Two years ago I swapped from hard jerry cans to softcells for my camping water needs. And I too store all my water bladders dry, whether they're the large watercells for camping or my Camelbak for hiking. I only carry Jerry cans now for fuel. On my Camelbak, to have cold water when hiking, instead of leaving it in the fridge full. What I do is fill it on the day of the hike with 1/3 cold water and 2/3 with ice cubes. And depending on the length of the hike and/or how hot the ambient air temp is, that ratio might change. Obviously the more ice cubes you put in, the longer it will be cold. I've been using this system for nearly 2 decades and works extremely well on my 2L & 3L bladders. Minor downside is sometimes there is slight condensation. But when it's 30+ degrees and you've been hiking for over an hour or two, sipping clean fresh cold water in the middle of nowhere is way worth it.
Great advice regarding the ice thanks, Hammer Rocks, I find that you can insulate the bladder quite well with the contents of your bag whilst hiking too, so you can keep the water icy cold for quite some time. ~ Ben
For plastic jerry cans do a red cordial mix and fill it up once. Dont know why but it gets rid of the plastic taste. Red cordial taste will after a couple refills.
Another good subject for discussion. I have a 20lt jerry permanently mounted on my ute, with a flip tap. Good for washing hands at work, and when camping, I have a 2lt juice bottle constantly topped up from jerry, for cooking and drinking.
The watercells are great because they take up nearly no space at home to store when not being used. Just remove the cap, roll it up and store it in the freezer - stops them going funky inside (along with camelbak bladder)
I take a 10ltr Sea to summit bladder filled with filtered water from home on the bike. I have a 2ltr frozen hydration pack on my back and a couple of collapsible 5ltr containers to filter with my sawyer filter. I add water to the pack from the bladder and have cold water for a couple of days. I never fill the bladders with water other than at home and they seem to stay clean.
We just had a trip up the coast for five nights (stopping at a new place every night). I carried my 10 litre jerry can and topped it up every second day. I reckon I could’ve just filled it fully maybe twice, but I feel better topping it up when I know there’s water available. I used to carry the 20 litre, but it’s so heavy to lug around, especially when you’re trying to not be obvious about camping in your car. I super duper want to try one of those water cells. They look great. And the convenience of being able to fill a smaller container directly from a spout on the lid really appeals.
The Watercell's are great. Prior to these I used 10L jerry cans. I found these to be a good size to lug around as you mention, and also splits my water supply up into multiple containers, minimising the risk of losing it all if any of them spring a leak. ~ Ben
Far North Qld in summer it's easy to go through 10 litres a day when you're humping weight over distance. Many places there isn't places to top up and the only option is to carry it
I lived in Central Australia and always carried more water there than I do down south. I really like travelling in places where you know there is plenty of natural water sources that can be treated to make it safe for consumption. This saves a lot of weight in vehicles and backpacks. ~ Ben
been waiting for this one, shit i have a 25 litre container like a mini plastic drum style screw lid on top with tap at the bottom any suggestions? reckon its enough for me and my wife for a couple days or am i lugging around huge weight i dont need benny?
If you need and can carry 25 litres when you camp then it's not too much. I'd probably get by on about 10-15 litres for couple of days in the cooler months for my family of four, but I am quite water conscious. If you still have 15 litres left in your water container after every trip then I'd say you are carrying too much. That being said, it's always good to have some in reserve. ~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors 25 litres last me and the wife like almost 5 days just for cooking cleaning and boiling yeah but I need a hung it has a tap and what Lauren said don't travel with plugs/taps on I've done it all year I'm lucky haha
So many options for water. Personally I use the 10L spr8ng water containers from Coles that come with the little tap. These are refillable so it saves more plastic in land fill if you reuse them and I keep 2 in the fridge at home so I always have ice cold water. I have 2 currently for camping as one cap recently started leaking and 2 for the fridge full time. I'm planning to build a trailer for camping soon and plan to install a 60L water tank with filtration and pumps so I can draw water and filter it straight from any water source. That will be for longer/more remote trips and for family trips. I also rather store my containers open and dry when not in use unless they go into the fridge in which case the water gets used pretty quick and refilled.
Thanks for your feedback, Mick. Those silver bladders in the 10L containers are pretty tough and good for a number of uses. I've always found the tap a little difficult to get off though. Have fun with your trailer build. ~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors I don't mean the silver goon bag style I use the hard plastic style 10L ones. Some have the coin style tap while these have a twist tap like on many if the more expensive hard containers and they just screw off to be refilled.
Water bladders are now available in various sizes I had a 60 litre sitting behind the passenger seat in my twin cab, bigger sizes available ie I could have put a 100 litre behind both seats After taste was noticeable but more use takes care of it, don’t have a problem using garden hoses just water something first 😀
I have seen a few big water bladders around, Drew, I was considering one that sits in the rear footwell a while back. All of these are great in that they don't create dead space as they empty out. I have also tried rinsing with bicarb-soda and lemon juice, which seems to minimise the aftertaste, as you mention, regular use also helps. ~ Ben
@@SnowysOutdoors I have just upgraded to a 40 litre poly Ben. Fits behind front seats and drains from either side bonus is little kids can put their feet on it no probs or you can stack gear on it 👍
