Hydration Packs

Effortless Fluid Consumption On The Trail

Aug 31, 2007 Jeff Wetherington

Quenching your thirst and staying hydrated while hiking is easy when you use a hydration pack.

When our ancestors first began traveling through areas with no known sources of potable water, they used animal skins to store and carry water with them. Later, canteens made of metal were used and then, with the invention of plastic, heavy metal was replaced by the now ubiquitous lightweight material which led to the now-overflowing shelves we see stuffed with bottled water and energy drinks.

Those bottles of water and energy drinks are easy to carry on hiking and backpacking trips, but they do have some drawbacks. If you practice the "Leave No Trace" credo (and hopefully you do), then you know if you pack it in you must pack it out. Additionally, depending on how and where its stored on your backpack, the bottle can be hard to reach or require that you remove the backpack to even get to the bottle. Carrying the bottle in your hand is an option, unless you need both hands for climbing or steadying yourself as you hike.

Enter the hydration pack.

Hydration packs are backpacks or waistpacks that contain a refillable rubber or plastic reservoir or bladder with a flexible hose and mouthpiece that allow the wearer to drink hands-free. Such hydration packs are manufactured by a couple of dozen companies like GoLite, Wingnut, Hydrapak, Hydrastorm, Platypus and Oasis, but most people refer to them by the manufacturer's name of CamelBak, as a generic term. Sort of the way we used to refer to all photocopies as "Xeroxes."

The mouthpiece on most models is a "bite valve" that, as the name implies, opens for the flow of liquid when the wearer bites down. Some hydration packs are insulated, to keep water from freezing in low temperatures and from becoming warm in high temperatures. Reservoir capacities usually range from 1.5 to 3.0 liters.

If you're going to be hiking in a high-temperature area, it's a good idea to fill the reservoir and place it in the refrigerator (or freezer) a day or two before departure to give yourself a supply of cold or cool liquid to drink. Be aware that, once you've been out hiking in high-temperature areas for an hour or so, the water in the tube (not the reservoir) will be warmer so that your first 2 or 3 swallows each time you drink won't necessarily be cold until you reach the reservoir supply.

In low-temperature activities, filling the reservoir with air temperature liquid just before your hike should be sufficient, but if you're worried about it freezing then definitely invest in an insulated pack.

For hands-free convenience and satisfying your thirst on the trail, a hydration pack is your best bet.

The copyright of the article Hydration Packs in Backpacking, Hiking & Camping is owned by Jeff Wetherington. Permission to republish Hydration Packs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

CamelBak Hyrdation Backpack