DIY Hydration: Bargain Basement Hydration Bags for Your Kayak

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My buddy Bruce has had daughters in expensive private colleges for the past eight years. So he’s had to find ways to outfit himself for kayak trips, inexpensively. When refreshments at work included a “Box o’ Joe” from Dunkin’ Donuts, Bruce got to thinking. “That Mylar bag they are packing the coffee in is about the right size for a good hydration bag. It must hold about 100 ounces of liquid with room to spare.” So he grabbed it, rinsed it out and gave it a try. But you couldn’t get the coffee taste out once it was in the bag. The water tasted of weak, cold, bad coffee.
Not to be deterred when he has a good idea, Bruce went to the local DD and sweet-talked first the clerk, then the manager into selling him an unused Joe box for the small sum of two dollars. Once the Mylar bag was out of the box it was clear that it was about the right size for use in a kayak.
The Mylar bag is tough, but can be punctured (this has never happened to Bruce), so it needs to be stored carefully. Bruce usually stows his behind his seat. And the opening is a simple twist off cap that is easy to use. The opening is large enough for easy filling and decanting, but still too small for easy cleaning. However, at a cost of two bucks, you can use it for a season or two and toss it. Bruce got at least three seasons out of his last bag.

Email Comment:

I was just reading your blog and came across your quandary. I have MSR Dromedary bags, don't have that taste sensation you speak of, but do not like to take anything and throw it away if I can help it. When kayaking I take wine in a box, which is really a misnomer as it is in a bag with a nice spigot. Like the Dunkin Donuts coffee bags you mention, they are not the most hardy product, but they endure the rough handling with the wine in them, (without the box - wasted space in a yak). Another friend and I have experimented with reuse of the bags. She has been able to remove the spigot, rinse and then replace. I took the easy way out, cut the corner, washed, rinsed, dried. Then filled with water leaving some headroom, took some parchment paper and my iron and sealed the corner right up. Now I freeze them so I have ice the first day at least.

Julie A.

DIY Hydration:

Bargain Basement Hydration Bags for Your Kayak

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Gear Review: