Soft water bottles

A place to chat about gear and the philosphy of ultralight. Ultralight bushwalking or backpacking focuses on carrying the lightest and simplest kit. There is still a good focus on safety and skill.
Forum rules
Ultralight Bushwalking/backpacking is about more than just gear lists. Ultralight walkers carefully consider gear based on the environment they are entering, the weather forecast, their own skill, other people in the group. Gear and systems are tested and tweaked.
If you are new to this area then welcome - Please remember that although the same ultralight philosophy can be used in all environments that the specific gear and skill required will vary greatly. It is very dangerous to assume that you can just copy someone else's gear list, but you are encouraged to ask questions, learn and start reducing the pack weight and enjoying the freedom that comes.

Common words
Base pack backpacking the mass of the backpack and the gear inside - not including consumables such as food, water and fuel
light backpacking base weight less than 9.1kg
ultralight backpacking base weight less than 4.5kg
super-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 2.3kg
extreme-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 1.4kg

Soft water bottles

Postby Lamont » Sun 18 Aug, 2019 2:14 pm

Looking for some 600ml soft bottles. They seem stupidly expensive, even the decathlon ones. Sick of mangling the soft PET ones. Need to be see throughish. Any bargains out there?
Ta G
User avatar
Lamont
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1960
Joined: Sun 21 Feb, 2016 1:27 pm
Location: Upper Kumbukta West
ASSOCIATED ORGANISATIONS: https://www.againstmalaria.com/
Region: Other Country

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby keithy » Sun 18 Aug, 2019 4:08 pm

I also have used Vapur bottles (and similar ones that we had gotten as freebees from events - I got some from Melb Water and the Victorian govt trying to get people to drink tap water), but they all tend to break at the creases in the base after significant use.

I have the Hydrapak and the Salomon Speed Soft Flask but they are a bit pricey.

For cheaper options:
Kmart has a copy of the Hydrapak folding bottle 1L but at about 150g it weighs more than the original Hydrapak original. But it is substantiallyl cheaper. The Kmart version and the Hydrapak have wide mouth tops which fit my Steripen pre-filter attachment. Under $10.

I have also been using the Naturehike 750ml folding bottle since about 2016. My first one is still going well, but the bite valve has gone a bit yellowy. About $10 when I got it. I have a couple now.

The lid on the Naturehike 750ml is wider than standard bottles but not quite as wide as the normal Wide Mouth bottles. I have had to make my own pre-filter attachment to use it with my Steripen.

I like the Naturehike one as it is easier to drink from with the bite valve. It came with an attached bite valve cover as well. The whole assembly can be taken apart and cleaned relatively easily too. The downside is it doesn't stand up when filled, and the floppiness doesn't make it easy to fill from rivers/lakes and use my prefilter.

The Kmart hydrapak copy works nicely as it has the standard wide mouth and the thicker material and extra plastic makes it hold shape when filling, and stands up on its own. I'm just not very coordinated drinking from the wide mouth on the move. The material might not be transparent enough for your requirements.

The Decathlon soft bottle looks like a copy of the Salomon Speed Soft flask, but there's another Chinese brand you can scout for called Aonijie that makes these under $10. A mate has their triathlon running vest with shoulder pockets for their bottles.
User avatar
keithy
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 737
Joined: Tue 28 Oct, 2014 5:31 pm
Region: Other Country
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby keithy » Sun 18 Aug, 2019 4:17 pm

The kmart one is $8.50 see here https://www.kmart.com.au/product/collap ... le/1862805

This is what it looks like against the Naturehike 750ml.

Cheaper Soft Bottles Collapsed.jpg
The Kmart 1L one is about 150g The Naturehike 750ml is about 50g
Cheaper Soft Bottles Collapsed.jpg (103.74 KiB) Viewed 18076 times


Cheaper Soft Bottles Expanded.jpg
Cheaper Soft Bottles Expanded.jpg (74.28 KiB) Viewed 18076 times
User avatar
keithy
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 737
Joined: Tue 28 Oct, 2014 5:31 pm
Region: Other Country
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby Hiking Noob » Sun 18 Aug, 2019 7:55 pm

I have two of the Hydrapak varieties and I hate both of them, the one like the active & co one above is annoying to drink out of and they both have the same taste my Hydrapak bladder had ~15yrs ago.
I like the Platypus ones, they don't last as long as they delaminate after being folded many times but they have no taste and I think that the shorter life is a fair trade off.
EDIT- Sorry these are quite expensive.
Image
Hiking Noob
Athrotaxis cupressoides
Athrotaxis cupressoides
 
Posts: 224
Joined: Sun 08 Feb, 2015 10:11 pm
Region: New South Wales
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby slparker » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 10:39 am

If you are concerned about longevity and taste you could go full retro and get an aluminium Sigg bottle (or equivalent). The do not wear out nor do they have a taste.

They are around 150g for a 1 litre bottle.
slparker
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1404
Joined: Fri 25 Apr, 2008 10:59 pm

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby Mark F » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 11:09 am

I am curious as to why people use small collapsible bottles (500-600ml) assuming they are for water. I understand the reasons for larger collapsible bottles and regularly use 1 and 2 litre sizes for water in camp or the odd long dry stetch of a walk. For water on the go I have always used pet bottles - often two 600ml ones. They are usually at least half full and there seems to be little advantage in them being collapsible.

