I have hiked with bottles and a hydration bladder and for me the who regularly forgets to drink enough, the bladder is a lifesaver. Yet, I do always take a bottle with me as well because I am not immune to the issues that the bladder faces.

Hydration bladders have many disadvantages. These are notoriously difficult to clean and mould can build up quickly. They also can be difficult to fill, especially on thru-hikes using natural sources. Then even during the hike the water is exposed to varying temperatures and ends up tasting foul.

Over the course of this article, I will detail out each and every one of the many cons of a hydration bladder but I will also give you some advice on how to mitigate these factors.

After all, many people find that the advantage of not having to do a whole yoga routine to get their water worth the slightly irritating aspects. Also like before, many are simply solved by taking a spare bottle with you. Yes that does not defeat the point!

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The Disadvantages Of Hydration Bladders

Ok, I can’t lie. On the face of it there are quite a few issues with a hydration bladder, given that on paper there are only a few (but huge) advantages.

Fortunately, there are quite a lot of ways to minimise these disadvantages and others, unless your in the extremes just won’t happen. So here we go!

1. Tastes Awful

When you first use your hydration bladder, perhaps you get excited and take it out on your first little adventure only to find it tastes revolting.

Many bladders especially initially give you a strong taste of plastic. As the day progresses, the water is left to infuse and the taste intensifies. Good news that in most cases with use, this will subside.

You can normally save yourself from the worst cold brew of your life with a little bit of prep work. Just grab some lemon juice and water and flush it through your bladder, then pop it on the freezer. Some people even find just freezing the water enough. Once thawed the taste should be gone!

2. You Cannot Use Electrolytes Or Flavoured Water

There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, anything sugary will encourage the growth of mould. The hydration bladder is a lovely warm, damp environment and add some food and it will be a microbial paradise.

The second reason is that bladders can absorb all sorts of scents and smells. So when you mix and match or refill with simple water the aftertaste may not have you skipping up that hill.

Ever had your parents tell you not to put squash in your water bottle for school? Then to only do it and regret it later when you can’t have any more squash and the water tastes all funky? It’s the same principle here.

3. You Cannot See Volume Of Water Left

Perhaps you aren’t so fussy. You are happily sipping away, nice and hydrated on your hike to find that there is no more water.

Turns out that you are empty, having gone through the 1.5, 2 or 3L that you were carrying. Way more than you normally would drink if you just had your simple bottle.

In some cases this isn’t a big deal, least the pack is lighter now! You can just refill at the next town or perhaps you got a filter to top up from natural water sources. In other cases, you may be hydrated now but you have several hours to go before you can top up.

This is one of the many reasons people who use bladders also take a bottle with them. I have done this several times.

This way I start the hike nice and hydrated, with plenty of energy to carry on and then I know when my bladder is empty I have a bottle to last me for the rest. This is much easier to ration than the bladder.

4. They Are Heavy

The bladder themselves are not heavy when they are empty. They are basically plastic bags with a bit of piping. Once full, on the other hand they soon add up.

This is true for any water you choose to take with you. 1L of water is 1kg. The issue becomes when you could get away with a 500ml water bottle for an afternoon hike but you’re lugging around a 3L hydration bladder.

The good thing about bladders are that, although they say there maximum capacity, you don’t have to fill it to the brim.

You may think, like an unfilled bottle that this will slosh about. This is not true if you fill your bladder correctly. You want to squeeze as much air out before sealing as possible.

Then for the remaining air, turn your bladder upside down, raise the tube and suck the remaining air out. This will keep your bladder nice and quiet and what I do for my runs especially!

5. They Are Hard To Fill

Topping your bladder off in your kitchen sink is a relatively straightforward task. Just take the lid off and in the water goes.

The difficulty comes from refilling from natural sources or at campsites. Can you add a filter to the bladder? Does it flop around when you’re trying to fill it up from a stream.

Should you even add the sterilisation tablets and then you can’t drink your water for however long, nor top it up when you have the chance even if it isn’t empty.

All these are pretty annoying problems and the main solution I have found is to bring a bottle as well. There sturdiness helps them fill. You can use them to top up your bladder by pouring it in and you can also sort out sterilisation in them before transferring it across to your bladder.

6. They Are Expensive

Compared to the vast variety of bottles out there, hydration bladders are an expensive alternative. You can normally get a 1L bottle for a couple of quid compared to a bladder which will set you back 20 to 30.

You also get what you pay for. I first tried a cheaper bladder brand and hated it. It was poorly designed and exacerbated all the issues. My second attempt was a lot more successful. If you have to stick to a budget, you will get more bang for your buck with a bottle.

