water

[bnsafe]

so if you guys are leaving camp in the morning and not planning on coming back til dark how much water do you carry on you and do you carry water bottles or a filter and find water. im leaning on carrying water bottles as i dont wanna carry around my msr mini and i dont like the bladders in a backpack, just never had good luck with them.

[wawhitey]

if youre going back to camp at dark, i dont see why one liter bottle couldnt get you through from dawn til dusk?

[WapitiTalk1]

Between 2 to 3 liters in my ES bladder in the BW pack. I don't cook when out and about, that's just for drinking. Guess I drink a lot of water when on the hunt.

[Blue Falcon]

I don't bring more than two to save on weight. If I need more I just drink out of a stream.

[Da White Shoe]

I carry a 2 liter bladder and an empty filter bottle in case I run out.
Big mistake to limit your water intake when elk hunting... especially in the hot, dry September bow season.
Very big mistake to not drink enough when you're at high altitude.... you'll get major headaches, muscle cramps and in general, just feel crappy.
Huge mistake... and maybe your last mistake, to drink directly from a stream.
I made that rookie mistake back in '84.... I spent the 6th night of my ordeal in the Dubois hospital.
On the bright side though, if you're looking for a surefire weight-loss program... it'll work.
I lost 35lbs in those 6 days.

[Indian Summer]

Used bladders for years but 1 too many failures so back to Nalgene bottles. I carry 2 but normally only drink 1. I will drink from springs... but only right where they come out of the ground. Had 2 buddies get giardia and after seeing that I'll pass on any water downstream from wallows! NO SURFACE WATER.

Although... if I thought I could lose 25 lbs and survive I might try it.

[dapper]

We used bottles. Though we came back to camp mid-day, we carried two 32 ounce bottles with us. We were camped just under a 1/2 mile from water, so if we found ourselves at a water source and one bottle was nearing empty, we drank the remaindor to fill it back up and treat it. We used tablets for purification and one tablet treated 32 ounces. We also carried a milk filter with us to screen the water as it went into our bottles. A milk filter is a nylon mesh sock that is used in the cheese industry to filter the pastuerized milk going into the vat. It weighs practically nothing (though we cut ours in half) and works slick for keeping any small debri from the water. Reuseable the whole trip and costs under a couple of bucks, easy to find here, though I live in the cheese capital of wisconsin.

[Bowhunter]

If I plan to be gone all day I carry two 32oz Nalgene bottles. I also carry tabs and will fill up if I am down to my last bottle before mid afternoon and pass a stream.

[easeup]

I carry two bottles also and it is nearly always good enough to do the whole day. If not I have the filter pump also.
and I agree the bladders on my back just dont work for me either.

[BrentLaBere]

I am a huge fan of having a bladder for hiking/hunting purposes. I have never had a failure on one so I guess I am curious what has happened to others, maybe something to look out for? For me, one bottle would not be enough for a day. I will take the extra weight and would rather have water left over at the end.

[elkmtngear]

I carry my one liter Nalgene Bottle and my Steripen. I use a prefilter, fill the bottle and I have drinkable water in 90 seconds. I know where the good water sources are in my area, so no need to carry more.

I will try to get as close to the source of a spring as possible. Most of the wallows up where we hunt have an inlet with clean water nearby. Much of the spring water does not need to be filtered at all, but I go through the motions anyway.

Camp requires a spot with clean running water nearby, so I can boil up my Mountain House in the evenings.

[bnsafe]

thanks for the input guys. last year we took enuf bottled water for the basecamp we coulda had yall over for a week an not run out. then we carried in as much as we could for the backpack hunt cause we didnt know where the water was, and never did find a good spot to use my filter, at least on public land, i assume it was on private so did us no good. we ran out of water the morning of our third day an came out, prob woulda stayed longer if we had more water. the msr mini would be a pain to carry around for a day hunt i think. i will have to research the nalgene bottles, never heard of them. at this point i think i will carry 4 16 oz bottles for a day hunt, if im gonna stay out i will take the msr.

[GetemDuck]

I think this depends on the hunting your are going to be doing. If it is cool weather and I'm heading to a treestand I carry one bottle, it I will be on my feet moving all day and covering a lot of ground I will back 2-3.

[Swede]

I know we all are different, and the terrain, weather, and way we hunt all make a difference. That said, I wonder if some of you, who are using huge volumes of water, are running a marathon out there? Some hunters are using more water than I would when I was on the line fighting forest fires. Slow down and let the elk catch up.

[cnelk]

Swede said it....

If your sweating, you're moving too fast.

I carry a 2 liter bladder, usually last more than a day. Sometimes 2

[Arapahoe]

Fill up my platypus with the filter before I leave camp in the am or the night before. Use pills during the day when I get low. Been using the WA drink mixes and they cover the off taste but Iodine to me is bearable. Keep another platy in the tent for cooking.

Waters everywhere where I go and try to carry as little as possible.

[BrentLaBere]

Swede & cnelk,
Talking about running a marathon and sweating reminds me of some of my first scouting trips. I had it in my mind, and the person I was scouting with, we had to cover as much ground as possible to find elk/mule deer. Well most of the time glassing was actually catching our breathe from hiking so dang hard. Every time we would stop and look around we would see game........weird how that works when you stop and take a look instead of pushing through the country. Very good points on saying slow down, something I need to remind myself of and make sure I do an even better job of it this year. That goes along with saving water, IMO.

[>>>---WW---->]

For me, I take a 20 ounce diet Pepsi and 32 ounces of water in a military canteen with a canteen cup and stove.

[mtnmutt]

One liter of water weighs about 2.2 lbs. Water weighs a lot.

I take 1.5-2 liters in platypus. If no water source, 3 liters. Plus, carry Micropur tablets. I add electrolyte drops or use electrolyte tablets. Drinking just water is not sufficient. Your body absorbs water better if you also have enough sodium. Not sure on the mechanics of this. Most of our snacks have enough salt to help.

I get dehydrated much easier than most people. I do not work too hard hunting. It is simply what my body needs.

At desk job, I drink 3/4 gallon a day which is much more than most people. If I don't, I get sinus headaches from the dryness and ringing in my ears.

If your pee is faint yellow, you are usually hydrated enough. If it is bright yellow, you are not drinking enough water. Bright yellow pee may also be from vitamins you may have just recently taken, so it is not always accurate.

Another test I do while in a race, is to grab skin on back of my hand and release. If it snaps back to your hand quickly, you are probably hydrated. If it slowly eases back down, drink some water. Try this the next time you workout.

Bugs in your water from a creek is called protein.

[Huntography]

I'm like a thirsty moose and drink lots of water while out all day. Carry a 3 litter bladder.

Rudy

[bnsafe]

ww is a man after my own heart, diet pepsi and elk huntin.

[Accipiter]

People who drink straight from the stream or even a spring really don't know what you are drinking! After taking an aquatic entomology (aquatic insect) class in college, we really found out what is in the water you can't see and that doesn't include bacteria. If you drinking raw water from a stream you are ingesting nematodes, daphnia, water fleas, Crypto, giardia just to name a few.

Springs can have the same things if it is directly connected to surface water. I work for a state drinking water program and we have so many examples of what really grows in springs and wells. Most people don't know there are nematodes in wells too, anybody hear of a water bears? They live in very deep wells but not really dangerous to ingest. We had people with a contaminated well sit and tell us but it tastes good. Yea it maybe because all the additives like poop!!

Any raw water in ponds or creeks with beavers, cows, elk deer in it's water shed has a very good chance it has crypto and giardia. Think twice before drinking raw water of any kind, it is a little like playing Russian roulette.

[Haulin'Quarters]

96 oz. every day plus a purifier or tablets....just in case.

[CrazyElkHunter]

I carry 2 16oz bottles of water and 2 juice drinks. I rarely ever get into the 2nd bottle unless I have a elk down.

[RockChucker30]

Last year I used a hiker pro and a 3 liter bladder. I drink a lot of water here at home, but at 10,500 ft I was drinking insane amounts. I averaged 6 liters of water a day. I think it may have been the lack of humidity there as much as anything.

This year I will probably take my Sawyer filter bottle, which is a one liter bottle that I can scoop dirty water into and drink filtered water through the straw. If I'll be away from water for a while I can also take a 2 L bladder to store more dirty water in and then put it in the bottle to drink.

I like the sawyer bottle because I can take the filter out of the bottle and use it in a gravity system for camp.

[Da White Shoe]

You don't have to break a sweat to get dehydrated.
If your lips are getting chapped... you're probably dehydrated.
Water bladders with a drinking tube are one of the best things they ever invented for mountain hunting.
I suspect that the biggest reason people don't drink enough up there is... it's a pain to stop and dig your bottle out of your pack.

[WindedBowhunter]

bnsafe - for me this is not a cut/dry answer, as there are many variables to this answer.

What is the elevation you will be hunting?
How arid is the area you are hunting?
Do you know of springs, creeks and the like?

For me, I always carry my Platypus BIG ZIP 3L. IMO, you can never have too much water! Having said that, you don't have to keep the full 3 liters in it at all times. I will take Micropur tablets and or Steripen for treatment

The flip-side of this is that I always carry my Platypus BIG ZIP 1.5L on all my whitetail treestand hunts

Accidents happen, sometimes you need water and or you may find someone that needs water!

Other members have already shared the facts on dehydration, so no need for me to repeat!

[ferris bugler]

I always take a full water bladder, and try to make sure I drain it. That being said, since you don't want to take a bladder I would carry at least two nalgenes and someway to treat water. Iodine tablets with some drink mix is probably the best. I hunt a bunch of days where there isn't water to fill up with so therefor need to take it all from the truck.

[Indian Summer]

thanks for the input guys. i will have to research the nalgene bottles, never heard of them.

Here ya' go bnsafe. Easy to find at any sporting goods store. Comes in clear or various colors. I like the ones with the increments on the back so I can measure water for Mountain House meals, Tang etc.

nalgene2.jpg (48.89 KiB) Viewed 14480 times

[bnsafe]

k, i thought it filtered the water or something, im an idiot, lol.

[Da White Shoe]

k, i thought it filtered the water or something, im an idiot, lol.

Yeah, me too! I have something nearly identical, but it filters.

[Bartfrncs]

I suggest nalgean bottles and purification tabs about as lite as you can get.

[quarbles]

6L dromedary on me always, usually only half full. it's heavier than it needs to be but bomber and i'm never worried about it hemorrhaging. had an oldschool nalgene but it is now pulling duty as a bivy buddy, of which there is no returning......

[JimKirk]

I'd carry 1 to 2 liters usually in a platypus or gatoraide bottle. also carry aqua mira water purifier. A steri pen is also a viable option as they seem to have improved over the last several years.

http://aquamira.com/consumer/aquamira-water-treatment-drops/

[dotman]

I carry a 2 liter bladder and very rarely drink it all in a day, but I still bring an empty plastic water bottle to refill if needed.

[LckyTylr]

I use a bladder now and always have my filter, but before that I carried 4 each 32 oz Nalgeen bottles. I drink a LOT of water when elk hunting, it takes a lot of walking to find quiet bulls in thick timber. I'd almost always end up back at camp with a half full bottle. Some days while scouting I'll drink all 4 bottles and end up drinking one or two more that I filter from a creek.

[Ridgernr]

I drink alot of water but what I have found is when I get an elk down that is when I start to really need water.
I shot a spike a few years ago and getting it taken care of my buddy and I went thru all our water and food for the day hunt.
I now carry a full 2L source bladder and don't mind if I return to camp with some, I always remember that hunt.
I also carry Aquamira tabs, That source bladder is a tough material.

[martinclukey]

The water footprint of a nation shows the total volume of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation. i am searching exactly these topic only. and finally i got these are here thanks again. Actually want to buy the best water filter that's why i am collecting the few information about the water filter....thanks a lot...

[zpd307]

i am afraid of running out of water..... so i carry a 3 and 2 liter water bladder, plus a 32oz Nalgene bottle. neither bladder is filled to the max and the Nalgene is for my crystal light with caffeine for lunch. i only had to dip into the 2 liter bladder once in the two years of hunting colorado, its there just in case. my mouth and throat dry out quickly from breathing heavier all the time. i take a lot of sips to keep them wet. i am used to the humidity of mn summers.... i have not any problems with my bladders, they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[Kiwi Bowhunter]

When hunting back country Colorado do you need to worry about giardia or any other water bugs?

[Trophyhill]

100 oz camelback and have my hiker pro in my pack. Just never know when I may need it.

[dapper]

My son and I carry two 32 ounces bottles. If we cross a water source when one bottle is getting empty, we'll finish that bottle, refill it and chemically treat it. The refilled bottle isn't good to go until four hours(time needed for best results). We fill our bottles and treat them just before we go to bed. We also us a cloth pasteurization sock(from the cheese industry) to filter any debri from the water source.

Dan

[patdel]

I drink a huge amount of water. If I get up around 10,000 feet I'm constantly thirsty. Especially the first couple days. Almost cant get enough. I carry a couple bottles and some iodine tabs. I also have an Aqua Mira filter bottle. You fill it up and then squeeze the water out through the filter to drink it. When I cross a creek, or find a spring I drink as much as I can, and then fill every thing up. I get nasty headaches if I don't drink enough. I'm scared of Giardia, but am reasonably sure I'm safe with the iodine and filter. If I'm wrong about that, somebody speak up.

[tdirks]

Similar to elkmtngear I carry two bottles and a Steripen. Streams everywhere I've been hunting and it doesn't get much lighter or simpler than that. If a bottle gets empty fill it when you hit a stream, stick the steripen in and keep going while its purifying. I also carry some powdered Gatoraid and mix that in for taste and energy.

[WindedBowhunter]

You will always want to have water on hand!

For me I love carrying my Katadyn Vario. While it may be slightly heavier, it provides adjustable filtration and pumps/filters waters at 2x the rate of my Katadyn Hiker Pro! Plus, I like the handle better on the Vario as is not prone to causing blisters while filtering water in the warmer temps.

On a similar note, remember that no liquid chemicals, tablets, hand filters/pumps, UV devices will purify water if temps are below freezing.

The only way to purify at that point is to boil!

http://www.windedbowhunter.com/katadyn-vario-dual-technology-microfilter/

[COElkDude]

I fill my 100 oz bladder hunting sun up to sun down. I usually have a little left over at dusk. I also carry water purification tabs in my pack just in case.