[Rob Gillespie]

Up

0

Down

::

This is actually a more interesting topic than it looks. I have a 2 L bladder from Osprey I think, it’s one of the quality brands anyway. I don’t particularly like having to deal with the taste issue in it, and so generally go with water bottles. The key issue though frequency of drinking, and maintaining regular intake, particularly now we’re in the warmer months. My bottles are mostly Nalgene so there is never taste issues (as compared to metal bottles, that can leave the water with the metallic taste). I have found though that some bags facilitate more frequent drinking, and save from having to take the pack off to access your water. I have 2 Osprey Aethers and an Osprey Talon. The side pockets open both at the top like you’d expect and also on the top half of the side pockets. This side entry to the side pockets enable the bottles to be retrieved and returned easily without taking the pack off. This might not sound like much, but is a great feature. This is a big sell point for me when looking at bags (because we all want more gear!!). Some other brands may also enable similar access.