No matter what your activity, staying hydrated is crucial. Water-holders are perhaps the #1 accessory for anyone playing outside, and they come in all shapes and sizes. But is your water bottle more burden than its worth? For those of you looking to cast aside your cumbersome metal and plastic bottles of old, behold the Platypus SoftBottle: this one liter wonder is 80% lighter than standard hydration units. Even better? It folds up small enough to store in your back pocket.
“Why are you drinking out of a water bladder?” was the question I heard most often while toting the Platypus around. Yes, it definitely looks like a smaller version of the bladder you would cache in your backpack. This “bottle” is constructed with Nylon and Polyethylene so it’s completely rollable, foldable and stowable. This makes for a strange looking bottle, but one that can be jammed into the smallest spaces. During backpacking trips I crammed the empty SoftBottle into the side pockets with my bear spray and filled it up when I arrived to camp. Ditto for day hikes. When it came time to traverse the concrete sprawl of SLC, the empty Platypus was stored in either my back pocket or in one of the compartments of my computer bag. No matter where I stashed this little bottle, I never noticed it was there until I was ready to fill it up. With hard bottles I either have to carry them in my hand, store them in my bag and sacrifice space I could use for other gear, or strap them to my pack and get annoyed as they jostle with every step. No such concerns with the Platypus!
The first time I took a drink out of this bottle, I was a little weirded out. It works just fine, but it’s quite a departure from the bottles I’m accustomed to. There is a curved area that allows for a better grip when drinking, and after I downed a couple liters I got used to it. However, when the bottle has less then half a liter left, things get tricky. The SoftBottle sort of collapses in on itself, and needs to be raised up high to coax the liquid out. Sometimes this will result in an unwanted mini-shower. Again, you’ll need to drink a few liters before you master the fine art of hydration with the Platypus.
Aside from these initial woes, I liked the Platypus SoftBottle. There is no doubt that the weight and portability of this bottle blow the competition away. And at $9 it’s also cheaper than hard bottles. Platypus offers several variations of caps, so if you don’t like the standard twist-off you can modify your bottle with a different style. Another bonus is that this baby is 100% made in the USA, so you can celebrate being a real ‘Merican while you fight dehydration. If you want to save weight, space, turn a few heads and stay hydrated, the Platypus SoftBottle is what you’ve been looking for.