Okay, I know I’ve been posting quite a bit lately, but I was also wondering about how people move water around: I have a MSR water filter I want to take with, and along with that, I really like the Nalgene bottles, since you can screw directly to them and not worry about spilling/dropping/etc… but they’re HEAVY!!! What are the most common choices on the trail? Not a hydration pack, I assume- I’ve had troubles with the funky flavor and keeping them clean. Thoughts?
J.F.
you might try a soft nalgene bottle. they weigh considerable less and still have a water filter compatible top.
marty
you’ll either hear about this on here or once you are out on the trail. but a lot of people will start of with their water filters and nalgene bottles, then as they lighten the load they switch to aqua mira(2oz 1/2 full) and some type of disposable bottle. my favorite right now is the tall narrow 1 liter smartwater bottle, fits in my side pockets better. i carry two of them at 1.60z each.
two nalgenes(6.4oz each) and a katadyn hiker(13.5oz) weigh in at 26.3oz. you can save over a pound, 21.1oz to be exact. and that is a start.
all weighed on my home scale. the hiker weight includes storage bag, but w/o clunky nalgene attachment.
jerm
I don’t use the Nalgene bottles, but there is one example of when they are very useful to have. During winter hiking some hikers heat up water and put it in their Nalgene bottle, which then goes with them into their sleeping bag for the night. It is like having a hot water bottle.
Other than the Nalgene, I would not trust another bottle full of water inside my sleeping bag.
jaws
they won’t screw directly to your filter, but what an awful lot of people carried water in was gatorade bottles. they’re durable and when they start to get stinky just get a new one. easy.
but if you’re not carrying a water bag, I sure hope you’ve got a lot of pockets on your pack for all those full water bottles.
0101
one hiker I know would use his nalgene to pee in, and then he would stick it in his sleeping bag to keep warm and in the morning he would just wash it out and fill with water 
(ONE VOTE For Aqua-Mira)I will not devulge “Buckwheat” name no matter what!
1/4 (Quarter) of the way
I use those one liter soda bottles. They are nearly indestructable and light. Every so often I will buy a new soda so I can replace the bottle. As a bonus you get to drink the soda! Lately I have been carrying one Nalgene only because it has graduated markings on the side and I have been experimenting with cooking outdoors and need something to measure with.
Big B
In addition to what Jerm stated: “Two nalgenes(6.4oz each) and a katadyn hiker(13.5oz) weigh in at 26.3oz. you can save over a pound, 21.1oz to be exact. and that is a start.”
There’s also more weight due to the fact there will always be water inside the filter/tube. Back in the day when I carried a Pur Hiker there was atleast an extra half pound of water floating around in one of these areas. Personally, I would go with two 1 liter Aquafina, Dasani, or Evian water bottles and Aqua Mira. Not only do you save tons of weight but who wants to pump a filter after a long day of hiking?
guru
Recently I’ve been using Platypus - like it, but the small mouth is, admittedly, hard to fill from a lake/stream. I resisted the concept of a “Hydration System” for many years, but now I’m hooked.
Speaking of Nalgenes and warming a sleeping bag, they also work great filled with hot water, inserted into an extra sock, then placed in your heavy leather boots. The boots are not frozen in the morning, and the water is still liquid! Worked for me down to about -12*. This may be kind of dated now (showing my age) since most younger hikers have never experienced the old HEAVY leather boots. They were a royal pain to get on when frozen solid.
I’ve also switched to Aqua-Mira by the way.
Lyle
guru is right, i forgot to note that i weighed my filter dry.
as to the gatorade bottles. the new gatorade endurance drink makes a great bottle. it is a little over a liter and is taller so narrower than a regular gaterade bottle. and, if you are an aquafina type of person, the sip top off of the gatorade propel and the like fit on the aquafina bottles and other similar 1 liter drinks. and the gatorade propel bottle fits nicly in your back pocket as seen here.
i just started to experiment with the smartwater bottles. they fit better in my side pockets on my ula. but, i do like the wider mouths on the aquafina and gatorade bottles.
jerm
alright, so i was looking through my jmt pics again, and found this one a couple after the one i linked above. it shows a filter being used. and the bottle is the gatorade endurance.
now, the best case scenario is to get one of you hiking partners to carry the filter. you’ll just have to pump water some times, but not the weight.
jerm
Anyone notice how big Jerm’s ass is in the first pic? :lol
I’ll take clean, clear floater-free water over that aqua-mira nastiness any day. No matter what everyone else may say, it’s like drinking pool water to me. :x
Cap’n
if only your skinny legs could support a sexy ass like mine. we all know what you guys think about my ass already.
jerm
I saw more than a few folks have troubles with those MSR filters - not like after five months, but five weeks. Way too many parts on that thing.
Kineo Kid
alright, one more jmt picture. the couple in this picture were having trouble with their msr filter on the second day. cap’n is filtering water for them w/ his filter. i just think of that thing as a communuity filter now. i guess we should all chip in when his filter gets clogged.
jerm
i have used a few different systems and last year i mailed my katahdin home from neels gap,switched to aqua mira then idonated my nalgenes @ frnklin n.c ,to platypus they can be trusted in sleeping bagz but freeze outside bag very quickly also mouth is not big enuff to pre soak food (beanz/grain rice)the
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terrapin