defixated

Hi. I'm planning a longish tour (SF to Texas) and shopping for necessities and maybe luxuries. I'm looking at the Ortlieb Water Bag which can be fitted with a shower valve. It comes in 4 liter (about 10 pounds of water) and 10 liter (about 22 pounds!) sizes.

Is this a reasonable thing to take along? It seems like a huge amount of weight, but of course it's easy enough to find uses for water. Otherwise I'm planning to take three water bottles plus two Platypus bladders (1 liter and 3 liter, I think) I already own.

pathlesspedaled

We like the MSR Dromedary bag. Comes in several sizes. We both carry 6L drom bags and they have worked out well. Enough water for about a day and a half. What is nice about the MSR Droms are they have a tough corudra skin and a lace that goes all the way around it so you can lash it practically anywhere! As a plus, it also mates well with our MSR AutoFlow Water Filter...

https://epicureancyclist.com/?p=965

Russ
www.pathlesspedaled.com
www.epicureancyclist.com

kayakdiver

I think what you already have would be enough.. enough for me anyways. When I know a longer stretch is coming I will at time pop into a grocery and just buy a gallon jug for that stretch.

3-24 oz bottles= a liter already.. plus another 4 should get you through most anything.

pathlesspedaled

+1 on Kayakdiver's suggestion of a gallon jug for a cheap alternative....Just be sure to get the kind of jug with a screw top and NOT a pop cap...the screw top will withstand being squeezed and bumped around more than a pop top (which will just pop)...

Russ
www.pathlesspedaled.com
www.epicureancyclist.com

defixated

Thanks for the comments. The San Francisco to San Diego route has easy access to services, so maybe I'll take what I've got and see how it goes.

Thanks also for the MSR Dromedary recommendation. That seems quite a lot easier to source in the US than the Ortlieb water bags. I'm pleasantly surprised to read that the MSR can take boiling water (!).

Anticipation building...

BigBlueToe

I have three Platypus water carriers. Each holds about 2L. They roll up small and weigh almost nothing. I just got back from a mini-tour in Utah. A couple of times my campsite was a long walk from the water source. I had only brought one of the Platypus bags, plus the three water bottles I carry on my LHT. I made a note to myself to bring at least 2 of the Platypus carriers next time, and maybe all three. After all, they weigh so little and take up so much space that there's very little downside, but being able to get a lot of water with each trip would be a plus.

On one tour where I thought find water might be difficult and where I expected hot weather, I brought a Camelbak. I prefer not to wear anything on my back when I ride, but it wasn't bad. One night I camped at a spot with no water, but I had filled up all 3 water bottles and the Camelbak at a store a few miles back. I had enough water for both dinner and breakfast, including a couple cups of coffee. (I had to be careful with it, obviously.) A nice feature of the Camelbak is that you can fill it full of ice, add water, and you will have ice-cold water for several hours. On those long, hot days that was really nice.

The Platypus carriers I will carry on every trip. The Camelbak is a good option for certain conditions.

porter

We have two four liter Ortlieb bags that we bought for the central america proportion of our trip - though we travelled across the USA and parts of Canada without these and did OK. One of our cycling companions in Central America had an MSR bag (maybe 6l) that didn't have any straps and he had trouble carrying it when it was full.

The ortiebs worked well for us and were easy to tie on - I'm not sure I would want to get anything bigger than a four liter bag though - they weight quite a bit when full. If you are going to get a water bag I'd make sure it has straps.

wahoonc

I will second the MSR bags. I have a couple that are pushing 10 years old and have been used fairly heavily. One advantage to me of the MSR bag, is to get the black one, fill it up and lay it in the sun for a nice warm shower at the end of the day. I prefer them over buying a gallon jug of water. They are easier to lash down and I have never, ever had one rupture, unlike some plastic jugs.

Aaron

positron

Another vote for MSR bags, been using them for years.

I would buy 2 4L bags- but I like to ride in deserts and need ~2days of water at a time.

very durable, no complaints whatsoever.

benajah

MSR water bags rock. I am not familiar with the Ortleib ones, but at any rate, having a decently sized water bag along is well worth it in my opinion. If you ride through remote places and don't have services often enough, they come in really handy, plus if you dry camp you can store enough water. They also come in handy for a lot of other purposes, (pillow, hot water for in the sleeping bag if you get stuck in too cold weather, all sorts of stuff)