Gear and Equipment

Troop 60 > Resources > Gear and Equipment > Water

Water

You need to consume clean water to survive the outdoors.

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What do I need for the Pacific Northwest

A hiker needs about one half-liter of water per hour of moderate activity in moderate temperatures. On a short outing, you can fill up prior to your outing and should be fine. On longer outings, you will need to treat water along the way.

Water Bottles

Talk to your SPL or Scoutmaster about how many or what capacity you need for each outing.

For a short hike, you will generally need 1 to 2 32oz (1L) Bottle(s):

Smartwater Bottle (reusable light weight option)
Nalgene-style Bottle
Metal Bottle
Military-style canteen

For longer excurrsions, you will also need a way to treat water collected on your outing or more water.

Water Bottle Holder

There are several ways to carry your water bottle. Many backpacks have a water bottle pocket on each side of the pack. Water bottles stored in side pockets may or may not be reachable while backpacks are worn. This depends on the backpack and the wearer's flexibility.

Another option is to add a Water Bottle Sleeve to a pack strap. This makes it easier to access water and moves the weight from your back to your front which may help with balance. Many manufactures sell these, including Justin UL. See picture.

Water Filter

Filtering water will make is safer to drink and help prevent sickness. A good water filter will filter out Giardia, Cryptosporidium and bacteria.

There are other water treatment options other than filters and these are discussed in our Water Science Page.

See our Water Filters Page for more on Filters.

Hikers on the Go:

Platypus QuickDraw Microfilter System
- Difficult to use if running
- Can't be used as an inline filter
- Filter Pore Size: 0.2 Microns
- Filtration rate: 3L/minute
- Filter media: Hollow Fiber

Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter
- Favorite UL and economy option
  - "Mini” and “Micro” versions will reduce weight but have painfully slow flow rates
- Bags are not great
  - Consider replacing with Smartwater bottle or longer-lasting Evernew or CNOC reservoir
- Filter Pore Size: 0.1 Microns
- Filtration rate: 1.4L/minute
- Filter media: Hollow Fiber

Camp Filter:

Quality Gravity Filter such as
- Platypus GravityWorks
- MSR AutoFlow XL Gravity Filter
- Guardian Gravity Purifier
- Sawyer Gravity Filter
- MSR Thru-Link Inline Water Filter

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