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Runs_With_Bears t1_itlc451 wrote

Reply to comment by maxpowe_ in A train passenger saw a woman waving for help. It was a hiker who'd been missing. by guanaco55

That’s a shitload of excess weight that’s completely not necessary when a simple lightweight, plastic nalgene will work.

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bennetyee t1_itm1vtx wrote

When you run out of water purification tablets you can boil water in a metal bottle, assuming that you can start a fire (Ferro rod, knife, wood) and there's a water supply. Cannot do this with a nalgene bottle.

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Runs_With_Bears t1_itmm67s wrote

Considering a small bottle of iodine tablets lasts months I’d say you have a lot bigger things to worry about if you have to resort to boiling water out of a bottle because you ran out. I spend most of my time in the backwoods of CO and carrying a stainless steel water bottle is overkill. If I’m that lost in the woods that I run out of iodine then I’m just drinking the water regardless.

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bennetyee t1_itmxk44 wrote

Cooking?

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Runs_With_Bears t1_itn30lp wrote

When I was backpacking in Indian Peaks a few months ago I had my jet boil, my iodine tabs, my nalgene and my spoon. Had several days worth of dehydrated camp food. That was more than enough for all my eating and drinking needs. My nalgene and jet boil and bottle of iodine together weigh less than my stainless yeti. Definitely would have been overkill. Like trekking poles on the sidewalk overkill. Over time you will replace a lot of gear based on experience. I’d never feel the need to hike with a stainless bottle. Have one for car camping and it’s nice.

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bennetyee t1_itn712v wrote

i'm confused. what did you heat up w/ your jet boil? your spoon? or were you heating up water in your nalgene?

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Runs_With_Bears t1_itn9uyo wrote

Water goes from stream to nalgene. Iodine goes in the bottle. Water then goes into jet boil where it is boiled then put into camp food pack. Was just listing all the things I actually needed to eat and drink.

Years of hiking and backpacking and camping you learn what you will need, what you might want to have with you and what you probably don’t need. Again, experience can replace a lot of gear, either by realizing what sort of gear you actually need or eliminating that piece entirely. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and still make them but every time you go back out you do things differently, better. And I can honestly say I would never bring a stainless steel water bottle on a hike. To me that’s like bringing your camera, your laptop and CD player when you could just bring your phone. Why carry all that when I could bring a nalgene and a jet boil for the same weight and it’s easier to use that way?

It’s the people who have a false sense of knowledge who think they know what they’re doing out there and think they’re making the right choices on gear, route, etc that end up needing a dangerous rescue. It’s a false sense of experience and you can see that come out when someone says stuff like they’d bring a heavy stainless steel water bottle and use it to cook. Experienced people will scratch their heads at that. Knowledge comes from experience. Either your own or from talking to others with experience.

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maxpowe_ t1_itmqsu3 wrote

The same size nalgene is only a little less than half the weight. The steel has more advantages for the 120g extra.

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