Category Archives: Backpacking Gear

Platypus Soft Water Bottle: Ten Year Review

Backpacking Gear

I’ve been using these for 10 years, so we can call this a real gear review, based on extensive field use.

Platypus 1 liter soft bottles in a zPacks Zero backpack.

Over the past 10 years I’ve taken them on almost every backpacking trip I’ve done. On some trips they are the only bottles I use, especially when I need the absolutely lightest pack possible, as in the picture above.

Other times I bring them as extra water storage for my night camp, when I use Gatorade bottles for drinking water as I hike during the day. I recently wrote about this in this post  where I will just roll up the Platypus soft bottles and store them in my pack where they take up little space. They Platypus bottles are light and durable, but they are far from perfect.  Continue reading Platypus Soft Water Bottle: Ten Year Review →

The “Best” Water Bottle (backpacking & hiking) is Free

Backpacking Gear,

This is a 20+ Year Product Review

When I started backpacking there was no such thing as “specialized” water bottles. We just used canteens. At first heavy aluminum ones then these plastic ones below – all found at Army-Navy surplus stores for really cheap!

Today, we have so many specialized water bottles available to us, which is kind of crazy. Do we need to purchase hiking specific bottles just to walk, when we can get free ones?

If you do a search for “water bottles” on www.rei.com   the result lists 222 items!

So which is “best?” If you do a Google search for “backpacking water bottles” many of the search links will include “best backpacking water bottles.” 

Best is what works for you. For me, most of the time, best is a re-purposed (recycled) Gatorade bottle.

Continue reading The “Best” Water Bottle (backpacking & hiking) is Free →

Update Your Old Kelty External Frame Backpack

Backpacking Gear, ,

There has been a lot of interest in this post on Vintage Kelty External Frame Backpacks.  Seems many folks have figured out these backpacks are fairly light and extremely durable, not to mention several companies are starting to bring new versions of external frame backpacks to market. Yes, as things often go, the old stuff works and marketing people think they have come up with something extra-ordinary, when in fact, they are just re-inventing the wheel. Although I mostly use a couple of internal frame backpacks most of the time theses day, I still use my old Kelty external frame backpacks. They just work and are fun to hike with. Often these old Kelty packs can be found pretty cheap in thrift stores and on eBay.

One problem with these old Kelty packs is the foam in the shoulder straps and hipbelts get rock-hard after several decades. Several folks have told me they would have bought a used one, but the foam was too hard.

Now there is a solution. 

In fact the solution has been around for a long time! Order a replacement shoulder strap set and hipbelt for Kelty’s current Trekker 65 external frame backpack. In this post I will show you how to install them on an old-school Kelty backpack.

Continue reading Update Your Old Kelty External Frame Backpack →