If it has a detachable tube you can thaw them out by putting it inside your jacket , but I didn't need water anyway because I never got thirsty. At least it was heavy to carry around. Maybe I should carry a bottle instead .

 

[Brian in Montana]

I generally use nalgene water bottles. I find that I drink more water and stay better hydrated with a bladder, but its cold where I hunt a lot of the time and the tube freezes up easily. And a water bottle is easier to refill in the creek.

 

[beginnerhunter]

Always used bladder since it doesn't get that cold where I am. Had most nights below 15 deg on my elk hunt but my tube is insulated and never froze solid. I do blow it out before bed. I also like that its 3L so it can move a lot of water around.

But I think I'll take a bottle next time I backpack hunt. A few posters brought up a good point about having a backup if the bladder fails while backpacking. So I'll probably take both now.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Maybe I should carry a bottle instead .

Rumor has it that you always carry a bottle to celebrate ... once you git yer elk!

 

[thusby]

Seems like it doesn't matter what I bring, it is frozen before I can drink it. End up eating a lot of snow.

 

[Nameless Range]

I won’t use a bladder on an overnighter or in tough weather. Just too much risk of it soaking your stuff when it breaks, which will happen eventually.

Just happened to my hunting partner last weekend. Seems like there are too many potential points of failure with a bladder as opposed to a bottle. Nothing like your backpack getting soaked when it's 15° out and the wind is howling.

 

[GlockZ]

I do both. A 3 liter water bladder, and depending on the temps, an additional 1 or 2, 1 liter Smartwater bottles. Found the Smartwater bottles are thin and fit better in my pack, plus i have a Sawyer filter that screws right onto them, so I can refill them. I've used the Nalgene in the past and they work, but seem to take up a bit of room in the pack.

 

[Duck-Slayer]

I just got done elk hunting for 7 days, 5 continuous. Lows from 13-24 degrees. Tube froze every night, just put the tube between sweatshirt and puffy jacket, thawed in 15-20 min, kept my bladder in my pack with some clothes in the pack insulating it. Worked for me, 2L blackovis bladder,
Matt

 

[LuckyGoose]

I use a 32 oz nalgene in a pocket on my pack belt, a sawer squeeze filter (not the mini), and a 64 oz. sawyer water pouch. That has served me well for years. You just cannot let the sawyer filter freeze. It lives in my cargo pocket for the entire hunt and in my sleeping bag at night. The nice thing about this system is you can carry 96oz. of water if need be and quickly fill up the pouch as you come across water and just keep filter it later.

 

[NVDesertHunter]

Literally hopped on HuntTalk to ask this exact question. My camelback finally sprung a leak and now its time to decide if I want to purchase a Platypus bladder or just use a Smart water bottle and Nalgene. I have the Sawyer Water filter which would fill either the bladder or water bottle quickly so thats not a concern. But not having to deal with a hose coming out of your pack, getting dirty, cleaning after the trip, catching on bush or making sure the cap is on would be nice.

 

[hossblur]

1.5 litre smart water bottle in a camelback bottle holder on pack belt, virtually silent.

Thats exactly my set up. I hated the crunchy plastic bottles.

 

[WapitiBob]

That specific bottle was money for me.

 

[WyoDoug]

Depends on the situation. If I am packing or hunting via horseback I use a bladder. If I am hunting out of a blind or close to a vehicle, I usually have bottled water.

 

[brockel]

If it’s cold out always blow air back through your hose so it doesn’t freeze

 

[TheKnigit]

I typically have a 2 liter bladder and a hydroflask that I take in with me. The hydroflask also doubles as a tape/med. Supply storage. That way I can make coffee and/or drink out of a seperate vessel and still have my water.

 

[Mrvrsick]

I have gone the last few times with just the smart water bottles, it just carried over from klhiking and backpacking. I noticed that they sloshed a lot when they were horizontal, might try something different with my new pack. If it doesn't work, I might use the bladder, which wouldn't be bad because I find that I drink more if its right in front of me.

Another thought is that even though it sloshes, is it really any louder than my footsteps or loud panting? Who knows, the deer never really talk to me.