Water bladders in the desert

imported
#1

i was told that the southern california section of the pct does damage to platypus water bladders…why is this? what adverse effects would the desert have on a platypus verus an msr dromedary or a camelbak?

bill

#2

The theory is that all the sticky things in SoCal, like cacti and other plants, puncture the bladders. I didn’t have this problem, evem though I normally carried my water bags on the outside of my pack. I used 3 2.4 liter platypus waterbags, but just used them like canteens. No problems from puncturing, just from me falling on them in the Sierra. Platypus has a new design that eliminates on the weakest links in the bag.

Suge

#3

I used 4L drom bag along with two one liter gatorade bottles. Never had a leak although would see a few folks with platypus bags fail.

Ganj

#4

i do a fair bit of desert backpacking in both CA & AZ, and the ONLY time i have ever had a water container get damaged was when i was on Horseshoe Mesa in teh Grand Canyon. i was carrying a 1L Nalgene Cantene in my hand, wasn’t paying enough attention, and as i swung my arm the cantene bumped into an agave leaf, which of course popped a hole in it. had i been carrying a patch kit there would have been no problem. alas, i was not and had to chug the water.

so don’t carry your water in your hand and don’t bump your bladders into a cactus.

tarbubble

#5

Jeff and I both used a combination of Camelbaks as our main water supply (with hydration tubing), and Platys for additional capacity. It was a second thruhike for our Camelbaks. They’re pretty tough. We’re always careful where we put them down, but not excessively so.

We did see a couple Platys begin to leak along the edge seams in places where they were repeatedly folded. We tried to avoid folding ours for this reason. When they are empty, we just pack them flat in our packs.

You can buy Platy patches, but they are tough to get to work on the leaking seams. They’ll work for punctures, though.

Chipper

#6

thanks for the discussion. your experience has settled my worries. i can’t wait to hit the desert. any basic tips you have for the southern california stretch? any stuff like “if i did it again, i’d do such and such differently”?

bill/nightfever

#7

Drink lots of water. Cover up from the sun by wearing a big hat, long sleeve shirt, long pants. Do not rely on sunblock. Hike early, hike late. Don’t cook unless you are at a water source. Drink lots of water. I know I mentioned it twice, but it is twice as important as anything else.

Suge