How do you carry your water

[backpackpack]

Hello,

If you have to carry 2 or 3 gallons of water in the desert, how do you do it? I have just been using 1 gallon square jugs that have a good cap on them (not milk jug type) and I put them in my pack... but they take up a lot of room. Is this how everyone does it?

Thank you

[Jeff66]

If I need 2-3 gallons I usually avoid the desert. I'd use multiple soft sided platypus containers. They'll shrink as you drink.

[Jill G]

I use the Nalgene soft side canteen 96 oz. Wide Mouth filter compatible, molded handle and a gusset on the bottom so it stands up. Rolls down as you use water. $10.95 at REI
http://www.rei.com/category/4500485

[Hikin_Jim]

I too like the 3 liter (96 oz) Nalgene "Cantene" (why on earth do they have to spell it weirdly?). It's free standing (as in the below photo).

It drains well and drys out well. It packs reasonably well. HOWEVER, I usually can only get a couple of years worth of use out of them. I've had two of them fail at the seams.

I've been trying the MSR Dromedary in the 4L size since my last Nalgene Cantene gave out. It is not free standing, and it does not drain and dry as well. However, the material seems like it's a lot more durable. The jury is still out at this point.

I've used the gallon jugs of water plenty of times. I guess they're as good as any, particularly if you need to carry large amounts of water consistently. If on a particular trip I need to sometimes carry a lot of water and some times not, then I'd rather have something like a Nalgene Cantene or an MSR Dromedary that can be folded up compactly.

HJ

[backpackpack]

Jeff66 I think you have the right idea - Avoid situations where I need to carry 203 gallons

I don't know why, but I like to torture myself sometimes. Hiking up palm canyon when it is 105 out is pretty tough! Thanks for the suggestions, I did see some of those soft containers at REI yesterday and was wondering if people like them.

[Hikin_Jim]

Yeah, 3 gallons of water is nearly 25 pounds -- not counting the weight of the containers.

The weight of the containers is not insubstantial. If you use standard hard sided clear Nalgene 1L bottle (6 oz ea), that's 4.5 pounds of just containers. You'd be carrying 30 lbs just for your water+containers.

Platypus type (small opening) containers are the lightest reusable container, but the gallon jugs you get in the store are probably the lightest of all.

HJ

[climbant]

The soft sided platy's are good and so are the water bags for the sawyer squeeze filter. You can buy just the bags, I think the largest are 64 ounces. Can you reduce your water needs?

[Hikin_Jim]

Sierra Trading Post has Platypus 1L containers on sale for $5.52 ea. ($9.95 at REI).

That'd be a lot of containers (12) for 3 gallons, but they're very light and roll up to almost nothing when empty. The total weight of the containers for 3 gallons would be 10.8 oz (about 2/3 lbs) worth of containers -- vs. 72 ounces (4.5 lbs) for just the containers if you use hard sided clear Nalgenes bottles. That's about a four pound weight savings.

HJ

[KathyW]

I've never carried more than six liters of water in a pack, but I like individual liter bottles or 1.5 liter bottles - whichever brand of bottled water is cheapest at the grocery store or nalgene bottles filled from the tap.

[backpackpack]

When I am hiking in 100+ degree weather with no water sources I like to be extra careful... I might be water paranoid, but I definitely want a gallon and a half for the hike in + the rest of the evening, and a gallon for the hike out. I want a little extra so if I break my ankle or something crazy, I won't die of dehydration immediately

I could probably get away with carrying 2 gallons total for a single night...