Camping

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. . . There’s No Going Back Once You’ve Used a Hydration Pack

Hydration packs, how did we ever manage without them? The benefits of hiking or backpacking with a hydration pack are just so plain to see:

• Hydration Packs are Convenient -  You don’t have to stop and search in your backpack every time you need a slug of water, just so long as the sip tube is in the right position (which is sometimes easier said than done) you can just grab it, take a quick sip and keep on your merry hiking way.
• Hydration Packs can improve your performance – it’s true, just because it’s so easy to keep sipping at the water supply in your backpack you tend to drink little and often, which is just what you’re supposed to do except it can sometimes seem like a whole heap of bother when your drinking bottle has slipped to the bottom of your backpack again and nobody else wants to stop.
• Hydration Packs are cool – yes, you can be the one complaining when your mates (who don’t have hydration packs) keep having to empty out their backpacks to try and find a slurp of water. No, sorry mate, can’t stop, I’m on a hiking mission . . . you’ll just have to catch up with me when you’ve re-packed your pack.

Hydration Pack Capacities

The main thing which you have to think about when you’re choosing a hydration pack is how much water you’re going to need. This really depends on what activities you’re going to do.

• Day hikers, climbers and backpackers – should reckon on needing around 2 to 3 liters hydration pack.
• Racers, fitness walkers and trail running fanatics – generally go for the minimalist approach with just a 1 liter hydration pack.

It’s enough to make you need to pee . . . back in a minute!

• Mountain bikers – should have at least 2 to 3 liters (it’s strenuous stuff you know).
• Recreational bikers – those who are going nowhere in particular not particularly quickly . . . but enjoying the scenery until they get there should only need 1 to 2 liters of hydration pack.
• Skiers & Snowboarders – need probably a 2 liter hydration pack, but with insulated sip tubes so that they don’t freeze up.

Some hydration packs are “ready made” and pre-installed into backpacks, whereas some backpacks have been specifically designed with a reservoir or compartment to hold a reservoir with the necessary portal to poke your sip tube through.

Cleaning Your Hiking Hydration Pack

You want your hydration pack to offer a lovely supply of fresh, thirst quenching water on your hike, but just like everything else in this life you need to make sure that its kept clean and sanitary.  You need to think about the reservoir and the sip tube remaining clean and fresh tasting. How to do it:

• Mix up a couple of cups of baking soda with around 2 to 3 quarts of water
• add the juice from half a lemon, pour into the reservoir and leave it for a day or two
• empty out the reservoir and rinse thoroughly
• Prop it open so that it can dry out fully

There you have it, your hydration pack should be clean and fresh ready for your next trail hike into the wilderness.