OK, so it is just a flexible water bottle. But it is (was) amongst the oldest items of gear I have been using continually on just about all of my backpacking trips over the past decade.

Packing gear for an upcoming trip I was doing the usual checks. Water filter OK. First Aid Kit stocked and medicines in-date. Correct pegs for the chosen shelter. Thermarest mat not leaking. Waterproofs proofed. The list goes on… A few minutes at home saves hassle on hills.

Then I came to my clean water storage. I have been using the same two-litre Evernew bottle/bladder for at least the last ten years. It is a bit crumpled and I lost the elasticated cord around its neck years ago, but it has simply been doing what it is supposed to do without fuss. It is nothing grand. Just a plastic bottle. I don’t get excited about seeing it. It is just there, an old reliable.

But no longer. I had entirely forgotten that on a recent trip it had sprung a pinhole leak around the neck. I cannot complain. It has been carried and used for thousands of trail miles. When I first purchased it, it had an elasticated loop that held it all nicely rolled up when empty. But that eventually lost its elasticity and fell off. I never bothered to replace it with a loop of shock-cord and never missed it.

This is my clean water container. The one that has potable and filtered water poured into. It doesn’t taint the water with that plasticky taste that so many other containers do. I use another container for dirty water. I tried the Cnoc containers that everyone seems to like but didn’t get on with it, preferring the HydraPak Seeker bladders instead. As to drinking water container on-the-go, that is simply any old Smartwater or similar water bottle. The Evernew is usually my camp container, perhaps filled up at some point in the afternoon approaching a nights halt, or one of the first chores to complete once the tent is up. Collect the water for the night and morning.

I do have an equivalent Platypus two-litre bottle in my gear locker. It came as a free-gift one day when I ordered something else, but that lacks the retained cap (though the EU 2018 directive on tethered caps may change this going forward). Fortunately, recognising that things don’t last forever and manufacturers have an unfortunate habit of changing or removing staples from their portfolio, I had ordered a replacement about three years ago. It has been sitting, in its packaging, in my gear locker until this day arrived. Out with the old, in with the new. No tears are shed, I’m not daft. But slightly relieved that I can continue using an item of gear that simply works. Lightweight, stands on its gusseted base, fixed cap that cannot be lost. Leakproof. I am sure there are many alternatives, but this is the one I want. If this one lasts as long as the last one, I’ll be content.

I suppose if there is any lesson to be learnt from this. It is think about those unsung items of gear that you simply use and like but don’t get too excited about. If and when it eventually fails, gets lost, or goes missing, will you be able to replace it with similar. Obs we shouldn’t just be buying ‘stuff’ for the sake of it. Gear can be expensive, there is an environmental cost to manufacturing anything, and none of us should be hoarding duplicates for every item of gear we have and use. But every now and then there is something that just kinda works for us.

I checked online. Still available. I’ll buy another…