Water bladders with hoses are all the rage for day hikes and bike rides, but they do tend to spring leaks and require you to remove the bladder from your pack for refills — a major headache for backpackers. I had two Nalgene bladders go bad on me before I took another route: I use one of Nalgene’s “collapsible canteens,” which are more rugged, easier to clean and don’t spring leaks. I also bought a cap with a hose that converts it into a hydration system. It’s a little clumsy getting in and out of the pack but it wears like iron and seems much easier to keep clean. If you try this, though, don’t bother attempting to use the hose and cap with a hard-sided Nalgene bottle: When you draw water from the hose, the canteen collapses but the rigid water bottle can’t, which makes taking a drink akin to getting a golf ball through a garden hose, which is a bit of a challenge to those of us working outside the the adult films industry.

GoBlog and Calipidder both mentioned seeing this cool new hydration-hose system at the outdoor-gear shindig they attended. These solve the bottle-can’t-collapse issue by putting a little hole in the cap to keep the air pressure equalized — though I wonder about water leaking around the hose port if the bottle tips. Nalgene carries a similar product that looks a bit less high-tech and looks to have similar bottle-tipping issues.

A hydration system is overkill for most day hikes, in any case. If I’m out for less than three hours or hiking less than seven or eight miles I can get by with a couple water bottles in a fanny pack. Even for backpacking, the convenience of a bladder has to be weighed against the risk of a leak, which can drench all your gear. I’m tempted to think you’re better off taking more rest breaks to fetch drinks from your water bottle, compared to the aggravations of bladders and hoses.