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what's up with hydration?

mr_dove

Monkey
Jan 18, 2002
179
0
Denver, CO
Hydration has been a bit issue ever since Camelbak hit a scene a number of years ago. Hydration packs seem to be big business among some groups and totally ignored in others.

Most of the mountain bikers that I know use a hydration pack of at least 75 oz. and they're greatful for them.

Road bikers on the other hand NEVER have a camelback and very, very seldom have any hydration whatsoever. I see alot of road bikers living in Colorado and most of them don't even carry a simple water bottle. I understand that roadies are trying to keep their weight down but it seems odd that they would carry no hydration at all (except during a race where water is provided).

The other day I was in REI looking at a new camelbak when I ran into a friend who was shopping for a large backpack with his father (my friend is about 27 and hit father is probably in his 60's). Not knowing much about hiking I asked him if hydration bladders were standard in hiking packs. The father seemed honestly a bit offended at my comment. Perhaps he's just old fashioned or thinks that hydration bladders are just a fad or a marketing gimmick.

So, are camelbaks just a fad or a gimmick? Hydrate or Die certainly seems kind of sensational and gimmicky. Are there any more reasons why certain groups (roadies, hikers or others) carry no water or very little water?
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
Only very stupid hikers carry no water.

Actually, a lot of hikers carry hydration packs... I think you're just dealing with a fuddy-duddy.
 

thebornotaku

Monkey
May 19, 2008
359
0
Northern Bay Area
"Hydrate or Die", camelbaks, etc. are kind of gimmicky but who cares, they're useful. I have a 1.5L offbrand camelbak and I am seriously thankful for it.

The fact of the matter is, when you ride, you sweat. If you don't replace that water, bad things might happen. take out all the marketing, promotions, etc. and you're still stuck with the fact that if you get dehydrated bad things can happen.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
People who can't stop at a 7-11 usually carry more water with them.

P.S. No roadie rides without a water bottle, unless they like stopping every 10 minutes.
 

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
I typically have two bottles when I'm riding the road bike. Longer rides (40mi+) usually I take the camelbak.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
not hydrating is dumb. About the only time I don't like having water on hand is a local six mile loop, because you begin and end at the car, and it takes less than an hour. Anything longer and you better have a pack, and if it's much warmer than 80 I'd probably bring something.

Roadies probably don't wear them in order to be cool or look cool, or for that extra aerodynamic "edge". Remember, roadies also shave their legs.

As for the hiker dude, he'll change his mind when he gets stranded in a thunderstorm or lost out in the woods with no water for a day or two. How stupid, really.

Camelbak makes the best stuff. There's no doubt in my mind. Nothing I've used (blackburn, offbrand, some others) comes close to the original in terms of durability and usefulness.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
I have a stack of hydration packs in teh garage. My favorites are the Camelpaks, I also have Hydrapacks as well. I dont use them on the road for one big reason.... THERE TOO HOT.... when there on your back. But I ride with a pair of 20 oz bottles on the roadie whenever I ride. Usually one will have straight water, and the other will have some type of Hydration mix in it. Mountain bike I will have one of the backpacks, whichever I feel suits my needs the best for a particular ride.They range from 50 oz to a twin 100oz bladder.Only time I dont have some type of hydration while I am riding, is when I am racing DH. I hydrate before and after my runs.

And as already said, Only retarded Hikers dont have some type of hydration system, some like water bottles in a belt, but alot really like hydration packs.
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
I cant think of a negative for carrying a camelback with water, tools, etc. other than weight and cost.
That said, I think the whole "hydration movement" of the last several years is overdone. I think people can go longer without drinking than most would have you believe.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
I have never ridden road with a camelbak. Mostly out of historical reasons and cool factor.

I just stop every 30-40 miles for water.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,570
24,185
media blackout
I wear a hydration pack 24/7. Even in my sleep. And in the shower. And when I'm swimming. Coincidentally, I also wear diapers because I am constantly pissing my pants.
 
Keeping hydrated is a good idea. A lot of people go overboard with it. I have found that it's easier for me to carry fluid in a bottle and stop briefly to drink rather than to fiddle with bladder and tube and leaky bite valves - the whole rigging limits flow and makes it a pain in the ass to drink. I use piss color as calibration as to whether I'm drinking enough.
 

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
Water bottles for the road. I carry four in the summer and that lasts about two hours. Two to three bottles in the winter depending on distant and refill locations. I have most of my routes planned to be able to stop at a store/water fountain and refill them.


