No cracks about bodily functions this time. I’m talking about water bladders for hiking/biking/canoeing, etc.

I’ve been hiking about 18 months and have had to pitch two heavy-duty 100-ounce Nalgene bladders that became worthless after springing leaks.

I bring this up because I found this post on a PCT2006 thread by a guy who has had such terrible luck with bladders made by Platypus that he resorted to carrying water in old Gatorade bottles.

I really needed a hydration bladder back when I got started because I was in such terrible condition that I could drain three liters on an eight-mile hike. But the more my condition improved, the less appetite for bladders I developed. They’re big-time maintenance hogs: hard to clean, apt to get smelly if you forget to clean, need to be disinfected every third time you use them. And that much water up against that much rubber always creates crappy-tasting water after a few hours. And you never now how much water you have left because the bag is buried in your pack.

I’ve pretty much given up on hydration bladders, for now. It’s not that hard to stop for a minute to grab a drink from a water bottle, which generally won’t spring a leak.

If you’re a long-distance cyclist or hiking against the clock for training you probably do need a hydration bladder, but the rest of us can get along without ’em.