So despite having what I though was enough water on my overnighter this weekend I managed to run out when drinking and cooking were taken into account.

How much water to people generally carry and how do people tend to try to 'stock up' on the go? e.g. shops vs purification.

How much water to people generally carry and how do people tend to try to 'stock up' on the go? e.g. shops vs purification.

Never anymore than 1l carried (often just 500ml). Just top up as I go from streams, lakes, rivers, etc ... I'd have to be drugged before I'd part with cash to buy water

Sometimes I carry a 2l Platypus bag for use overnight but I wouldn't dream of carrying that much water while riding unless I knew (really knew) there wasn't any. It's surprising how far you can go without water ... I managed over 50 miles last summer but I wouldn't recommend that really

Last weekend Yetiman didn't carry any water at all. He just used a Sawyer mini filter and straw and drank directly from whatever water was about as we went along.

Mostly just a 500 to 600mil bottle. Providing I remember to fill it up before leaving.

Fill it directly from whatever running water I find if I run out.

I used to carry a camelbak but less so now, mainly cos they annoy me.

Same as Stu really. A litre or so whilst riding and top up from streams as I go. Also depends on the weather. Summer I may need more due to the heat and it way be harder to find on the ground due to streams drying up.

Part of it is carrying as little whilst riding, but knowing how much you may need for an overnight stop and filling up near to camp or stopping somewhere near a water source

Camelbak bladder hasn't left the bottom freezer compartment for ages now.....funny how it was revolutionary and now I just use bottles. Around here I carry a couple of bottles as water sources are either the sea, few and far between, or field ditches.

Got by on the BB200 with filling up at Tyn y cornel and Oasis puritabs.

2x water bottles, although I have carried 3 in the past as all are frame/fork mounted. I filter all my filter before drinking from it (katadyn hiker)

I've only ever used three bottles on longer, overnight road rides where finding water can be particularly difficult. Popping into campsites in the middle of the night is a skill to be learned.

I've only once almost run out of water. That was last March in the Highlands where I had camped quite high and all the water had frozen

Other than that, I just fill up as I go.

Im paranoid about running out of water as Im a sweaty beggar and I dehydrate real fast. I carry 2-3L in an Osprey backpack depending where I am and one day Im going to figure out a way to carry it in my frame bag. When it comes to blagging refills I have no shame - cafes, police stations, post offices, campsites, round the back of farms - if there is a tap I will ask to use it and if no one is around I will use it anyway. Also carry a travel tap (bought on the BB classifieds) when drinking from streams that Im unsure of.

I'll carry up to 2l in a camelback but really only need a 750ml bottle for a the average time between fill-up opportunities. Sometimes I'd rather carry more and stop / think about filling up less. A bivi supply is 2l ideally, for noodles, hot drink, breakfast oats and 2 coffees. Or a bivi site near a stream. That's mostly what my water capacity is for, rather than drinking while riding. I need a bit more than 2 bottles can carry at times if I'll be taking a random bivi spot as it comes, but less than a camelback and a bottle. If I carry a bladder in a frame bag it's a variable pack-space issue. Not sure what the best solution is really, varies depending on the trip and compromises are just part of it all.

how do people tend to try to 'stock up' on the go?

chlorine di-ox tablets for dire needs, farm taps for top ups, pub 'toilet breaks' or pop 50p in the charity box and ask for a fill up.

I have had a couple of hot rides where water ran out in places it was tough to get a resupply (couldn't even buy it) and struggling to get home because I was dehydrated so now I tend to carry 2 liters in the camel back. A lot depends on where I'm going though.
Stu and I had a conversation about people taking 3 liters around Cannock FFS! I mean there is even a camp site site (that you ride straight through) with free water taps about two thirds of the way round. LOL.

Last weekend Yetiman didn't carry any water at all. He just used a Sawyer mini filter and straw and drank directly from whatever water was about as we went along.

This is in stark contrast to the amounts Yetiman was putting away on a trip we did last summer! He was stopping every 10miles to off load water as well.

Last year I did a sweat test at Essex University which was quite interesting in as much that the result showed that I need between 500-700 ml of fluid per hour, depending on temperature, to maintain my meagre performance level and if you lose more than 2kg in body weight you are seriously dehydrated.
I struggle to drink that amount of fluid and have never been a heavy sweater but have tried to put it in to practice and
it certainly does help

Last year I did a sweat test at Essex University which was quite interesting in as much that the result showed that I need between 500-700 ml of fluid per hour, depending on temperature, to maintain my meagre performance level and if you lose more than 2kg in body weight you are seriously dehydrated.
I struggle to drink that amount of fluid and have never been a heavy sweater but have tried to put it in to practice and
it certainly does help

What kind of effort levels were involved? There's no chance I could ever drink that much, even at fairly high intensity levels.

First they weigh you and note the amount of fluid in your drinks bottles and then you complete three sets of 45 minutes on a turbo trainer followed by a 2 mile run, after each set you are weighed and the amount of fluid drunk
noted and at the end you are weighed again.
The intensity on the turbo is supposed to be your long distance road race pace.

Yeah, but ideally you start off well hydrated, and then you recover afterwards by drinking more than what your body requires for the given resting level of exertion - thus offsetting the requirement of the idealised 500-700 during.

In english - drink more beforehand and afterwards so you can drink less during.

I drink a lot on a day to day basis especially when at work; 4-5 pints a day. It's been this way for about 6 months now and I have noticed the difference just generally, in terms of health and energy. The biggest difference is like zippy is saying though that I don't feel the NEED to drink as much when riding. I do still try to drink a lot though and have started using the hydration alarm on my watch set at 15min intervals. I just try to take a quick swig every time it goes off. It's amazing how much you can get through with this method.

In english - drink more beforehand and afterwards so you can drink less during.

Not easy to do when you're on a multi-day trip.

The wine/whisky on Saturday night may have compounded my dehydration problem though.

voodoo_simon, what's your opinion on that katadyn filter?

I've had it a few years and never had a problem/illness (I have a poor excuse of a stomach, changing household water from district to district can upset it!). It's a little on the bulky side but it works well and is hassle free. I only take water from clean, flowering streams, so use it as a precautionary measure.

If I was to buy another, I would look at smaller options but this would probably affect the flow rate. Think I got mine for £50, so quite a good price to prevent getting ill

this is my number one problem, I know I take too much but I'm always worries I'll run out

it dawned on me when I finished my first WRT I was still carrying water that I'd set off with 3 days earlier !!!

I'm trying to teach myself and with the help of a travel tap hopefully I'll be going out now with a max of 2L

I take a 2.5l bladder in a frame mount bag with an aquamira filter fitted. I carry 500-1000ml whilst riding and top up as I go. I try to bivi near water but if not then fill the bladder at the last known water source.

ctznsmith wrote:

In english - drink more beforehand and afterwards so you can drink less during.

Not easy to do when you're on a multi-day trip.

The wine/whisky on Saturday night may have compounded my dehydration problem though.

voodoo_simon, what's your opinion on that katadyn filter?

If you are looking for one you could do a lot worse than the Sawyer mini filter.

The sawyer mini filter does seem like it would do the job and is pretty cheap.

This looks handy

http://www.watertogo.eu/water-bottle-103-p.asp

and if you type in NATGEO20 at the checkpoint, you'll get 20% off

In Morocco you will find wells which are generally safe to drink from. They are marked on the good maps and ´Morocco Overland´by Chris Scott has GPS coordinates of many.