7. They Are Hard To Clean

Prevention is your best friend here. If you can stop any mould growth from the beginning then cleaning isn’t too bad.

The drying time definitely is a concern. To clean mine, I just give it a wash like anything else in soapy water once I am done.

I take all the tubes apart and all the parts of the bite valve. It’s amazing how many pieces it can break down into.

Then to let it dry I find spinning the tubes helps eliminate most of the water (go on centrifugal force). But this likely isn’t good for the tubes so be gentle.

And use something handy like a glass to prop open the main compartment of the bladder. When I had one with a small circular hole, I struggled to get all the water out. I found using a tea towel and tipping it to absorb the excess worked best. Use a dry one to prop it open too.

Should you find mould growing, try your best to wash it out. Some areas of some bladders are pretty easy to reach so give it a good scrub, for others you may want to consider buying a hydration bladder cleaning kit. These come with all sorts of brushes and attachments to get into every nook and cranny.

You just have to preserve with the scrubbing. Then many people recommend filling it with a cleaning solution (dish soap or baking soda or white vinegar- just don’t mix) for 30 minutes before rinsing again.

8. They Go Mouldy Easily

Hydration bladders are nice moist places. This creates the perfect environment for all sorts of moulds to grow.

Tubes and the inside of bite vales are the most common areas of concern from my experience. It is super important that you make sure you have cleaned and thoroughly dried your bladder after use. Some people recommend storing it in the freezer to prevent mould growth once it is dry.

You then need to thoroughly inspect for bladder before each use, and this includes taking apart the bite valve to make sure it’s suitable to use. Mould is not only disgusting but can make you sick and that’s no fun.

Mould can be dealt with, see #7 – they are hard to clean on how to deal with any mould (final 2 paragraphs).

9. Bladders Can Break And Leak

It may not be an intense as an exploded water bladder but slow leaks are possible. You bladder can be exposed to all manor of sharp edges.

Some external such as branches or thorns, others from within such as ramming in a pair of crampons. Separation compartments are useful but vary pack to pack and therefore so does their protection value.

The most common thing which is likely to happen is a slow leak of some kind, especially on the bite vale. These just start dripping, especially if you have a tendency to bite hard or chew it.

It’s annoying but not the end of the world. Simply replace the bite valve or take a spare with you. For other small holes, they are usually OK to patch up with heavy duty tape till it can be replaced.

10. They Are Best Used With A Compatible Backpack

Although I have written an article on how to fit your hydration bladder to any type of backpack, it is so much easy with one ready made for them such as the Osprey Tempest (Amazon) or Osprey Talon (Amazon) if you want the male equivalent.

These compartments can be either on the inside or outside of your pack (the later being easy to refill without repacking your bag) and offer the bladder protection as well as your kit protection from any water leakages.

Without these types of backpacks, your bladder can be placed in but you will likely be faced with a backpack that has to be left open somehow with a tube that without attachment will fly around everywhere without some careful consideration.

Again, this can be considered an extra expense and some backpacks you would be unable to use the bladder effectively.

11. The Water Goes Warm

The hydration badder tube usually sits up upon your shoulder in the full force of the sun. This small amount of water heats up fast.

I don’t know about you but I don’t find warm water on a hot day particularly pleasant. The larger bodies of water tend to keep cooler in these types of weather especially if they are shaded by your pack.

Forentently though, as someone who has used a hydration bladder in nearly 40 degrees Celsius, I found that when in the compartment and shaded that the bulk of the water remained fairly cool.

After the initial sip it was much more pleasant. So if you aren’t so fussy about ambient water then this shouldn’t be a huge concern.

There are also additional extras you can buy which insulates the bladder and its tubing (careful as sometimes these are sold separately from each other). Insulation works both ways. Keeps cool things cool and hot things hot. Like a flask.

12. The Water Freezes

If you expect yourself to find yourself in sub zero temperatures, the water will likely start to freeze in your tubes and bite valves.

This small volume of water will prevent you from drinking the unfrozen bulk stuff in the bladder. I have heard from people who have summited mountains, only to find themselves unable to drink at the summit until they make these decent into warmer conditions.

The insulation I mentioned above will help in these situations too but again it’s an additional expense and they do not cover your bite valve.

I would expect if you plan to summit you would have a flask of something hot to keep you going which you could use until your bladder thawed out.

13. Hard To Use Around The Campsite

The hydration bladder works best when it’s positioned on your back. Trying to drink from it repeatedly in the car whilst your travelling for in your tent can be a bit of a nause.