I use a camelbak offroad because you can't usually stop at the store on a ride. Sometimes on the local trail I use waterbottles and park so I can swing by and refill halfway thru.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,941
13,135
Portland, OR
I wear a hydration pack 24/7. Even in my sleep. And in the shower. And when I'm swimming. Coincidentally, I also wear diapers because I am constantly pissing my pants.
I use a closed loop filter system that seems to work well on both ends.
 

ultraNoob

Yoshinoya Destroyer
Jan 20, 2007
4,504
1
Hills of Paradise
I'd usually err on the side of caution. 70oz pack is a must have on a trail ride. I sip everytime we stop for a break or when waiting for people to catch up. While riding, I only sip when my mouth begins to get dry. Most of the time I end up with 20-30oz left in the bladder. If I know the weather is going to be extra hot/humid, I bring the 100oz and maybe an extra 70oz for the epic rides.

Done two rides where I've gone through 170oz over 5 hours and still had 90min of riding in 90+deg weather... not good. The pee pee test is an effective indicator of hydration... if you stop peeing, you're screwed.
 

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
He is a hiker who doesn't carry a bladder? Probably lives in a pretty wet climate then. When I was backpacking in the Sierras I could get away with two water bottles as most trails followed a very nice stream or ended at a lake. Out here in Utah I'll carry up to 10 quarts of water during the summer. I won't drink all of it, but the 4-5 quarts left over are usually for dinner and the next day before I get to another water source. As far as I know every company putting out a backpack today has at least one model with a bladder pocket. Very few of them actually come with a bladder, but they are outfitted to accept one.

On the road bike I never wear a Camelback as I simply don't need the space it offers and I find it uncomfortable to wear when I am in the drops. I will ride with 2-3 20oz bottles in the summer and typically refill after 30-40 miles.
 

Rip

Mr. Excitement
Feb 3, 2002
7,327
1
Over there somewhere.
I have a hydration pack on when on the road and when off road. On the road, only because my fixed gear has no bottle cage mounts.

The last couple of camelbacks that I had were kind of the suck. Had a havoc which the stitching failed, followed by a mule where the zippers failed. So today I picked up an Oakley Tool Pouch 2.0 and so far I'm really pleased with it.
 
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pigboy

in a galaxy far, far away
the fact that you often see soldiers using hydration packs tells me something.....

what is it that it tells me?

damn i wish i could remember.....

oh yeah. it helps them shoot straighter if they aren't about to die of thirst!
 

Damo

Short One Marshmallow
Sep 7, 2006
4,603
27
French Alps
I carry bottles on the road bike (1x water, 1x hydration stuff for longer rides), but rarely take water with me off road. Here in the alps there are plenty of natural springs & water troughs about. Then you have the restaurants & hoses at the bottom of every chairlift.

If I'm just doing repetitive runs of a DH track, I'll leave a big bottle of water at the bottom.
 

chicodude

The Spooninator
Mar 28, 2004
1,054
2
Paradise
I cant think of a negative for carrying a camelback with water, tools, etc. other than weight and cost.
That said, I think the whole "hydration movement" of the last several years is overdone. I think people can go longer without drinking than most would have you believe.
Thats kinda dumb. Yeah we can go longer than you would think without water, but why? Hydration is probably the most important thing for your body...

Isn't the human body about 60 to 70 percent water?
 

Lowlight7

Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
355
0
Virginia, USA
The other day I was in REI looking at a new camelbak when I ran into a friend who was shopping for a large backpack with his father (my friend is about 27 and hit father is probably in his 60's). Not knowing much about hiking I asked him if hydration bladders were standard in hiking packs. The father seemed honestly a bit offended at my comment. Perhaps he's just old fashioned or thinks that hydration bladders are just a fad or a marketing gimmick.
Since about '98 or so the option has existed to add a bladder. Rare is the pack that comes with one, but just about everything on the market has a pouch and hose port to carry one.

I'm about as old-fashioned and resistant to change as a 70-year old Republican, and it took a while to get me on the bandwagon, but... Try carrying 3 liters of water any other way. Now, a water bottle is more durable and has more uses than a bladder, but that's why I carry both - one does not necessarily preclude the other.

Regarding hydration, studies have shown that the average American walking around today is about 1-2% dehydrated already. 2% is where the symptoms start showing, supposedly. With all the coffee and soda we drink, we've conditioned ourselves to not notice the symptoms. Of course, the early symptoms of dehydration are feeling tired and groggy, so we counteract this with a Red Bull or Venti Mochachino.