I regularly see small collapsible bottles in KMart, Big W and the dollar shops, usually in the kids lunch box area.
"Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove".
User avatar
Mark F
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 2332
Joined: Mon 19 Sep, 2011 8:14 pm
Region: Australian Capital Territory
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby crollsurf » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 11:18 am

I kind of agree with Mark F, they can be hard to drink out of without 2 hands and they seem to fall out of side pockets easier.

But... for good money you can buy my current fav, the BeFree 600ml from Katadyn. People complain they block but I haven't had that problem, mainly because I've never had to filter muddy water and I regularly give it a proper rinse. I find if you filter a couple of litres of water before heading out, that gets rid of the taste the Befree sometimes has. Also find the Sawyer pouches hang in there nicely for carrying dirty water.
User avatar
crollsurf
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 2216
Joined: Tue 07 Mar, 2017 10:07 am
Location: Sydney
Region: New South Wales
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby Lamont » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 5:10 pm

Thanks all.
Thanks kindly Keithy I shall have a look at those suggestions-there's also a Kmart about 20ks away (which is close) so next time I will look that one up.
Some ideas to ponder-whatever they are they need to be clear. Will think on it :D
User avatar
Lamont
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1960
Joined: Sun 21 Feb, 2016 1:27 pm
Location: Upper Kumbukta West
ASSOCIATED ORGANISATIONS: https://www.againstmalaria.com/
Region: Other Country

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby ChrisJHC » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 5:47 pm

I've gone the other way and just use 1 or 1.5L bottles from the supermarket (the ones from the soft drink aisle).
Bonus - they already come filled with water!

I find they last at least 6 months before I get a new set.
I've never had one fail.

They fit well inside my side pouches and the 1.5L bottles fit perfectly inside my titanium mug which then goes inside my side pouch.
ChrisJHC
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 783
Joined: Sat 25 Feb, 2017 8:22 pm
Region: Victoria
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby slparker » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 6:04 pm

ChrisJHC wrote: the 1.5L bottles fit perfectly inside my titanium mug which then goes inside my side pouch.


Ditto.
slparker
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1404
Joined: Fri 25 Apr, 2008 10:59 pm

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby headwerkn » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 8:58 pm

Mark F wrote:I am curious as to why people use small collapsible bottles (500-600ml) assuming they are for water.


It mostly comes from the trail running side of things, where they are more comfortable sitting in the front chest strap pockets of a vest or vestpack, where they're easy to access and refill at aid stations or running creeks/water sources, and allow you to more closely monitor your fluid intake than a bladder hidden away. They also don't slosh nearly as much as a hard bottle as they empty. Being collapsible, you can stow a couple of extra empty bottles away in your pack, say for races that require you have the ability to carry a minimum 2L water yet the course maybe only dictates you'll actually need 2L of water on you to get through one section between aid stations or water sources... part of the Cradle Run in a dry summer for example.

I personally prefer them for hiking too, usually one 500mL plain water and one with a strong electrolyte mix. I've got a bunch of Salomon branded Hydrapak bottles in both the narrow and large-mouth versions, the latter being vastly superior for refilling and popping in electrolyte tabs/powders. They are quite expensive to purchase individually I'll admit (I usually get mine included with trail vests) but bear in mind they are covered by a lifetime warranty. I had a pair of the earlier design bottles start to leak at a seam point after a couple of years and these were replaced free of charge within a couple of weeks, no questions asked. The subsequent design is much better, devoid of sharp seams, and are still going strong after 3 years.
User avatar
headwerkn
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 617
Joined: Sat 09 Nov, 2013 3:50 pm
Region: Tasmania
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby Lamont » Mon 19 Aug, 2019 9:55 pm

They are for my 10L fast walking/shuffling/training pack. Not much available space. The smaller container is more easily packed in when full. The sack has no side or shoulder pockets and clean water access every 12 ks or so. Stuffed inside with all my cold weather and brew kit stuff for a cuppa after a couple of hours flat out.The larger solid bottles are a bit of a pain when full and a pain when empty. Already tried 600 ml PET bottles, a wee bit too voluminous when empty.
User avatar
Lamont
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1960
Joined: Sun 21 Feb, 2016 1:27 pm
Location: Upper Kumbukta West
ASSOCIATED ORGANISATIONS: https://www.againstmalaria.com/
Region: Other Country

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby Petew » Sun 01 Sep, 2019 1:02 pm

I use two 600ml SmartWater type bottles and carry a evernew 2L bladder/bottle. The pet bottles are hard to beat. In the last three years I have had to replace one because it got into the recycling by accident.
Petew
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 711
Joined: Wed 05 Oct, 2016 12:07 pm
Region: New South Wales
Gender: Male

Re: Soft water bottles

Postby Neo » Mon 02 Sep, 2019 8:08 pm

I fondled the kmart version, pretty heavy.
Today a hydrapak in Anaconda, $25.

Picked up a spare balance 1 litre from Coles, $2.10
Neo
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1887
Joined: Wed 31 Aug, 2016 4:53 pm
Location: Port Macquarie NSW
Region: New South Wales
Gender: Male


Return to Ultralight backpacking

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests