When you go backpacking you cant forget to get the little things, like water bottles. Water bottles are the kind of thing that most people have lying around the house, but if you don't have a few good water bottles to take with you, or if you're interested in seeing what else is available, there are some great backpacking water bottles out there. You might not think that there would be much innovation that could be put in to something as simple as a water bottle, but you would definitely be wrong.
Backpacking Water Bottles
What to look for when you are shopping for backpacking water bottles.- Lightweight - Water is already heavy enough, so there is no reason to add to all that weight by carrying around heavy water bottles too. If you have a preference for something like stainless steel, it can be difficult to avoiding adding a few ounces with the water bottle, but if you're open to a few more innovative options, you can save quite a bit of weight by shopping around for water bottles.
- Big Enough - Water bottles come in all different sizes, and getting the right size is important. If you're backpacking over long distances, for instance, you might want a few different water bottles so that you can store some for longer distances between watering holes.
Best Backpacking Water Bottles
A few of the better backpacking water bottles that are worth looking at for your next backpacking trip.- Nalgene Wide-Mouth Bottle - The Nalgene is a classic, and with good reason. It's tough and relatively lightweight. The wide mouth is also a definite plus for filling from streams or fitting on to the end of a filter. This particular version holds 32 ounces, or .95 liters, and weighs in at 3.5 ounces, or 99 grams.
- Kleen Kanteen Stainless Steel Bottle - If you don't like the idea of plastic, and prefer something like stainless steel, then the Kleen series of bottles are a great choice. They come in a number of sizes, ranging from 12 to 40 ounces. The 12 ounce version weighs 4 ounces, or 113 grams, while the bigger 40 ounce version weighs 11 ounces, or 311 grams, so definitely not as lightweight as the Nalgene, but you wont find any lightweight stainless steel bottles.
- Platypus Platy Plus Bottle - This is a rather innovative water bottle that backpackers will likely appreciate. It's made of a pliable plastic, which you can fold or roll up when you're not using it. The main advantage of this is that your unused water bottles wont be taking up all kinds of space in your backpack. The other big advantage is that these weigh next to nothing, at just .8 ounces or 22 grams for the 1 liter version, and 1 ounce or 28 grams for the 2 liter version.
