Tag: water bladder

March 27, 2025 – New Year, New Gear, Part 7

March 27, 2025 / / 0 Comments

This week is all about water. I purchased an MSR, in-line filter. This is going to be my solution for water filtration and protection from water born pathogens. Not only is it more inexpensive than the pump filter but it is more compact as well. Don’t get me wrong, the filter itself was not cheap but at $50 it sure beats $300. It is supposed to be good for 1500 gallons, that should do for a while.

I decided to purchase the filter from a sporting goods, big box retailer. The price was a couple of dollars cheaper than Amazon or REI. More than price, I wanted to spend my money with an entity that holds the same values that I do. That would be primarily staunch second amendment support rather than wishy-washy at best. I will still patronize the others when they have what I need, but given the choice I want to spend my money where it matters.

I know, you probably do not care where I bought it or why I chose a particular retailer. The thing that kind of, sort of chaps my hide is that the filter came with a missing part. The female quick connect was not in the box. It appears if somebody opened the package, I can see that the paper is torn where there was a sticker holding the box together.

I can surely say that I don’t really know how to communicate this. I suppose that I could return it but the most important part is there, the filter. I can buy the missing component and move on. So that is what I am going to do. Time after time my experience with purchasing open packaging, this happens. Unfortunately, I bought it online and didn’t get to pick in the first place.

I have already mentioned this before but I do plan on purchasing a second filter as a back-up. In theory, I would get the component I am missing and I really only need one. But, I realized that there are cheaper in-line filters. The Sawyer brand is half the cost and is also a smaller form factor. I will most likely go in that direction rather than a direct replacement.

The plan is to splice the filter in between the reservoir outlet and the draw end, quick connection. This will be one compact, self contained package for the water that I need on the trail regardless of source. I think that this should work out nicely.

The other hydration bladder pictured is my backup that I will carry. This provides me with the confidence that should I have a problem with my primary one, I will have another. This is not just for backup however. The plan is that if I need to leave the trail for water, I can carry twice as much, eliminating the need to refill before the start of the day as well.

I specifically chose this hydration bladder for three reasons. It is 3 liters in size, it has a carry handle so that I can more easily carry it bare from the source and it fills from the bottom rather than a twist cap. My thoughts are that filling from the bottom allows for a more flexible way of collecting water if the source is shallow. I may have need to collect water in my secondary bladder so that I can transfer to my primary.

You know when the battle plan falls apart? On first contact with the enemy. My next purchase is going to be the tent. Once I have that, I am ready to switch from my training pack and start to do some overnights. I won’t have everything I want or am planning on buying but I will have everything I basically need for my trip. I need to get some familiarity with all of these things to make sure it is working as anticipated.

End Your Programming Routine: I have some backpacking experience so I am not going into this endeavor blind. That being said, a lot of my plan is theory or how I think it is going to work. I need to get to the testing phase as soon as possible so that I have time to maneuver if and when things don’t go as I am expecting. I will not be going far away from civilization and just for over night but it will be valuable insight that I need.

February 27, 2025 – A New Year, New Gear Part 5

February 27, 2025 /

Despite the fact that I listen to podcasts all day long, I have made a habit of not having anything in my ears while I do my long Saturday hikes. It is me and my thoughts with the idea that this is how it is going to be on my actual PCT hike as well as I need some time to engage with the brain. One of the things that I have come to the realization is that there are only six paydays between now and when I was thinking of doing my hike.

Paydays are how I advance my agenda. I try to plan and spend $50-75 each time and I have all of my gear wants listed out. Clearly, there are some things that are more than that like my tent, so that is excluded but this trip is coming up fast. But when I do buy my tent, I will not be spending the $50-75 that I would spend on a normal pay period. There are four items that fit that bill remaining. Today is not one of them.

After my experiment with the generic water reservoir, I have decided that concept is going to work for me. I purchased the Gregory 3L reservoir for a particular reason. Because my pack is also a Gregory, I figured that a complimentary water reservoir would have some advantages. As you can see there is a specific hook to hang it in my pack.

Is the upgrade over generic worth the money? Well, lets talk about some of the features that are different with the Gregory over the generic. The first one I already mentioned. Second, the tubing disconnect is placed in a position that you can leave the feed tube threaded through the pack and still take the reservoir out to refill. One of my future purchases is going to be an in-line filter that I will ultimately splice between the outlet and the tube connector. This will be my plan to have safe drinking water on this trip.

When the reservoir is out, there is a carry handle that the generic does not have. At the outlet point, there is a hook so that it can be hung upside down for cleaning and drying purposes. At the dispensing point, there is another on/off valve. This is nice because I have experienced some leakage with my generic model. A pinch on the supply nipple will cause this. Finally, the Gregory has a rare earth magnet connection that I am using as an extra securing point. But it could also be used to retrofit packs that don’t have the tubing loop on the shoulder strap.

Is the $35 reservoir better than the $20 reservoir? I would say in every way and this is particularly true when matching the Gregory reservoir and pack. I haven’t fully investigated this and there is nothing wrong with a Camel Back or other premium brands. I suspect that some of the benefits are negated when mixing brands of packs and reservoirs.

I don’t plan to throw out my generic reservoir. It will have a place in my gear as a utility item or backup because I have more than one pack. Ideally, I would like to have one drying while I use one. I simply plan to use the one with the best features on my hike.

I am going to have to make critical decisions when it comes to what I pack. I am seriously considering packing two bladders for the reason that at some points, water will not be on the trail. It will be an extra mile or two to water off the trail. My thoughts are after hiking fifteen miles, I am going to want as much water in one trip rather than making one at the end of the night and then in the morning.

The second reservoir would be for the purposes of carrying water for cooking cleaning rather than making two trips. I would plan to hike with it empty. In addition to that, what if the one I am carrying malfunctions? The trip is over. I cannot realistically carry backups for every item but the ones that are critical survival cannot be overlooked.

The other little package are some clips for straps. I plan on trying to address my pack constantly loosening with these. Unfortunately, I purchased the wrong size and I have the right size coming. They were not expensive but I do not know if they will work. More on this to come in the future.

End Your Programming Routine: As I alluded to at the beginning, this thing is coming fast. I need to be thinking of stringing multiple days together and not just procuring the necessary gear to get started. Picking and choosing gear in the right order is critical to enabling training as I go along. I am targeting my tent by Spring Break time so that I can start unlocking the next level of training.