Then when you’re trying to add water to your camping stove or wash you have to take the whole thing out to pour it. It is simply much easier with a solid bottle that wont flop all over the place and stand upright.

14. Can Cause Water To Slosh

There is an art to getting your hydration bladder to be a silent addition to your kit. Some are designed with separate compartments which can help but in every case the cause for the noise is air.

You simply need to remove as much of the trapped air as possible. Do this when you fill it up but squishing the water to the top. Once sealed then turn it upside down and suck the last of the air bubbles out through the tube. Voila!

15. Cannot Be Filled With Hot Water

It seems fairly obvious you can’t keep sipping a nice hot coffee out your hydration bladder but what bottles can come in handy for is a make shift hot water bottle.

Simply fill your bottle up with warm or hot water (depending on your bottle) and pop it in your sleeping bag at night for a bit of an extra boost. Just be careful not to burn yourself. Metal bottle conduct heat well. You do not want to be touching that immediately with your bare skin!

16. Slow Flow Of Water

As with most things in life, when you’re trying something out you tend to choose the cheapest option. I was no different. You get what you pay for and my first bladder I really wasn’t a huge fan of.

The main reason was that I felt that the bite valve never let enough water through. I felt like I was sucking a dummy and was still thirsty afterwards but bored of drinking. This was not the end goal at all.

Fortunately, I knew from others I have borrowed that not all brands are alike. My new one is more expensive but ticks all my boxes.

17. People Don’t Stop For Water When They Have Bladders.

If you are walking in a group with a mix of bottles and hydration bladders then it can cause tensions.

People with bottles normally have to stop to get them out, unscrew them and take some sips before returning it all. Perhaps you can reach around to your side pouches or have a friend to help but still unless its a sports top its hard to drink on the move.

This means if you’re the one with the bottle, your friends may power on ahead and leave you behind. This rarely happens if you all have bottles. Otherwise you’re either scrambling to catch up or simply don’t drink enough. Not everyone will appreciate the pause depending on their walking style!

So there we have it. 17 very valid reasons to hate the hydration bladder. It all seems like it should be a failed product, yet they are so popular. How could this hydration bladder be worth all the fuss?

The Pros Of The Hydration Bladder

The hydration bladder. You either love it or you hate it really. All the effort for really what is one very big perk. The whole reason for the bladder.

1. Easy, Continuous Access To Water

For those who simply do not drink enough on hikes, or those who are on a mission and do not want to stop, having water just inches from your mouth makes all the difference.

People may assume its laziness or that water stops allow you to take in the scenery but at the end of the day it’s all personal preference.

I love my hydration bladder as it does encourage me drink more. I have made myself horribly dehydrated before on hikes and it just feels horrible. Headaches and fatigue were all too common.

Since using my bladder (yes I need more toilet breaks) I feel so much more energised. Of course, this may not be the case for everyone but for me I wouldn’t go back for most hikes.

2. They Are Ergonomically Designed

The shape of the bladder for easy access for water but also its soft shell will conform with your back. No more annoying edges of bottles bashing into each vertebrate.

If you are using a backpack with a compartment for a bladder to go, then this is usually designed close to your back. This is the best place for them as it helps them feel lighter.

3. Bladders Don’t Rattle Or Slosh

Several empty bottles in your backpack will clash together, and they wont be creating beautiful music. After several miles it will likely drive you mad, let along your fellow hikers.

The soft shell of the bladder means that should you need more water you can carry several and they will neatly pack together without the need for padding out or separating.

As I discussed above, should you remove all the air out of your bladder then it shouldn’t make any noise and you walk or run. This is impossible to do in a bottle so they will undoubtedly slosh around unless it’s completely empty or completely full.

My Recomended Hydration Bladder

I am a bit fan of the hydration bladder and have tried a few over the years and my favourite and the clear one in the photographs above is the Osprey hydration bladder. I have the 1.5L version and find this to be plenty. Grab your Osprey Hydraulics LT on Amazon.

Conclusion

Hydration bladders are more faffy than bottles and in many cases I bring along a bottle too. So unless you know you will find it a lot more of a pleasant experience not balancing your backpack whilst trying to get your bottles then you may be one of the many who refuse to use them.

For me, the ease of drinking is worth it every time. For others this is not the case. Hopefully if you’re a bladder lover then you can understand the haters. Or perhaps you are looking for more ammunition to debate with your bladder loving friends to convert back to bottles. Either way, I hope you found this helpful!