37
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of water bottles versus bladders?
Some advice given to me in an outdoor leadership course:
As a leader, use water bottles rather than bladders.
Make an obvious show of the pausing and drinking: stopping, taking off the pack, getting ...
- 4,088
31
votes
Will drinking lots of water in the day(s) prior to a long trek mean I will need less water on the trek?
Liam's right that you can't/shouldn't overhydrate, but based on my experience it's easily possible to start the day under-hydrated.
Maybe you're office-bound and don't drink enough water, or you've ...
- 3,916
22
votes
Should I eat when I don't have anything to drink in a survival situations?
In a survival situation without water you will die in days and without food you will die in weeks. So in general, there is no need to eat in a survival situation. That said, the quick burst of energy ...
- 10.7k
20
votes
Accepted
How to trick my body/stomach into thinking I'm full?
I've used a few methods for this (being a larger guy who would backpack with smaller individuals). The biggest thing I've learned is that the mental aspect matters as much as the nutrition. Here's the ...
- 539
17
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of water bottles versus bladders?
The main advantage of a water bladder is that it's easy to drink from. You can take frequent small sips without interrupting your activity. If tend to forget to drink enough water while exercising, ...
- 4,384
15
votes
Should I eat when I don't have anything to drink in a survival situations?
I think the problem is the generalization. It depends on the food. Watermelon is surely not comparable to trail mix. Also I have my doubts about the idea that berries are a problem and a mash to ...
- 3,280
14
votes
Accepted
Hydration for pets
I actually answered a similar question over on Pets not long ago... Warm weather walkies and water... however you've asked in a bit more detail so here goes...
How can I know that the dog is ...
- 15.4k
14
votes
How to estimate remaining water in a hydration bladder?
This is a known downside with water bladders. In my opinion it's the largest downside of a water bladder compared to a water bottle. You don't know you're running low on water until you're completely ...
- 4,384
14
votes
Would drinking normal saline help with hydration?
Yes, you can drink it. Saline of this sort (0.9%, 9 g/L or about 150 millimol/litre or 300 milliosmol/litre) is known as an isotonic solution as the salt concentration is the same as that in the body (...
- 9,504
14
votes
How to trick my body/stomach into thinking I'm full?
There is a saying in cycling that the best post-ride meal is "a bottle of (sparkling) water and a couple of sleeping pills. You need to loose some weight." While not very healthy, the point ...
- 1,077
13
votes
Accepted
How do I achieve/maintain optimal hydration?
The absolute best way to figure out when to drink is by paying attention to your thirst.
If you drink a cup of water when you aren't really thirsty, your body will start getting rid of excess fluid ...
- 4,219
12
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of water bottles versus bladders?
One advantage to bladders that hasn't been mentioned yet: the less water they contain, the less space they take up in your pack. A 1L bottle takes up 1L of space whether it's full, half full, or empty....
- 221
12
votes
Accepted
UK blanket bog peatland water - safe to drink?
EDITED TO ADD: Please also read the other answer by cbeleites unhappy with SX about the risk of heavy metal contamination. The information in my original answer (below) is still accurate regarding ...
- 4,384
10
votes
How to estimate the volume a person sweats?
You basically have it, the formula is
Your Weight at start
- Your Weight at end
+ Weight of water consumed
- Weight of water urinated
---------------------------
= Water lost via sweat
Then you ...
- 69.2k
10
votes
Accepted
Is it a good idea to drink blood to avoid dehydration?
While various sources suggest drinking some blood in emergency will help, the risks outweigh the benefits.
From 5 Myths of Dehydration:
Sure, there’s water in blood. But whose or what’s blood are ...
- 24.9k
10
votes
Hydration for pets
Dehydration in dogs is very similar to dehydration in humans. This link should give you an in depth answer.
My main points are these:
If the dog has a dry nose, dry gums and/or dry mouth it most ...
- 101
9
votes
How do I achieve/maintain optimal hydration?
I don't usually care too much about making a pee stop if I'm hiking (I just don't mind). In the last couple of years, however, I've taken on running and have since ran a marathon and a handful of half-...
- 2,456
9
votes
Should I eat when I don't have anything to drink in a survival situations?
Eat. Because metabolic water:
Metabolic water refers to water created inside a living organism through their metabolism, by oxidizing energy-containing substances in their food. Animal metabolism ...
9
votes
Will drinking lots of water in the day(s) prior to a long trek mean I will need less water on the trek?
Not at all. It only takes a few hours for water to work its way from your gut into your system, after which any extra simply goes through your kidneys and out the other end.
However you can ...
- 2,219
9
votes
Accepted
Does a chewing gum really help in keeping mouth moist?
It's perfectly possible for both to be true: it moistened your mouth but doesn't help with hydration The act of chewing stimulates saliva production, so your mouth is less dry. But that wastes a ...
- 25.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Adding extra hydration to a CamelBak backpack
Looking at the product, I don't quite comprehend why it would seem difficult to add a second reservoir, unless you aren't talking about a second hydration pack itself.
I think I trek around in ...
- 31.7k
8
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of water bottles versus bladders?
I'm not a big fan of bladders myself but use them at times.
The main reason is that I find it hard to drink enough - although they're hands free, the flow is too low to get enough if a rare quick ...
- 25.9k
7
votes
Hydration for pets
To add a little to the excellent answers already present: another way to tell dehydration in a dog is to (gently!) grab the scruff of its neck, raise the skin a bit and let go. If it returns back to ...
7
votes
Accepted
How should I regulate hydration on long hikes in hot temprature?
The amount of water you require can vary a lot depending on the conditions and your level of exertion and conditioning. Dehydration can affect your physical and mental performance quite quickly so it ...
- 6,202
7
votes
Will drinking lots of water in the day(s) prior to a long trek mean I will need less water on the trek?
If I know that I am going to be trekking over the weekend, does it help if say from Thursday, I start drinking more water than I usually do?
This clicks my mind because I spend the whole day in air-...
6
votes
How do I achieve/maintain optimal hydration?
Drink when you're thirsty, don't when you aren't.
- 1,509
6
votes
Accepted
Emergency use hydration products - effectivness vs cost
I can't say I have any experience on these specific products, but I do have quite a bit of experience of diarrhea in an environment where you need to manage it yourself. I was fortunate enough to ...
- 21.7k
6
votes
How to trick my body/stomach into thinking I'm full?
I suspect those bars don't go as far as you think. Comparable ones I've had have only been about 300 Cal each so 4 of those in a day adds up to rations on which you can survive for a while but very ...
- 25.9k
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