what is The lightest way to carry water hiking: Trail Guide

What is The lightest way to carry water hiking?

Hiking is fun and enjoyable thing to do out in nature, one of the hassles of long hikes is not knowing what is the lightest way to carry water hiking can shorten your hikes or you end up carrying to much weight in your pack.

Below will discuss the best way to carry water for hiking trips and why you should use these tips for a long hike.

How To Hike With Water

Hydration is the most important thing a human needs to survive, so weather your going for a day hike, or a 20 mile hike through the woods you must have a water source to survive.

Lets dive into an important topic of lightest way to carry water hiking, water can be heavy I mean it does weigh 8 LBS per gallon.

I doubt anyone wants to hike a trail in the blistering heat carrying 8 lbs of water or more in there back pack or holding a water bottle all day.

what is the best way to hike with water and not be weighed down at the same time?

There are things called hydration bladders, you may have seen these on runners they use them often to stay hydrated without having to stop running.

A hydration bladder would be the easiest way to carry water during your hiking trip. and if you have hiking backpack that is compatible with reservoirs you can choose between different shapes and sizes.

Now something to be aware of when shopping around for a hydration bladder is that there not all created equal.

This is not something you want to go supper cheap on, so plan on spending a bit more money to get yourself a good hydration pack, because the cheaper ones can leak.

Some of the cheaper brands have been reported to have a bad plastic smell and often need to be washed out over and over to keep the water tasting good.

How much water should a hiker carry?

A easy rule to remember is a hiker will use about 1 litter of water for every 2 hours they are hiking, so if you plan to go for a 2 to 4 hour hike, then to be on the safe side you would want a 1.5 to 2 litters of water to keep you hydrated.

Is Gatorade good for hiking?

In my experience drinking Gatorade on long hikes is not the best idea, Gatorade can sit heavy on your stomach and give you cramps when temperatures are high.

For someone who is not used to drinking Gatorade I would suggest drinking water, or buy some all natural electrolytes powder that goes into the water.

Gatorade also contains sugar and that can cause headaches and sore muscles when hiking.

How To carry Water While Hiking

what is the best way to carry your water hiking? It’s not to bring a long a metal canteen or water bottles these will just annoy you after a few miles of hiking.

Real hikers would invest in something called a hydration pack, these look like small backpacks with a long house that you can suck on to drink the water.

They come in sizes of 1 to 2.5 litters, mostly long distance runners use these when they are in a marathon. but hikers have seen great success using a hydration pack.

WHAT ARE SOME TOP BRANDS OF HYDRATION RESERVOIRS?

Below we listed 3 top brands for hydration packs, The best way to carry water hiking is to use a hydration pack also known as a camel pack.

These packs allow you to drink water easily as you hike, no need to stop or have bulky water bottles in your hiking pack.

Most hydration packs are all very easy to clean and are BPA safe.

Filtered water bottles

If you don’t want to carry water on your back or feel like you have a backpack on during your hike, you can choose to bring along a filtered water bottle, the good thing about these is you could fill them up at a creek or a lake and the technology inside the bottle will purifier your water for safe drinking.

How does filtered water bottles work?

The bottle filter contains a proprietary blend of activated carbon and a binder that holds all the ingredients together. Water passes through a porous filter where chlorine (taste and odor) is adsorbed and broken down on the surface of the activated carbon.

Below is our best choice for a filtered water bottle

collapsible water bottles

collapsible water bottles is another option to easily carry water while hiking, these water bottles can collapse down to a small bottle and open up to a full 16 OZ water bottle.

They come with fasteners on the bottles that will allow you to snap onto your hiking pack or easily store them in your bag without taking up much room.

the Nomader Collapsible Water Bottle – Leak Proof Twist Cap – BPA Free, 22 oz is the best water bottle we have found it won’t leak and it takes up no space at all.

Other Hiking Essentials

But what are some other things you need when backpacking? That are light weight and won’t weigh you down?

If your just going on a day hike in a state park or even your local area, here is a list of a few must haves to bring along.

• Knife
• A strong climbing rope is always good to have on hand
• Sunglasses
• Hat
• Sunscreen
• Bug repellent
• Flashlight
• GPS tracking device
• A Whistle
• Extra Socks
• Good comfortable pair of hiking boots
• Long Pants
• A Light breathable Shirt
• Protein Bars
• A Full 1 to 2 litters of water for a 3 hour hike
• 2 way radio in case your cell phone doesn’t work

Good rule of thumb is for a simple day hike don’t exceed more than 10 LBS in weight, and for someone who plans to hike for days and camp, the pack should not exceed more than 30 lbs.

Hikers should not use water bottles

A hydration bladder pack, is easy to store and carry with you during a hike, however it can’t just be tossed into the bottom of the hiking back.

To have the hydration bladder work properly and be to feed water, it must be hung in an upward position so the gravity can feed water into the drinking tube.

To place the bladder you find anyone of your side pockets on your hiking pack, make sure it fits tightly, then make sure the exit port is at the bottom and run the drinking tube through the backpack straps and clip it to your chest..

This way you’ll be able to easily sip some water without having to stop and grab a water bottle.

Reasons to to not bring water bottles

1. water bottles are made from plastic, and often times these bottles get left in the wilderness and slowly ruins the beautiful parks
2. water bottles require stopping to drink
3. water bottles can be noisy and could disturb other hikes when bird watching (always think of Others on the trail)
4. water bottles take up a lot of room and add extra weight to the hiking backpack
5. carrying a water bottle will distract you from seeing the sights and enjoying your hike

To recap, hiking is a great time, however you’ll want to make sure you have a proper check list before just starting out on some trails.

Hiking can be dangerous, so make sure you bring the right amount of water to drink, be sure to have the proper survival gear with you in case something doesn’t go right on that hike.