Can you really be "too concerned" with your own hydration? Every single function of your body requires water. For the most part, any excess you take in will be harmlessly syphoned off (short of exteme consumption which may cause electrolyte imbalance).

Do you really want to be the guy who ends up in the hospital, with a full bag of Lactated Ringer's hooked up to your veins, saying "Well, I was worried about drinking too much water, so..."

You can't fix stupid.
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
Thats kinda dumb. Yeah we can go longer than you would think without water, but why? Hydration is probably the most important thing for your body...
Im just saying people go overboard with the whole thing. A study came out recently saying that drinking a ton of water every day has no health benefits. I can remember when I was a kid, having football practice...we'd be out there for two or three hours in 90-100 degree weather, in full pads...and we got maybe one water break, during which we were told "don't drink too much, you'll get stomach cramps" etc. This was from the late 80s to the mid-90's. No one ever died of heat stroke or dehydration. As I said in my last post, there's no negative to carrying water on you and drinking it as you need it, but it's not as vital to drink copious amounts as people say IMO. I always carry some for sure, but for people who sit at a desk all day and chug gallons from a nalgene bottle thinking it'll cure cancer... it's pure BS. And anyone who thinks "if you're thirsty, it's too late" is pretty full of crap. Ive been thirsty plenty of times and then drank some water.... with what negative effects? None.
People should just be smart. If you're working out. Drink some water. If it's hot, drink some more. But it's not like you have to keep constantly chugging the stuff or you'll die.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,570
24,185
media blackout
Regarding hydration, studies have shown that the average American walking around today is about 1-2% dehydrated already. 2% is where the symptoms start showing, supposedly. With all the coffee and soda we drink, we've conditioned ourselves to not notice the symptoms. Of course, the early symptoms of dehydration are feeling tired and groggy, so we counteract this with a Red Bull or Venti Mochachino.
I used to counteract the tiredness with Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar. But I realized how bad that was for me. I switched my diet to something healthier and cut caffeine, now I'm on average much more alert. Or maybe it has more to do with the crystal meth.

Lowlight said:
You can't fix stupid.
Ron White FTW.
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
Im just saying people go overboard with the whole thing. A study came out recently saying that drinking a ton of water every day has no health benefits. I can remember when I was a kid, having football practice...we'd be out there for two or three hours in 90-100 degree weather, in full pads...and we got maybe one water break, during which we were told "don't drink too much, you'll get stomach cramps" etc. This was from the late 80s to the mid-90's. No one ever died of heat stroke or dehydration. As I said in my last post, there's no negative to carrying water on you and drinking it as you need it, but it's not as vital to drink copious amounts as people say IMO. I always carry some for sure, but for people who sit at a desk all day and chug gallons from a nalgene bottle thinking it'll cure cancer... it's pure BS. And anyone who thinks "if you're thirsty, it's too late" is pretty full of crap. Ive been thirsty plenty of times and then drank some water.... with what negative effects? None.
People should just be smart. If you're working out. Drink some water. If it's hot, drink some more. But it's not like you have to keep constantly chugging the stuff or you'll die.
I think we had the same coaches, haha. We had a week or two of double sessions and one week of triples and it was always hot. The coaches gave us 1 or 2 breaks per session- usually about 2 minutes. I graduated in '02, so I guess not much has changed in some places.

As for the hydration thing- I carry 2 bottles on the road and refill as needed. I usually have a camelbak while trailriding, but have been known to just take a bottle or two on short rides. On long ones, I carry a 100oz bladder and two bottles (only on the hardtail; only one mount on the FS and it stinks- under the DT...I even crushed a cage once going over a log.)

For day hikes, I don't care too much- bottles of any type or a camelbak works fine. For backpacking, I've done both and think I prefer the camelbak. I don't like the idea that the bladder can puncture or leak, but I can't reach the bottle pockets on my backpack without taking it off. That means I end up drinking way too little and too much at once. So, taking a 100oz bladder and maybe a 1L bottle (I just use old Poland Spring bottles or whatever I get at the store for cheap) as a backup.
 

DamienC

Turbo Monkey
Jun 6, 2002
1,165
0
DC
Hydration is so yesterday. Ingurgitation packs that feed you a constant stream of bacon cheeseburgers through a tube is the wave of the future.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,941
13,135
Portland, OR
Hydration is so yesterday. Ingurgitation packs that feed you a constant stream of bacon cheeseburgers through a tube is the wave of the future.
I had the doctor install a Matrix-style port the plugs into my spine so I don't have to get up to refill my coffee cup at work.