no weights because they are totally irrelevant. it's a plastic container. it weighs what it weighs to do the job. the concept of gramme counting on what is vital equipment is an alien one for me.
i use liquitainers but you can use anything and of what size you like really. it's down to personal preference.
liquitainer with convertube and quick release shut off valve
liquitainer with convertube and mouth end connected
a drinksafe systems in-line filter if wanted (best bit of kit possibly ever)
instant water filtration system
liqitainers go wherever you want them to. inside your pack, on the top, in the side, in a coat pocket. when that bottle is empty unscrew convertube and insert into another bottle.
have one bottle for "clean" water and with the addition of another convertube have one for "dirty" water. you only need one mouth end as the "dirty" water will be filtered. or just leave the filter connected all the time for everything.
easy to move. easy to connect/disconnect. easy to fill. easy and free to replace. flexibility and usefulness only limited by your imagination. and filtered water too!
probably getting on towards one of the lightest full function hydration systems - and true hydration system rather than a marketing name for a plastic bag.
I now have the Drinksafe on line filter and Source bottle set up, I won't be using a bladder and mouthpiece just a gravity feed set up, plucking up the courage to cut the pipe work. I don't see that I need long pipes, have stringed the dirty bag so I can hang it . Am I missing something and going to regret short tubes.There is a youtube vid on this
Also any tips out there on a light water scoop, I usually use the cookpot but that means its dirty though going to be boiled. I know about a cut down platypus,plastic cups.
I reckon a scoop might help as the quickest stream flow is usually just out of reach or you have to teeter on a rock in the stream to get at the water.
I now have the Drinksafe on line filter and Source bottle set up, I won't be using a bladder and mouthpiece just a gravity feed set up, plucking up the courage to cut the pipe work. I don't see that I need long pipes, have stringed the dirty bag so I can hang it . Am I missing something and going to regret short tubes.There is a youtube vid on this
I butchered the feed tube on my Source 3L Widepak to accommodate an in-line filter and, with a bit of careful measuring, was left with a short (c15cm) length to use for gravity feeding. A longer tube would have been better as I gravity-fill Platypus bottles and it's a bit more stable if you can have the feed tube extend all the way into the bottle. That said, it's a minor niggle.
The weight difference is negligible so I would go for a 30cm tube if you can.
I used to use water cycling water bottles but have lost so many, either hiking/ camping or moutain biking that I now use a 1L Camelback with ruck sack. This hangs over my chest, under the jacket to prevent freezing, and is easy to use. Works well and doesn't interfer with my main rucksack. I also carry another litre in a bottle in the rucksack, for cooking and extra water. I find the Camel back easy to clean and fill.
Just back from doing a section hike on the Appalachian Trail including the 100 mile Wilderness. Done 1000 miles now so a happy bunny.
Though likely to be my fault, ie I didn't filter straight away to my bottle through a bandana, so the in line Drinksafe slowed to trickle after a few days so had to use Aqua Mira. I hadn't taken the tap attachment to back wash the filter so a bit of a fizzer for me. I have back washed it now and it seems to work ok. I was using the system as a gravity feed at night to fill up1 litre bottles.
The filtered water did taste good. Any tips on usage/back washing of the Drinksafe would be helpful.
The above setup is almost exactly what i use for collecting `suspect` water. I point blank refuse however, to be robbed blind out of ten quid for Sources convertertube that must have cost all of 50 pence to make (and thats being lenient). I use a 1 litre Source bottle (and yes i even begrudge paying £5.50 for that - christ, it must have cost them all of five pence to make, cmon Source, get real!!) to collect dirty water then simply tape a bit of home brew tubing (40p) to Drinksafes tap connector then fit this over the bottleneck. I then run the suspect water through Drinksafes filter and into my 58 Osprey / 3L Camelback and Siggs. It works like a dream. The ONLY water that goes in the Source is dirty water and its NEVER drank from. My whole rig up is purely a lightweight emergency filtration system. Its cheap, effective and brilliant. You can stick ya Katadyns as far as im concerned!. Why walk around carrying a bicycle pump in your webbing when you got this and at an absolute fraction of the cost. Drinksafes filter is the ultimate piece of kit. If you dont want to haul a weeks worth of water on your back (& lets face it - whos that mental), you `absolutely` need this.
A good rig Ian, I had plenty of tube from bladder that came with small backpack I had but didn't use. I did fix a cord to the Source bag for carrying from a stream/spring and for hanging up for a gravity feed set up.(Careful when you put the holes in the bag)
I will look at the brew tubing it might be lighter, more flexible so you don't need to nurse the gravity feed into the bottle on the ground,it can topple over if uneven ground or when half full.
I generally pack a couple of 2L Platys. (What's the plural of Platypus? Platypi?) Anyway... the combined total of 4L is plenty for my needs throughout the evening and following morning. If I'm camping any distance from a water supply, then I generally don't fill up until the absolute last minute, because after all, that's another 4 kilos to lug along the trail. Any old dribble of water will do the job. One of the Platys just gets filled and has a screw top on it. The other one gets filled and is fitted with the hose. Even in I'm lying in the tent and cooking in the porch, a Platy hose can squirt water to wherever it's needed... into a pan... into a mug... or God forbid... onto the flames if I ever torch the tent! When it's empty, I switch the hose onto the other Platy and start over.
