Thursday, February 18, 2010

Ski Hard - Stay hydrated with Platypus water bags


Skis, boots, poles, pass, helmet, goggles, gloves. Check. You go through the standard check list as you prepare for a day on the slopes. Dressed in your sleek ski jacket, you heft your skis onto your shoulders and start hiking towards the chair lift. Did you happen to bring any water?

Carrying that trusty sticker encrusted Nalgen water bottle is almost impossible in your form fitting ski jacket. The heft alone will throw you off balance as you shred the steeps, utilizing every bit of coordination to stay upright. So what are you suppose to do when thirst overwhelms you after a lengthy tree run? Go to the lodge? Pssshh

Carry a better water bottle. Or not even a bottle but a bag. For the last several years I have been carrying a Platypus bag. Several sizes are available and they conform and bend to your body. Sure you can not over fill it, and it will not hydrate you for those long all day backcountry excursions. But for a little thirst killer to hold you over till lunch, this is the ticket.


It seems that many blogs these days are centered about pushing a product. Buy this buy that. But I like to think that ideas are still the important thing to push. If you do not want to buy Platypus's products, you can also use a small disposable water bottle instead. The 10/12 oz size is about perfect, and the thin material is flexible. Newer bottles are being made thinner and thinner to save on material and shipping cost. This is a big bonus for us because it makes the bottles even more flexible. Often times I will carry two bottle to offset the weight of each other. One thing I do not like about using such bottles is the fact that they are disposable. Shame on you if your consumption of water comes exclusively from cases of bottled water. Buy, ski, drink, wash, fill; ski, drink, wash fill, repeat!

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